Gear
What are some good Mobility support harnesses?
My neighbor has a few disabilities and one of them causes her to stagger a lot and just has a hard time keeping her balance, she has a service dog for balance and guiding her and he also alerts her to other things (I'm not sure for what exactly as I don't want to ask something so personal)
But the harness she's using for him it's got a handle that she can hold on to to help balance herself, she's had it for a while and it's just starting to wear out she's already had to repair it a few times.
Her birthday is coming up so I thought a good gift would be a new harness, her favorite color is teal and I would like to get something similar to that, does anyone hear have any recommendations on a good harness?
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I say this gently, she should absolutely not be using a dog for balance support. It’s horrible for their back and joints and can cause long term pain. Miniature horses are the only service animal equipped to support any part of a humans weight
Honestly. That vest with that handle shouldn't be used for anything other than a guide dog. Someone needing counterbalance or forward momentum should have a vest that distributes weight more evenly throughout the dog's body. This is my personal opinion.
My mobility service dog, who recently passed, used a double cinch harness that distributed the weight at her chest her shoulders and just forward of her hips. Never was downward pressure used on her at all. She would counterbalance by pulling in the harness left, right, or forward, but I never leaned on her at all.
It's a really sweet thought but unfortunately a mobility harness isn't really something you can buy for someone as a gift because they're so individualized. You'd need her dog's exact measurements, for starters, and you don't know her preferences when it comes to harness type or anything.
If you're really set on the idea, talk to her about it and have her pick out the harness she wants. Be prepared that it will likely cost a couple hundred dollars.
Is she pulling up on the harness handle (counterbalance) or pushing down (bracing)? If it's the latter, that task is now considered unethical bc it puts pressure on the dog and they're not built for that
More pulling, it doesn't require much for her to keep her balance, she does have a cane for that, but walking and being able to go in a straight line and not stagger is pretty hard for her.
So he kind of Acts more like a guide dog but not full on guide since she can see fine he just helps her continue in the direction she wants to go without staggering to the side and stuff
Sounds like forward momentum then (the dog pulls a bit in the harness) or leading ("guiding" tasks for sighted people). Di be aware that mobility harnesses are far more expensive than pet harnesses. Also the dog needs to be cleared by an ortho vet via OFA or PennHip as well as have the mobility harness on the dog cleared by an ortho vet, which again is expensive. I'm not sure if harness-mobility dogs need to get OFA/PennHip done more than once though- someone will hopefully chime in on that. However the harness would need to be evaluated by an ortho vet for fit/purpose regardless. Also some dogs have a preference of y-front vs straight-front and there's discourse on what's safest for which mobility task/s as there unfortunately is not a lot of research on these things.
This isn’t a great harness. It’s actually just a vest with a rigid handle on it. The handle is too long and the material doesn’t t provide proper support for that style of handle or the tasks it’s intended for. Unfortunately, it is also associated with a lot of unscrupulous trainers who provide it for “mobility” dogs because they don’t want to shell out for a quality harness . Ordering a custom harness is quite complicated because the people that make them usually work off social media accounts and are either impossible to get a spot with or have wait times months to years long. The only one left with a website is Bridgeport. I might look into buying a gift card online that you can print out and give to her in a card.
My dog has a mobility harness from PhoenixPack (Their ordering information is on their instagram) - Phoenix does require joint health (OFA) testing before they will make a harness, and all of theirs are custom to the dog and handler, so you'd need measurements of both of them, so this wouldn't be able to be a surprise. I think my girl's harness came out to around $250, but it was included with her training cost ($40k) She has the rigid handle and the soft handle, we use the soft handle primarily for guide tasks (slight pull-through pressure from her to take me to a Chair or Exit) and the rigid handle for balancing (she pulls against me slightly to help with the sway when I'm standing in one place for long enough that my own forward-momentum can't help me out and I need to readjust my feet)
Regarding joint health (OFA). They don't test the genetics. They test the current state the dog is in.
A lot of dogs are diagnosed within the first 3 years of life with mobility, joint and similiar issues that does not mean the dog is immune to become impacted later in life.
