I have 4 Greyhounds, and of those 4, I wear harnesses on 3 of them when we walk, go on trips or almost anyplace that isn't at home. Jazzy alwyas has a harness on now and doesn't wear a coallar at all due to having some throat isues. Kylie, my little spook, wears a harness when we leave the house and Daktoa is ususally in a harness also due to his fears and reactions to big *huge evil* trucks. Aimee, who is a cell dog and trained with a martingale, does better without a harness. My problem is my greyhound fleece coats. I have lightweight fleece and double fleece and they don't have, but do need, a *hole* for the harness connection ring. I have been wondering if I am going to ruin Jazzy's, Kylie's and Dakota's coats if I *slice* them so that I can wear the coats and walk them with their harnesses on. None of them got walked at all in the snow due to this. Any thoughts? Oh yeah, you should probably know that I do NOT use those pointy things that you put thread in and *sew* with.
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Aimee Kylie Jazz & Dakota
Taz(all white Kitty)
Sadie, Luke, Kianna & Jessie at the Bridge
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Harnesses and coats
Replies (12)
yes, Gwen, you can take out the top seam where you can hook up a harness but, and a big one, you will have to use one of those pointy things that you put thread into. Just to finish the edges and at the seam. 
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Harry and the kids
Nancy's daughter, Pansy,
Katie, Bea, & Ghost with Lexie, the foster
Lola @ the bridge
Nancy @ the bridge
Vinka @ the bridge
Max @ the bridge
Dart @ the bridge
Harry,
The harnesses that I use (Wiggles, Wags, Whiskers for Ky and Kota and the premier harness on Jazzy) have the ring on the harness farther back than the seam on the coats, and there are no seams down the middle except on one of Dakota's. I went and checked. I guess I am just going to have to get an old coat and cut a hole and see if it unravels badly, or at all. Oh yeah.. how do you get that thread to jump through that skinny hole in that pointy thing??? 
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Aimee Kylie Jazz & Dakota
Taz(all white Kitty)
Sadie, Luke, Kianna & Jessie at the Bridge
how do you get that thread to jump through that skinny hole in that pointy thing???
Very, very carefully.
My first thought was to put a large button hole in the top of the coat; that way you'd have a reinforced slit large enought for the ring. After the above question I suggest a good shoe repair shop or a clothing alteration shop if you have one in town. Either might be able to fix the coats so that there's a space for the ring.
Harry also suggests putting the harness on over the coat if possible (I'm thinking that might be an awful lot of work)
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Janie
Mom to Katie, Pansy, Ghost and Bea
Waiting at the Bridge:
Lola, Nancy, Vinka, Max and Dart-Greyhounds
Dragon-Cockapoo; Judge Dee-Chow Chow
Ginger Elvira Katt-Maine Coon cat
Harry also suggests putting the harness on over the coat if possible (I'm thinking that might be an awful lot of work)
Ok, yes, it might be an awful lot of work, but in the case of someone who owns a whole lot of $20.00 coats and doesn't sew, it might just be more reasonable than trying to find someone to do *alterations*. The lady that could have done it for me just recently moved to Florida. Suppose I could ship... noooo.. probalby not... I am going to have to do some serious thinking on this one. You and Harry have seen Dakota when he encounters a huge truck, so you know why he is in a harness. Kylie freaks / spooks and I am afraid that she will back out of her collar. She has one teeny skinny head. Jazzy, well, Jazzy is doing some serious coughing / gagging at times and I refuse to put a collar on him anymore. He only wears a harness at home for tags. After the Chico episode, I will NOT allow mine to be without tags. When Chico got home my first purchase was a new Boomerang tag for him. Anyway ... no walkies guys... not until we (no, NOT we, you.. the dogs.. just the dogs) can go naked. Dad says spring in 27 days.
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Aimee Kylie Jazz & Dakota
Taz(all white Kitty)
Sadie, Luke, Kianna & Jessie at the Bridge
I have a guy locally who owns a shoe repair shop, but he also works on all my nylon webbing stuff as well as my horse tack. (And he is so CHEAP!!) See what you can find in your phone book (or on the internet) under that type of service. It's not like the fleece will run or rip, but it would look nicer if the edges were finished.
And I'm with you. If I take the greys anywhere, they wear a harness.
