Blue-9 Balance Harness review

Chest ring, back ring, or both?

You can clip the leash at the chest, at the back, or at both. On a dog who pulls, use the chest ring, so each pull turns your dog to the side. That stops them leaning in and dragging you along, as a guide from Best Friends Animal Society explains.

The same guide says no harness stops pulling on its own, and your dog still needs leash training. A tall, narrow chest can make a harness rub in the armpits, but the Balance’s body strap moves back off that spot.

Which strap fixes which problem?

There are six places to adjust it, and each one fixes a different problem with how it sits. The body strap, the one that wraps around behind the front legs, should sit on the ribcage. Too far forward, it can rub in the armpits, and too far back, it can press on the soft belly.

The neck loop decides where the rest of the harness sits on your dog. If the body strap keeps creeping toward the armpits, let the neck loop out a little, and the whole harness moves back. Tighten the neck loop again and the whole harness moves forward. No matter which other strap you loosen, keep the body strap firm, or your dog may wriggle free. A neck loop that’s too big can also slide back onto the shoulder blades.

The chest ring should rest on the hard, bony point at the front of your dog’s chest. Set too high, it can make your dog cough when they pull. Set too low, it lets the neck loop twist around. Once the harness is on, watch how your dog walks for signs that they’re uncomfortable and the harness needs adjusting. Your dog might chew at the straps, turn to bite the harness, or flop down and refuse to walk.

How do you choose between overlapping Balance sizes?

Wrap a soft tape around your dog’s ribs, 2 inches back from the elbow. The body strap sits roughly there, and that one measurement is all you need to choose a size.

The sizes on the chart overlap a lot, so many dogs fall inside two sizes and some fall inside three. The Medium and Medium/Large overlap the most.

Strap width is the only other thing the chart lists for each size. The Small uses 5/8 inch webbing and the Medium uses 3/4 inch, about the width of a penny. The Medium/Large and the Large both use 1 inch webbing.

Pick the size where your number lands nearest the middle of the range. That leaves you room to loosen or tighten each strap later on. Our Fit Finder tool picks that size for your measurement and names the other matches too. If you still can’t decide, you can email Blue-9’s customer service with sizing questions.

Does it stay put on a dog who pulls?

Like any chest-clip harness, the Balance can slide to one side on a dog who pulls hard. If your dog pulls a lot, we’d buy a leash that clips to both rings at once to keep it steady.

The strap across the chest can look loose when your dog drops their nose to sniff. That’s normal, so set the fit while your dog stands with their head up. The whole harness is soft nylon you can wash, which is handy after a wet, muddy walk.

When would the Flagline or the Freedom suit you better?

Maybe you hike and sometimes need to lift your dog over a log or up a rocky step. Then we’d choose the Ruffwear Flagline, which has a padded lifting handle across the back. If your dog is large and leans into the leash on every walk, look at the 2 Hounds Design Freedom. Its back loop tightens a little when your dog pulls.

We have full reviews of both, the Flagline and the Freedom. If your dog’s ribcage measures over 43.5 inches, the Balance doesn’t come big enough, because its biggest size, the Large, stops at 43.5 inches.