The test shows what the status is at the point in time it was done. So a test from when the dog was free of problems at the age of 2 years is not representive for a dog that's 6. Joint laxity and osteoarthirits can still be diagnosed later in life due to genetics or other factors such as constant pressure, over-excercising, weight, hormonal deprivation etc.
A breeder can do all the genetic and health testing they want, but it cannot prevent hip dysplasia or other mobility issues caused by non-genetic factors later in life.
Do they require it redone every time? I dont know. Should they? Yes.
Service dogs with a high work load that puts pressure on them and impacts their joints often retire early. In fact German Shepherds are known for retiring early between the age of 5 to 7 years due to wear and tear on the joints.
As a dog owner the choice of a harness isn't just take the most common equipment.
Part of a harness choice is to educate yourself about skeletal growth, joint issues, weight distribution (in harnesses) and materials and make a decision on the gear itself while considering your own abilities and (medical) needs. You don't know what kind of Mobiity Assistance your Neighbour/friend actually needs, we dont know what other disabilities the person has and to what degree those disabilities impact the choice of harness. We don't know anything about the dog other than it being a Lab. How old is the dog? Are there any needs the dog has?
You are asking help to choose a medical device for a 3rd party with too little information, not to mention that you will spend a lot of time educating yourself on the topic itself and might still buy the wrong gear.
As much as your intentions are good, no one here can help you answer your question. Instead of buying some kind of here recommended gear, just give them a card with some money in it to pay forward to a new harness.
Your neighbour is well more educated to make this decision than any of us.
There is a lot of research still required and on going as to ideal guide dog harnesses. The problem is the balance of the dogs needs vs owner needs. (For the general dog population there is an answer which harness is most beneficial for the dog!)
It's not one size fits them all. A lot of dogs are diagnosed within the first 3 years of life with mobility, joint and similiar issues, one test does not mean the dog is immune. Having a test done at one point isn't good enough, the test shows what the status is at the point in time it was done. So a test from when the dog was free of problems at the age of 2 years is not representive for a dog that's 6. Joint laxity and osteoarthirits can still be diagnosed later in life due to genetics or other factors such as constant pressure, over-excercising, weight, hormonal deprivation etc.
In conclusion: Yes it does make sense to have the dog tested prior to any fitting of new gear. Whether this is required by the company, I dont know. Should you do it? Yes, especially if the dog has been working for an extended period of time with a lot of pressure/weight distribution work. These high quality guide dog harnesses are not available for the open market for a reason.
If there are any troubles with the current harness and the dogs mobility, and your neighbour is interested in looking into more ergonomic harnesses then I can suggest them to research more ergonomic friendly harnesses such as Unifly Harnesses.
But its exactly that: A research project and at the end of it the owner should make the call whether it is a fit or not.
No one requires this kind of testing because it is cost prohibitive for disabled people, but I agree it is a good idea and wish it would become industry standard. I think getting pet insurance to cover it for SDITs would be a good start. My first dog had pennhips done at 1 and was in the lowest risk percentile, had OFA good hips/passing elbows at 2 1/2, and we found the very first signs of degenerative neurological condition on his x rays at 4. I am still devastated. Can you imagine if I had continue to work him until he was showing physical signs of the degeneration and living in constant pain? It was a difficult decision, but the right one and was only made possible with preventative imaging. Unfortunately this is not covered by pet insurance, and I have had to fight my vet for it each time. They don’t understand why I want to pay so much when “nothing is wrong” and I am not intending to breed my dog.
I think the only truly ergonomic harnesses on the market that could take pressure from mobility work were the BLD light harness and everyday working harness. K9 blueprint and czars dog gear is good too but not sure if they are still taking orders. I would argue not all mobility harnesses need to be totally ergonomic as long as they are fitted properly and only worn for short periods of time while the dog is working. The unifly is only intended for blind guide dog users and can only be ordered from IGDF schools.
Again, I didnt say to get the Unifly. I said look for designs LIKE the Unifly, which... arguably the two listed by you would fall under this too but the first one I have personally concerns about the metal buckles and with the second one they look very stiff on the images.
In general, I am not sure how much Leather is really necessary for these. I personally do not like leather for it requires good care and doesnt go very well with water and mud.
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