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Jen
Daffy - the best dog in the world
Lilly & Shadow - greys
Velvet, Ruby, Abby & Jet - horses
Teddy - Donkey
Sally and Honey - the bunnies
Kirby - the hamster
The Birds
The Fish
Always in my heart:
Lexi (Cookie's Choice) 7/7/1995 - 3/14/2003
Dynamo (Cedric Dynamo) 5/28/1994 - 2/9/2006
Jen,
We used to have one of those shoe / purse / leather coat / almost anything repair shops here in town. In fact, he was quite busy, but then people stopped getting things fixed and he closed up about 15 years ago. If the unemployment and the economy around here doesn't do a turn around, people are going to wish for him to be in business again. Until I figure something out, I might just cut a hole in one of each of the three *kids* coats and hope for the best. I can pretty much guarantee that if I do this we will have spring immediately instead of in 27 days. 
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Aimee Kylie Jazz & Dakota
Taz(all white Kitty)
Sadie, Luke, Kianna & Jessie at the Bridge
Well, then I think you should get your scissors out tonight! We just got blasted today with another 8 inches of snow, bringing our winter season total to 110 inches so far. 
Ugh.
My greys hate their coats, so I don't even bother. Even when it's single digits outside, they couldn't care less.
Together now, everybody chant: SPRING, SPRING, SPRING!!! I think I'm getting a little goofy, I've been inside waaaaaaay to much.
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Jen
Daffy - the best dog in the world
Lilly & Shadow - greys
Velvet, Ruby, Abby & Jet - horses
Teddy - Donkey
Sally and Honey - the bunnies
Kirby - the hamster
The Birds
The Fish
Always in my heart:
Lexi (Cookie's Choice) 7/7/1995 - 3/14/2003
Dynamo (Cedric Dynamo) 5/28/1994 - 2/9/2006
Gwen, get some self adhereing seam tape and iron it onton the coats in the spot where you want to have the hole...then slice the spot in the middle of the tape. you can then put another layer of iron on tape around the slice. Or....wait till Dewey and I will fix them for you.
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GRamaRoo
Jetta Sue Roo, S'shadow Nash Roo
The Missing Pieces of My Heart at the Bridge:
Snoopy Doo, Velvet Blue,Bandit, TiggerRoo, Misty Too, Misty Blue,and Nickolas Klaws,Tigger-Roo, Amy Lou, Misty Too, Misty Blue (6 Mos),Sir Everett
>>Gwen, get some self adhereing seam tape and iron it onton the coats in the spot where you want to have the hole...then slice the spot in the middle of the tape. you can then put another layer of iron on tape around the slice. Or....wait till Dewey and I will fix them for you.
Helen,that's a marvelous suggestion! So much easier than "buttonholes" or putting harnesses on over coats and Gwen doesn't have to make the thread jump through the holes in the sharp, pointy things.
Gwen, do not tell me neither you nor Butch can use an iron!!!! Maybe, like me, you don't choose to use one often...but Butch was in the Navy way back when like Harry and someone had to know how to iron his uniforms.
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Janie
Mom to Katie, Pansy, Ghost and Bea
Waiting at the Bridge:
Lola, Nancy, Vinka, Max and Dart-Greyhounds
Dragon-Cockapoo; Judge Dee-Chow Chow
Ginger Elvira Katt-Maine Coon cat
When I got a harness for Ragsy everyone suggested putting it on over her coat but I never actually needed to do so. I would try that first though before 'damaging' expensive coats. It might be pretty easy to do I would think once the initial adjustment is made and certainly worth a try before any other more complicated things.
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Sue, Tru and Sonny
from England
Sue,
Isn't it amazing how the most simple things just seem to elude us? Of course, I might have thought of it for someone else. And since I have to put the harness on anyway to take them out, it doens't seem like it would be that hard.. I don't leave Kylie's harness on in the house since she tries to eat it. I am going to give the *over the coat* thing a try before I ruin any of their coats. A girl after my own heart.
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Aimee Kylie Jazz & Dakota
Taz(all white Kitty)
Sadie, Luke, Kianna & Jessie at the Bridge
Good luck and please do let us all know if it works like that and how easy or otherwise it is in case any of us are in the same position in times to come.
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Sue, Tru and Sonny
from England
