K9 Julius vs Comfort Flex

J

Jubjub81

Forums Regular
Trying to decide what type of harness to get my dog for his first birthday. The harness will be used for some walks and for agility when we start trialing in January. Those who have them or have tried them how do the fit on a sheltie's long chest. Do you think that he'll change much in the next year, filling out and dropping chest, that I should wait before I get one?
I'm looking to hear pros and cons of both harnesses. Thanks in advance :smile2:
 
I can only speak for the comfort flex harness, because that's what I have and I've never tried the Julius K9. My dog uses a comfort flex for flyball, and it works really nicely. It goes across her chest and it's nicely padded, so when she gets really revved up and excited, her pulling against the harness is not a big deal. It is fairly adjustable. She wears a size Small, and she's had the harness since she was 9 months old and is now 2.5 years. The Velcro leaves a lot of room for adjustment, and then there is the clip that can also be adjusted bigger or smaller. It should be able to fit even after filling out a bit if sized properly to begin with. I don't know how to describe how it fits my dog.. as in, how much Velcro is used, but I can probably get a picture later.

Again, I can't speak of Julius K9. I thought it was a bit too bulky for flyball and I was worried about limiting movement. In flyball I see more comfort flex type harnesses than Julius K9, but that's probably because the dogs actually wear them while running.
 
Spitfire has run both and likes the comfort flex better. Though the reasons might be good for you. #1 is the K9 is hotter which is a huge factor in the south #2 it had kind of a thundershirt effect on him and he ran slower as he felt 'caught' Otherwise both are nice and I have looked at the Easy Sport Harness as the handle might be really nice for flyball.

Though the K9 does have custom labels and lights which just say Spitfire all over them as the groomers describe him as the kind of dog that needs a cape :rolleyes2:
 
Angus has a Julius K9 one, and I like it for agility, easy to take off and doesn't get tangled in his hair (which is why we went to one, he hated the slip leads catching his fur and was hating when I took his slip lead off). He has a K9 Powerharness version, size Mini-Mini. (Keep in mind I have a small boy, only 12.25" on a good day at the shoulders and 11 pounds of total sheltie!)
 
I have a Brilliant K9 harness, which is nearly identical to the K9 Julius with a few specific differences:
1 - Made in the USA by a small company in Ohio
2 - The chest strap fastens behind, rather than across, the rib cage
3 - The material on top is designed to be more breathable than the K9 Julius

I have the Small on my dogs who are 17 and 18 pounds respectively. I love that they slip on and off quickly and easily for Agility and Treibball runs.

As for whether or not buying one now is a good idea or not, it really is going to depend on your dog. Shelties may stop growing after a year but they take another 2-3 years to really fill out. There is enough adjustment is both the K9 Julius and Brilliant K9 harnesses that they shouldn't grow out of them provided it isn't already snug to start with.
 
I prefer the Comfort a Flex for pulling and restrained recall exercises. For a puppy, definitely the Comfort Flex as well. It's more comfortable, I feel better about pulling against it, and it is slightly less bulky.

If I did flyball I would use the Comfort Flex or something like it.

For agility, I prefer the Julius K9. Less likely to get caught in fur at the start line, and pretty stinking cool looking as you walk around the trial :biggrin2:
 
Harnesses

I have the Comfort Flex and like it a lot.I can't speak about the K9 Julius because I don't have one.I see a lot of people at trials use both.I think It's a fad in agility.First comfort flex then k9 Julius and what ever they come out with next.I tend to use a slip lead entering the ring.Easy on easy off.JMO
 
We use the comfort flex for running and Olive actually strides out truer than even with a collar. It hasn't seem to do any damage to her fur (admittedly, she doesn't have a full collar) and it controls any pulling well. That said, I would probably use a slip or martingale lead if we were trialling since it takes a few more second to get on and off.
 
Thank you. I'm still don't know what harness i will get, but you guys helped me get closer to a decision :smile2:
 
We recently purchased the sm/med comfort flex and love it. It was recommended by my trainer when we were taking nose work classes. I love the way it fits around her chest and doesn't get tangled in her fur. Shelby is very long and I have a hard time finding a harness that fits her properly. And this fits perfect.

She also walks very well with this harness.
 
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