Spike: Dressing up for fun

Preparing for hydrotherapy

I like to run, to swim and to splash in water.  I like to have fun and just do stuff.
Sometimes the humans make me dress up before I have fun, but I don’t mind ‘cos it is fun to dress up.  All the other huskies get stroppy when they need to dress up and the humans bring out their harnesses.  I think it is because it means that they need to go to work.  I don’t work, I just have fun.

When I go running in the water on the waterproof treadmill I wear a special harness called a “Ruffwear”.  It is red and black and really cool and has a little handle on it so that the humans can grab it when I go too fast….

This one keeps my bottom up

Running in my x-back

When I go swimming I wear a big chunky one that keeps my bottom near the surface of the water.  When I don’t wear it my legs sink down and my front legs have to work harder so I don’t drop to the bottom of the swimming pool.  It is a Ruffwear too.

When I go running I have lots of different harnesses.  My favourite one is an x-back which is a proper Husky running harness.  I run really quickly when I wear that one as it is so comfortable and feels like I am wearing nothing at all.  I used to wear this one all the time when I ran, but I can no longer wear it as my legs hurt when the humans try to put it on me.  They need to bend my legs and it hurts my elbows.  The lady human has promised to get me a specially made one that will not hurt my legs when they dress me up, but until she does that I am trying some other ones.

Howling Dog harness

The Howling Dog one is really easy to put on and is fun to run in.  I don’t run very quickly when I wear it, but I do my easy running sessions with it on.  Lady Human attaches an extending lead to it and then lets me decide which way to run and I chose the speed we run at.

Shoulder harnesses

I borrow the other huskies “shoulder” harnesses for my really fast training runs.  They are really easy to put on as the strap just fits under my belly without having to fit my legs through the webbing.  They also have a nice padded bit on my chest.

I tried an H-back harness once, but it felt funny on me so I didn’t wear it for long.

My best friends in their x-backs

All the other Huskies prefer to run in x-backs and one day I will have my very own special x-back as well.   

If you would like a harness you should speak to Emily at K9Trailtime as she is really nice and will help you choose the best harness, whether you are a human or a dog. 

This one has pockets!!

P.S. If you want to know more about human harnesses I cannot help, but speak to the lady human that I run with ‘cos she has been wearing them for nearly forever….

(All photos thanks to Ian J Berry & the Lady Human)