IDC Powerharness Fitting Guide
How to properly measure your dog in four easy steps
- Step 1) Place four fingers behind the dog’s front legs for harnesses sized 0 to 4, and two fingers for harnesses sized Baby 1 and Baby 2. Roughly for small dogs there should be 1 inch behind front leg and for medium and large dogs there should be 2 inches. *NOTE* The dog should have full swing of the front legs without the belly strap or buckle coming into contact with the armpit or elbow of the dog
- Step 2) The finger furthest away from the front legs is where you will be measuring the circumference of the dog’s chest.
- Step 3) Use a fabric tape measure to wrap around the dog’s chest. The tape measure should be snug, without being too tight or baggy.
- Step 4) The dog’s chest size is where the end of the tape measure and the remaining portion meet.
Fitting and adjusting your harness
There are three very simple checks to ensure that you have fitted your dogs new JULIUS-K9 harness correctly.
Check 1 - Tightness
A properly fitting harness will give enought room for you to comfortably fit your fingers inbetween your dogs back and the harness straps.
Check 2 - Bottom strap location
As a guide the bottom strap of the harness should sit approx four fingers away from their front legs for harnesses sized 0-4 and two fingers for Baby1 and Baby2
Check 3 - Top strap location
The front chest strap should fit comfortably on the chest without dropping forward or riding up towards the neck, below are examples of what harnesses that are too tight or too big look like.
High front strap: If the harness has been adjusted too small the chest strap will sit too high and start to put unwanted pressure on the dogs neck. See the illustration below.
Low front strap: If the harness has been adjusted too big the chest strap will sit too low and not correctly apply pressure to the chest area making it easier for the dog to back out of or escape the harness. See the illustration below.
How to properly size your JULIUS-K9 Harness
Harness Sizing and Weight Overview
| IDC Powerharness Size | Chest Girth Measurement | Dog Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 3XS / Baby1 | 29-36 cm | 0.8 - 3 kg |
| 2XS / Baby2 | 33 - 45 cm | 2 - 5 kg |
| XS / Mini Mini | 40- 53 cm | 4 - 7 kg |
| S / Mini | 49 67 cm | 7 - 15 kg |
| M / Size 0 | 58 - 76 cm | 14 - 25 kg |
| L / Size 1 | 63 - 85 cm | 23 - 30 kg |
| XL / Size 2 | 71 - 96 cm | 28 - 40 kg |
| 2XL / Size 3 | 82 115 cm | 40 - 70 kg |
| 3XL / Size 4 | 96 - 138 cm | 70 - 90 kg |
Harness Size By Breed
*The following table of breeds is intended to be used as a guide only and is based on average breed sizes. To ensure a comfortable proper fitting harness, always measure the chest size of your dog
| Breed | Common IDC Powerharness Sizes |
|---|---|
| Bloodhound | size 2, size 3, size 4 |
| Border collie | size 0, size1 |
| Border terrier | mini-mini, mini |
| Boston terrier | mini-mini, mini |
| Boxer | size 1, size 2 |
| Chihahua | Baby 1, Baby 2, mini-mini |
| Cocker spaniel | mini, Size 0 |
| Dachshund | mini-mini, mini |
| Doberman | size 1, size 2, size 3 |
| English bulldog | size 0 |
| German shepherd | size 1, size 2, size 3 |
| Golden retriever | size 1, size 2, size 3 |
| Great dane | size 2, size,3 size 4 |
| Greyhound | size 1 |
| Jack russel | mini-mini, mini |
| King charles | mini-mini, mini |
| Labrador | size 0, size 1, size 2 |
| Mastiff | size 2, size 3, size 4 |
| Poodle | size 0 |
| Pug | mini-mini, mini |
| Rottweiler | size 1, size 2, size 3 |
| Saint bernard | size 3, size 4 |
| Shih tzu | mini-mini, mini |
| Siberian husky | size 0, size 1, size 2 |
| Staffordshire bull terrier | size 0, size 1 |
| West highland terrier | mini-mini, mini |
| Whippet | mini |
| Yorkshire terrier | baby 1, baby 2, mini-mini, mini |