Buddy Belts v ChokeFree harnesses - Help please!
 

Good evening! As some of you know, I'm new to posting, and am from England. But please, Harry and I need some help!:animal36 I've read as much as I can about it, but could you please tell me, should I get Harry a Buddy Belt or a ChokeFree harness? We currently have a 'normal' Red Dingo harness, but it's a bit of a performance to put on! I actually had it on him completely the wrong way round at one point - until I looked on You Tube! How embarassing.

I'm going to have to ship it in from the US which is going to cost quite a lot, so I need to get it right! So please - any views/opinions are going to be gratefully appreciated! Thank you! x

My vote is for the buddy belt. We are farely new BB owners, only having it for a month, and I really like it. No rope burns, no chafing, and I honestly feel as though he is secure in it. My pup pulls heavily when he is frightened, which happens A LOT, and I have better control over him with the buddy belt.

I went through many harnesses looking for one that would not make Buster's ears go down when putting it on and the Buddy Belt wins! I know for some there are issues with fit but for Buster it really works. Also I really like that is is an adjustable belt style so I can adjust the size to wear over sweaters in the cold weather. So many clothes have the hole for the leash where it would be for a dog wearing a collar and not a harness. I also love the different colors. I used a waterproofing/softening leather conditioner on it and it is like butter now.

I prefer the Buddy Belt because some of the choke free ones I have seen have square or rectangle leg holes and that seems weird to me sense a dogs legs are round. The buddy belt is really strong yet soft at the same time. My mom loved Callies so much when she rescued Sammy she got him one. Dont worry about putting it on wrong, every time I pick Callie and Sammy up from the groomer they have it on the wrong way :D

I've got both, Buddy Belts and Choke-free. The BB I prefer for those with shorter haircuts, the CF for my longer coats. The BB feels a little more secure than the CF, but the CF interferes less with long coats.

I ordered the BB and returned it and now have the Choke Free however I am thinking of trying to the BB again this winter. lol.

The BB didn't fit Jackson wonderfully. He's very much in between sizes unfortunately... the 5 was too small but the 6 was too big. Then there was this little "lump" from the belt but others say it went down after some wearing down.

I like the Choke Free as it is thin and comfy, doesn't seem to bother him, but I do agree that the leg holes are a little odd since they are square shaped. But it's never seemed to bother Jax.

However I think it will be nice to have a BB so it fits over his jackets this winter... so yeah considering ordering again in the winter. I was happy with the quality of it, just didn't seem to fit right, so that was why I returned it.

I vote for the Chokefree. It was designed in Merritt Island Florida by someone who worked for Nasa's Kennedy Space Center.

The design is great!

Sugar owns 4 of them :D:D A girl needs choices, right?

The Buddy Belt is so easy to put on, I hate the way I struggle with most harnesses and the front and the back. With the BB there are two leg holes and a buckle, which is so much easier on my hands than those tiny plastic things. Plus it looks adorabable! Attachment 352397 Another advantage is you don't have to manipulate the sizing when your dog is wearing clothes, you just use another hole.

I only use the silk step in harnesses from Chattiesmom, and the Buddy Belt. The Buddy Belt is a soft leather, and some dogs need a little extra padding to keep them from rubbing, so the makers of the Buddy Belt also make a fleece liner for the harness. Buddy Belt Dog Harness Liner Accessories

You could also use the Buddy Belt over a shirt or sweater without the liner. I personally love the liner, even over their sweaters. ;)

ChokeFree is exactly the same ~ except no buckle! It ingeniously uses velcro to secure a loop/D-ring through an opening. Therefore making it IMPOSSIBLE to accidentally come undone when a leash is attached. I love it!


BTW ~ I put Sugar's harness under her clothing not over - It's very easy to attach the D ring either at the neckline (pulling it down a bit) or through a slit in the clothes if they have them. Then no worry about disturbing the "look" of her outfit ;) :D

Oh cool, these old hands can do velcro!

I struggled with the exact same dilemma a little bit ago. After reading tons of reviews I settled on the Buddy Belt and have been really pleased with it so far. We have only had them for a little while but I don't anticipate any issues. I am still interested in the Choke Free as I find the design quite interesting but admit I have wondered about the squarish leg holes. From everything I have read I'm not sure there is a wrong or poor choice between those two harnesses and there are quite a number of people who like one or the other or both.

Something to be aware of with the Buddy Belt is that there are different leathers and some are softer and more pliable than others. They will all soften up with use but some start out much softer. The other thing is sizing. According to the measurements on the chart Lu would just barely fit a size 2 in the very first hole but in reality she fits the middle hole. According to measurements and the charts, Zoe should be on the last hole of a size 4 or the first hole of a size 5 but in reality she fits in the middle hole of a size 4. Sizing depends so much on each particular dog’s body structure. Since according to the charts and the measuring tape both my dogs were in between sizes and there is no one locally who sells Buddy Belts so I couldn’t just go try them on my dogs, I spoke directly with someone at the Buddy Belt office about what they thought would work best. They were really helpful in assisting me and their educated guess worked out perfectly.

Unfortunately there is no perfect solution that will work for every dog. Some people have not had success with how the Buddy Belt fits their particular dog and I suspect there have been people who have had the same issue with the Choke Free. Some people are fortunate and their particular dog can wear pretty much anything and have it fit well.

I wish you well in your search for the perfect harness for your dog.

Attachment 352402

This is Sugar's ChokeFree harness.

Great post!

That's darling!