Dogs with collapsed trachea are such poor things. If you are the owner of such a dog, my heart goes out to you as it is not easy to see your beloved pet suffering from such a disease. What we can do as pet owners is to seek treatment as well as to do our best to make their lives more comfortable. One such thing we can do is to get a good harness for dogs with collapsed trachea. These harnesses tend to exert less pressure on the chest of dogs and make it less likely for them to suffer prolong coughing when they tug at the harness.

How does harness affect collapsed trachea

Collapsed trachea, for those who might not know this, is concerning a tightening of the dog’s windpipe, leading to frequent coughs or even breathing difficulty in extreme cases. The cause of collapsed trachea is still unknown but we do know what will trigger it. One such trigger is chest and/or neck pressure. This is where a good harness comes in. A normal harness tends to exert strong pressure on the chest area when the animal tugs forwards due to the way the weight is distributed. This can and will trigger coughing if your dog has collapsed trachea.

Hence, getting the right harness can prevent your dog from coughing unnecessarily during walks. Below are two models that I think are best for dogs with collapsed trachea.

Ruffwear dog harness review

The Ruffwear harness is one of the highly reviewed options on Amazon that I think is worth looking into. As you can see from the image on the left, the hallmark of its design is the padded chest piece that can distribute the stress of a sudden tug to the shoulder areas. This reduces the stress on the chest which in turn reduces the likelihood of triggering sudden coughs.

Another plus point about the padded chest piece is that it is incredible comfortable to wear. If and when the dog tugs, it doesn’t hurt the flesh or skin of the dog. Wearing this is very easy as well as it slips effortlessly over the head of the dog.

Behind the harness sits a d ring where you can tie the leash. It is situated more along the back of the dog rather than near the throat. When you need to pull the dog back, it wouldn’t have a strangling effect on the dog, unlike other dog leases or harness that I see which are trying to choke the life of our beloved pets lol.

The Ruffwear dog harness comes in a variety of sizes and is good for small to big sized dogs like border collie.  The great thing about ordering from Amazon is that you can easily return it for a different size if your initial order is off in terms of sizing. A great way to save time and money!

The only downside about buying a front padded harness like Ruffwear is whether your dog is used to it. If it hasn’t wear any harness before, it shouldn’t be a problem. For dogs who are already used to the traditional harness, then it might need some time to adjust to this new way of wearing.

 Buddy Belt BB2 dog harness review

Another harness that is suitable for dogs with collapsed trachea is the Buddy belt BB2 model.  It is a dog harness that is recommended by a vet when I asked him about it during one of my visits for my dog’s regular checkup. Similar to the Ruffwear, its design avoid exerting pressure on the neck as well as its surrounding chest area. Instead, the pressure has been reallocated to the shoulders without rubbing too much into the legs.

Another beautiful thing about the design is that it can matched almost any dog breed as long as you got the chest diameter correct. There is even a useful chart that shows you what sizing to get based on the chest dimensions.

The strength of the leash is also nothing to sneeze at. I read from a review that a Argentine Tegu on full force was not able to snap the leash in half and that is something to be marvel at, given how strong a 16 pound Argentine Tegu can be.

Wearing it is also fairly simple. The dog just have to work in into the two circle loop as shown above and you just buckle it up. Unless your dog doesn’t want to obey your command, this should take less than 3 mins to do.

Not every product is perfect and this one is no exception. Specifically there is a metal ring that is round which can press into small dogs at the back of the neck areas. If it is a D ring like the Ruffwear version, it will not have this problem.  Despite this, it is still a good harness for dog with collapsed trachea.

Conclusion

Overall, these are the 2 harness that I think are best for dogs with collapsed trachea. There might be better options out there and I would love to hear about them.