First and foremost, start with the weight of your dog to determine the right size harness. The Help ‘Em Up Harness is a full body lifting device, so we go by the weight of the dog to determine the size of the harness.

The measurements we list per harness size are guidelines. There is some extra strap there if your dog is 1-2” over the measurement we list for the chest, waist and neck – so if you base it by the weight of your dog and it falls within the measurements, you would order that size. The harness is fully adjustable, so it can be adjusted (up or down) based on your dogs’ dimensions.

In between sizes:

If your dog is in-between two different harness sizes based on its weight, this is where you would want to look at its measurements.
Note: If a dog is on the cusp of two different sizes, we recommend sizing down in harness size (For Ex: a 78 lbs. Lab could likely wear a medium and a 115 lb. Husky could likely wear a large — but you would want to double check measurements).

Ready/Set/Measure:

Get a fabric measuring tape: If you would like to measure your dog, get a fabric measuring tape.The tape should be snug to get an accurate measurement.

Here’s where you would start:

1

The Girth

This is the deepest part of your dogs’ chest (measure all the way around its rib cage).

2

It’s Waist

This measurement is all the way around your dogs’ hips, specifically right in front of its hind legs.

3

Neck

Although the girth and waist are the most important measurements, the neck measurement is also helpful.

Mix & Match:

As dogs age, they may atrophy in their hind quarters and wear a larger front shoulder harness but require a smaller rear hip-lift harness. This is what we call a “Mix & Match.” This is also where you may want to look at measurements. Note that all sized Help ‘Em Up Harnesses are able to be combined – we can mix all sizes.

In addition, we find that certain type of breeds (such as Grey Hounds or Dobermans) with deep chests and smaller waists, frequently wear a Mix & Match sized harness (larger front/smaller hip-lift).

Please call with questions. If your harness is too big for your pup or you think you need to exchange a rear hip-lift harness for a smaller size, that is not a problem as we have a 7-day exchange policy.