Ah the Lurcher, historically the choice of the poacher and now a beloved pet. When not arguing the finer points of difference between himself and a greyhound, the lurcher can be seen running. A lot.
But like the greyhound, the lurchers unique shape can make finding and fitting a great harness a challenge. But no more, as we shall see in this curated collection.
Our four best Lurcher harnesses reviewed
Lurcher Harnesses – What’s different?
With their longer neck and unique shape – finding a harness for a lurcher can seem a little daunting. One option people look at are wider collars. Although collars are 
a good option for dogs, they may not be suitable for all. Collars, when used without a harness, are problematic if you have a lurcher which pulls. All of the force can land on their throats – particularly if it’s a rapid jolter. This can cause throat injury to the Lurcher which can be potentially serious.
Harnesses are designed to cover the upper part of the dog. They are often wrapped under the dog allowing a more even distribution if the dog pulls. With a leash clip normally on the back – they can be used for walking without too much worry about pressure on the dogs neck. However, all harnesses are not created equal and some have considerable benefits over others.
In this special collar and harness magazine curated list – we employ the help of some UK Lurcher lovers to help us assess the best lurcher harness for your dogs temperament and size.
Ruffwear Web Master Harness
| Preview | Product | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ruffwear Web Master Harness, Medium, Red Currant | Buy on Amazon |
We’ve covered a number of Ruffwear harnesses on this site and they have quite a varied range. However, the Web Master was mentioned time and again when discussing Lurchers. Despite all the positive of this harness, what makes it ideal for lurchers is its design. It’s ideal for the Lurchers shape which makes escaping the harness (or Houdini escapes as they call it) incredibly difficult.
This is a multi-use harness with two distinct features. The handle on the top and the front clip dog harness addition synonymous with a lot of Ruffwear’s range.
What is a front range dog harness?
Well, put simply for those unfamiliar, this means that in addition to the standard back leash clip on the harness – there is an additional clip located on the front. The clip at the back, made from an anodized aluminium V-ring, is for normal walking. You clip the lead on and it’s time for walkies.
The front clip is actually a webbing loop located at the lower chest area at the front. The idea is to attach a second lead point to this clip to allow better control of the dog. A lot of dog trainers do this as it can be used to guide the dog in a direction without requiring too much force (or frustration). It is also used for training a dog not to pull. No-pull harnesses are very handy for this type of behaviour and doing it with a single clip harness can be difficult, and a collar can cause throat injury to the dog.
A Note on Front Clip Harness Leads
A note on front range dog harnesses is that they cannot be used with a standard leash/lead other than for standard walking. Trainers often use leads such as the 
HALTI which has two attachment points (double-ended lead). It can be used as a standard lead with the attachment point making a handle, or it can be split to work on the front range clip.
The handle at the top is padded and used for helping lift or guide your dog when needs be. Because of the harness design, doing this spreads the weight quite easily. We’ve seen other harnesses when straps will dig into the dog, particularly under the arms, but this harness thankfully does not suffer this issue.
The Straps
The straps on this harness have five main points (buckles) of adjustment making it easy to best fit the harness with your Lurchers shape. The underside of the straps is padded for enhanced comfort. Another bonus of this Lurcher harness is the reflective trims along it which offer high visibility when out walking your dog in the dark.
Overall this is a solid and dependable harness which seems well suited for the needs of a Lurcher.
Haqihana Multicolor Dog Harness
A very different type of harness to most out there and one that is also very popular as a Lurcher harness. These harnesses are hand made in Italy and are designed specifically for dogs such as Lurchers who do not fit standard harness sizings. Although these beautiful harnesses can be difficult to find in stores, they’re well regarded and endorsed by author and dog trainer Turid Rugaas.
Harness Design
The harness material is made from high tenacity, spun-dyed nylon securely stitched together. This material is guaranteed by the manufacturer for five years. As you can see – the dimensions of the harness are different than most and should your Lurcher pull it will spread pressure across the torso. The harness is easy to adjust and uses acetal resin buckles to give a perfect fit for your dog.
As mentioned, this can be a difficult harness to get a hold of and we were unable to secure one in time for this review – but they’re well worth considering. Just make sure to measure your Lurcher properly before ordering.
fiE FIT INTO EVERYWAY Range
We’ve included this as a more cost-effective option to the Ruffwear harness. They’re fairly common harnesses but like the Ruffwear, work well for Lurchers bodies. Another example of a front clip harness which has a D-ring on the back 
and webbing with O-ring on the chest. This is for attaching a double ended lead such as a HALTI should you require better control of your Lurcher, are training or require help to stop your dog from pulling.
The harness webbing is nylon and there are 3M Reflective material strips to help see your dog when out walking at night. The harnesses outer layer is made of a durable, scratch-resistant oxford material. There’s a lot of padding on this harness so it’s comfortable for your dog.
I want to recommend this harness more – and it’s fairly good. The biggest criticism I have in reviewing this is the adjustments and measuring. It’s just not snug enough for some breeds, and with a Lurcher, that can be a problem. We’ve not had any escapes from this harness, but I worried at points it was a possibility.
PetSafe EasySport Harness
The final lurcher harness up for review is the PetSafe EasySport. A simple and inexpensive harness for your Lurcher and one which I’d heard mentioned a few times. To begin, unlike two of the previous harnesses in this collection, this does not come with a front clip – so this is a harness for a more sensible Lurcher that doesn’t require much training and isn’t a puller. The lead attachment is at the back for normal walking. Now this is where the logic of this harness starts to fall apart. Most harnesses place the d-ring around the middle of the top of the harness. This doesn’t put too much pressure on the harness in any particular location.
Lead Attachments
For reasons unknown they’ve put the d-lock right at the back of the harness – and it’s a nightmare. This is not my first experience of this sort of harness. We once fostered a dog who arrived with one of these harnesses. It was horrible. All the pressure mounted on the back of the harness, stretching and pulling it whenever he would pull.
Beyond the poorly placed lead attachment, the design of this harness is fairly above average. It’s a good shape for a Lurcher and the adjustment straps at the back leave a larger surface area at the front which is good. There’s a lot of padding in this harness and the neckline is somewhat elastic, so it’s certainly a comfortable fit for dogs with more prominent chests and necks.
The PetSafe Easysport harness fits by two quick snap buckles at the back and four adjustable points for a better fit.
Overall
Overall we can’t fault this harness for its pricing, comfort and shape for a dog like a Lurcher. What we can fault is the poor lead attachment points. In summary, if your Lurcher is well behaved and a harness for walking is all that’s needed – this is a good option. If you need anything more or he’s a puller – best to keep looking.
That’s all for our curated reviews of the best Lurcher harnesses currently out there. As always, our findings are not exhaustive and you may have alternative suggestions. Whatever your thoughts, you can comment below, discuss on our forum or post to our Facebook page. Until next time Collar and Harness readers, we wish you happy trails!
Morning
I’m looking for a harness for my lurcher that also has the capacity for her to carry a light load, as we are off exploring the Lake District