Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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We bought Dante one at a local retailer and it fits funny and does not adjust well in the front. Looking at the Ruff Wear website - our harness looks hardly anything like the one on the website. The front part is not padded around the three point ring, the three straps that meet in the middle of the chest are made of the same material as the harness it's self, they're not adjustable straps - so they hardly adjust at all. The bottom straps around the chest and belly look completely different and aren't nearly as padded.
It looks like this http://mirror.a.....jpg which as I'm now finding out was their 07/08 version.
The one we bought fits Dante really well everywhere but in the front. The long strap from below the neck to the chest strap underneath is way too long. It fits him girth wise, and the harness it's self is not too long and looks just right - but since we can't adjust the strap in the front much, it pushes the top of the harness up around his face. The new ones look like the adjust much, much more - do they?
I'm kind of frustrated that I paid the same price for a discontinued item that I would for the new harness. Dante is very much in that lanky puppy stage, so I assume he'll likely grow into it - but I'm not sure if he'll grow into the chest before he out grows it girth wise. Unfortunately we took the tags off, so I don't think we can return the harness - but I'd like to invest in a newer version if you guys think they're better and more adjustable. If not we might have to explore other brands of harnesses if his chest doesn't grow into his body.
The only other retailer we have that sells the harness, has to order them in and it takes 6 weeks. So I don't want to get one unless I'm positive it will work better for him.
munko said:
The new ones look like the adjust much, much more ...
They do. Did you see our Webmaster harness review and FAQs? From the photo, it looks like you did purchase an original Webmaster, we actually offer the third generation harness which is indeed much more adjustable. The new harness has five adjustment points – the chest and belly straps can both be lengthened, and the three point martingale straps are also adjustable.
You will also note in our FAQs, however, that the harness will tend to shift around the torso of front leg amputees since the second leg is not present to keep it from doing so. This is purely aesthetic and can easily be adjusted though.
Talk to your retailer about the return. They probably just don't want you to return the discontinued item, but then they shouldn't have sold it to you, at least not for full price. Ruff Wear will accept returns if tags are removed, but may just charge a restocking/cleaning fee. Though with a discontinued item,we can't be sure.
Were you aware of the harness selection in the Tripawds Gear Shop? Did you know all purchases help us maintain this community? 
The only issue we have with Ruff Wear is that they will not drop ship internationall for us. For those living in Canada or outside the US, we provide links for other global online retailers.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
If I purchase through the global online retailers linked on the site, does it still support this site? We're in Canada - If I do indeed have to order a new one, I'll definitely order online if it does help the site. We don't pay the shipping through our other retailer - just the price of the harness, so if it doesn't support the site - we'll go that route. But I'll definitely pay shipping fees if it means helping out tripawds!
I am going to contact the retailer and Ruff Wear today to see if anything can be done. I feel a little deceived that I wasn't told it was discontinued. We hadn't actually planned to buy one the day we went out looking, I just wanted to know if we had one available or would have to order it - but we found one and hubby wanted to buy it. I should've done more research first - I would've noticed how different it was!
munko said:
If I purchase through the global online retailers linked on the site, does it still support this site?
Orders placed through the international order links we provide should indeed send a few cents our way. But we'd much rather you be comfortable with your purchase, have the ability to try on the harness, and not have to deal with costly return shipping if necessary. Have you checked the Ruff Wear store finder to see if there is another retailer near you?
There are plenty of other ways to support this community, including direct contributions.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We have two retailers in our city. The one we purchased from - which only had the discontinued item, and another which only carries the boots, coats and life jackets. We can get the harnesses from them as well, but they take about 6 weeks to come in once they order them. I think it might be quicker to order on-line. It would be nice to try on the harness though, since Dante is a growing puppy. 6 weeks might make a size difference if he's in between sizes!
Thank you for all your help.
Well this is just becoming entirely more frustrating. Ruff Wear won't take the harness back - and told me to try to return it to the retailer, even after I had said the retailer won't take it back at this point.
I then went online to order - and the only website I found that had the size option for small, said they were currently not ordering from the manufacturer. Guess I'll have to get to searching and hopefully find somewhere I can order it. I just don't want to wait 6 weeks - summer will nearly be over in 6 weeks and we'll need it most for outings this summer!
Ohh well, I guess we can always keep the old one as a back up - or put it on Mina and make her haul Dante around in a wagon until we get his new harness, LOL.
Well, that harness should function fine until you get the new one. Let us know where you find it and we'll add it to our international order links. Then you can always consider posting it in The Angel Exchange forum for someone else in need. Sorry for the hassles.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
No, no worries! No ones fault but my own – I should've done my research more and looked a little harder at what I was purchasing. I was so excited that I'd actually found one without needing to order it that I just bought it. Impulse buying never works out well – lesson learned 🙂
I will likely put both the old and new harness in the angel exchange. Dante will be a size medium once he's full grown I'm pretty sure – he's also the type of dog you want to have a back up of everything for, LOL.
The current harness will kind of work, for now. But it really annoys and aggravates him – I found if I extend the long strap out all the way, I can put the belly band strap through it, instead of the chest strap and it fits snug. It'll work for now – he's oddly shaped – really deep round ribs for the length of his body, too. So it might just be him right now.
I'll keep looking and let you know what websites I find. Thanks for all the help. 
Edit: Found a site that ships to Canada and shipping prices are reasonable.
Love his new avatar!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
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