A Review of the 4 Paws Seat Vest Harness for Your Dog

Our dog has had a harness since she was a baby. Small dogs shouldn’t be walked by the collar I was told this when we were outside a dog boutique. A customer with a small dog told us it could collapse their tracheas so we immediately bought her a harness. Some people don’t believe this to be true but I know that when we have had her on her collar and not her harness she has coughed. When I was in New York City I saw dogs with fancy looking harnesses and I wanted one. As it turned out the Four Paws Safety Seat Vest Harness isn’t fancy.

While traveling we met a woman with a dog who had this harness and she loved it. At the time I didn’t know one of its purposes was as a car seat harness. The woman with whom we spoke said that she loved it because she could pick up her dog by the harness.

Our dog’s old harness was so hard to put on. My husband was the only one who could manage to get her arms where they were supposed to be and the loop over her head. My son-in-law was physics major and he swore the harness defied the law of physics and couldn’t get it on here.

When my husband and I went into Petco we saw the Four Paws Safety Seat Vest Harness and bought it. It is obvious that this is also a traditional harness and not just for the car since it has a d-ring for a leash. I did try it as a harness. The seatbelt goes right through one of the straps and I felt that she was so much safer. Of course Hanna wasn’t very happy and would not have sat in one place for long. She sits on my husband’s lap while driving. That certainly isn’t safe but we didn’t train her as a puppy. I would recommend that you do train your dog to sit buckled in.

The outside is made of nylon with a web like texture. The inside is made of soft, fluffy fleece. I think it is much more comfortable for our dog than her old harness. We paid $15.00 for it.

You’ll find it online for $25, which is ridiculous so go to http://www.petmountain.com and you’ll find it for $12.00. It’s simple to get on.

There are two buckles on each side both of which are adjustable. We don’t have to put her arms through. We just have to put it over her head and then each side buckles under her arms.

The sizes are: X-Small for pets under 15 lbs; Small for pets 15 – 30 lbs; Medium for pets 30 – 65 lbs and Large for pets 65 – 110 lbs. The harness was all packaged up so we couldn’t try it on her in the store. She’s 8 pounds so we bought the XS. I think it’s a little big around her neck. It doesn’t look very comfortable on her. For example sometimes she goes in the back seat in the car and then jumps onto the middle of the two front seats. It looks like the harness is getting in the way of her movements so she isn’t as secure about jumping. I also think it is a bit weird when my husband picks me up by the harness. It doesn’t hurt at all and he can quickly protect her from charging large dogs so that I supposed is an advantage of this harness.

It seems that her fur doesn’t get as tangled with the Four Paws Harness. It’s great for walking but we always take it off when she is hanging around the house.