Okay, when should I get a pull harness and start teaching him to pull with it? He's only four month now.
We live about a mile from the Mountain Bay trail and I would love to be able to let him pull me on my bike once he gets old enough, if it's something that would interest him. I thought about rollerblading, but I can't rollerblade anymore and I'm afraid of falling and eating the ground.
Is an x-back harness best for this?
I'll probably think of more questions later haha

I'd get an X-Back, I just ordered 2 of these for mine a few weeks ago http://www.alpineoutfitters.net/secure/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=17

you're gonna wanna wait till he's over a year to start doing pulling, you don't want to hurt his muscles and growing joints.

If I order one when he's a year, will i have to order another one after he finishes filling out?
I wasn't sure if I should get him one early and start teaching him what the harness means or not

You don't really have to teach them, they catch on pretty quick My first time out with Kale on a bike and he immediately knew what to do, It was crazy lol I need to start saving up to get a good x back...

you will most likely need to new one after he fills out. start on the commands now so when he can pull you can control him. wait till a yr old to really pull. ours picked it up right away and they were 2 and 6!

jbealer wrote:

you will most likely need to new one after he fills out. start on the commands now so when he can pull you can control him. wait till a yr old to really pull. ours picked it up right away and they were 2 and 6!

yep! started out on commands during walks.

jbealer wrote:

you will most likely need to new one after he fills out. start on the commands now so when he can pull you can control him. wait till a yr old to really pull. ours picked it up right away and they were 2 and 6!

I agree with this! Also Alpine outfitter has the best X-back! I actually started when maggie was 10 months old. I know people said not too.

I really like alpine outfitters, they're really affordable! I was surprised by how cheap they are.
Now I just need to figure out what to use for the left and right commands..

i think its gee and haw

i use Left & Right because i can't remember what way is gee or haw and i have a hard enough time saying right and left and mean the correct direction, im much better at just pointing where i want to go!

Alpine Outfitters cost $19 for an x-back while Adanac Sleds cost $21. However, I'm thinking you'll get it faster from Adanac Sleds. (My experience is that Adanac ships faster, but both have good customer service - again my experience in dealing with both places).

They're both custom made to fit.

When I was looking for a harness for Storm during his weight loss, both places said an x-back harness will fit with a 10lb gain or loss from the measurements you take. So, if you order one now, it should still fit even if he fill out 10 lbs later. If you think your pup will fill out more than 10lbs, then I'd probably wait.

Gee = right (G is pronounced as in Ginger)
Haw = left
Hike = let's go
Whoa = stop

cmanding wrote:

Alpine Outfitters cost $19 for an x-back while Adanac Sleds cost $21. However, I'm thinking you'll get it faster from Adanac Sleds. (My experience is that Adanac ships faster, but both have good customer service - again my experience in dealing with both places).

what is shipping time like, in your expeience? 2wks? 1 month? 2 months?

Placed an alpine order a few weeks ago. Their turnaround time at that point was about a month. + a few days for shipping.

I dealt with the worst customer service with alpine. I ordered mine in November and they are just shipping it now. sigh. I got an old one from my mentor so its time to upgrade!

cmanding wrote:

Alpine Outfitters cost $19 for an x-back while Adanac Sleds cost $21. However, I'm thinking you'll get it faster from Adanac Sleds. (My experience is that Adanac ships faster, but both have good customer service - again my experience in dealing with both places).

They're both custom made to fit.

When I was looking for a harness for Storm during his weight loss, both places said an x-back harness will fit with a 10lb gain or loss from the measurements you take. So, if you order one now, it should still fit even if he fill out 10 lbs later. If you think your pup will fill out more than 10lbs, then I'd probably wait.

Gee = right (G is pronounced as in Ginger)
Haw = left
Hike = let's go
Whoa = stop

I still say right or left, maggie never picked up gee or haw!

I've gotten really good customer service from both Adanac and Alpine.

I got Ginger's x-back harness in about 3-4 weeks when I ordered in November at the start of their busy season. I got Storm's old harness from Adanac in 1 week when I ordered it last Summer. Storm's new harness from Alpine was recieved in 2 weeks when I ordered it early Fall.

Both places are a 'mom 'n pop' shop, so I think it'll depend on their backlog of orders.

norbreedslove wrote:

I dealt with the worst customer service with alpine. I ordered mine in November and they are just shipping it now. sigh. I got an old one from my mentor so its time to upgrade!

That happened to me about a year and a half ago. Really irritated me but they comp'd this harness for me that should be shipping soon...

arooroomom wrote:

norbreedslove wrote:

I dealt with the worst customer service with alpine. I ordered mine in November and they are just shipping it now. sigh. I got an old one from my mentor so its time to upgrade!

That happened to me about a year and a half ago. Really irritated me but they comp'd this harness for me that should be shipping soon...

Same here. The first time I ordered from them, they were a week late from when they said I would receive it and sent me a free scootering line.

Glad I am not the only one. There office is actually near where I used to live. I wish I could call my parents and ask them to pick it up and mail it. lol

He won't be a year until the end of October, and that's their busy time for orders, so I hope I won't have to wait to long :/
Although, I guess it won't really matter because there will be snow... Probably.. And I can't bike in snow haha

Yeah I ordered my harnesses from Alpine beginning of February. Still nothing, status just says paid. It's sad cause I get my bike attachment next week

A month is a long time.. :[

I have another question, how do you guys tie out while you camp with your dogs? I usually just tie the long lead around a tree and clip it to the dog's flat collar, but I've noticed people saying flat collars don't work so well with huskies. Should I get him a normal harness for this?

I would. I wouldn't want to risk him getting out of his collar.