Ruffwear Guide Dog Unifly Harness Review 

Haha yes! But overall it's a well-designed guide harness for sure! And I love that it identifies a Fidelco dog.

Yes this is definitely my go-to harness for guiding! And, I own ALL the ruffwear things lol! Big fan of their thoughtful designs!

Hey ElvenQueen - update: I still love the harness and it's my go-to everyday harness for all the dogs I work. Great piece of equipment, and a bonus for me is that it stores flat so I don't have a ton of leather harnesses hanging around my work van.

You may benefit from an offset handle! Prior to this design, we've been using offset guiding handles for many years - so might be worth checking that out if you need to put some distance between you and your dog :)

@@DoggyU the only issue with offset handles that i've found is that the feedback makes it easier to make mistakes..... i've tried the regular, offset, and pretty much every handle out there, but all of them either cause pain or mess with the feedback between my working dog and myself. this handle just from LOOKING at it would actually solve a LOT of the issues that i personally have and that some of the SD/guide task trained SD's that some of the ppl i know have as well, ESPECIALLY with the EDS situation.

@@DoggyU this handle really is groundbreaking for guide dog handlers. like...... just THINKING about how much better this would make things? i'm not gonna lie..... it makes me tear up bc it would be so life changing. i tried asking them about possibly getting one due to my situation but bc i'm not a program training guide dogs? they said no.......

@@DoggyU like seriously, not only do i trip on her feet? but the angle that the handles have to be held at? dislocates my thumbs and wrists fairly often....... it's frustrating to know there's a solution out there but it's not available to those who need it.

Here's a synopsis of one study that might be helpful! www.caninesports.com/uploads/1/5/3/1/15319800/harnesses_for_agility_dogs.pdf

Hey Penny - I've been using this for a couple months now and still love it as my go-to harness, especially with the miles I cover in a day. There are some flaws but I've been choosing it over the leather harness for daily work.

I’ve just started jogging with my dog and definitely need a longer handle when doing this. Currently changing in and out two handles but it means I’m stuck with a longer handle length for walking home after a run. If you carried the tool is adjusting the length something that could be done by someone who is blind / low vision? Like could you tactically mark the length on the handle?

Hi Wendy! So, because I'm not a physio expert, you won't likely see me doing a review on head halters. Generally, I would think about what I'm using them for. If I'm using a head halter it's generally to be able to gently guide the dog's head away if I need to in an emergency (ie. trying to pick up a bone off the ground or something), more like a fail-safe. Because that's my goal, the side pull or back pull head halters wouldn't fit my need, since I don't rely on them for loose leash walking skills. Hope that make's sense!

@@DoggyU Thank you, it does! My ultimate goal is to use the head halter as a training tool more than a permanent solution. Tho with his dog-reactive history in mind, I tend to use a halter on Trip when short-leash walking around other dogs (am fully admitting now the crux of my concerns!), and can’t say I’ll ever abandon it entirely. For our class, after two nights with no issues, I switched his leash to his flat collar and tied a leather shoestring to his head halter instead, looping the loose end thru his flat collar for quick access. Happily, that worked well. Guide Dogs of CA’s website has a large-group pic showing all the puppy raisers using the figure-8, right side-attachment head halter. But I didn’t find any photos there of halters on fully trained dogs. It is interesting to see how equipment changes over time, along with revolutionary change in training methods. Thanks so much for your very thoughtful reply, Laura! I really appreciate it!

Hey Annie - I am not sure - I think it is only available to programs at this time. But definitely call them to check :)

@@DoggyU Thank you!

I asked as our schools in Australia are dragging the chain and we can self fund equipment here... but only program dogs.

Hi Petrisha! I don't think I would recommend this for forward momentum pull. It's not really designed for that, and I think a more traditional harness would work better for more significant weight on the harness. I'm not sure how this would hold up for that use.

Hi Khanh! I haven't met a light pulling shepherd so I can't really speak to that lol! That being said, I use it every day and it has been my favorite harness since I started using it. More importantly, the dogs seem to prefer it. I believe this is due to the less-restrictive structure of the harness. Dogs that have been a bit harness sensitive will willingly use this harness. I think you do give up a little side to side "feel" but overall that difference feels very minor, at least for me and my training. I really do love the harness. As a person who also has to change harness handle length frequently for different size dogs, the easy handle length switching is invaluable, which I realize is not a feature many handlers need.

@@DoggyU Hi Laura: Thanks for all of your responses. Hey, I have an idea! How about if you clone yourself so you can work at both Fidelco and The Seeing Eye? You just need to make sure that clone Laura isn't mischievous because that would be bad... you might get blamed for stuff you didn't actually do. Hee hee. Anyhoo, if you worked at The Eye, you'd meet some light pulling Shepherds--not a lot. My fourth dog, a 23-inch fifty lbs female Shepherd barely pulled. I'd sustained an injury and I wasn't traveling a lot, so I needed a less driven dog. Zitta's work attitude was: "Ho-hum. Yeah yeah, I'm doing it, I'm doing it! I'm just working at my own pace. What's the big hurry?" She was always very responsible but unlike any of my other dogs, she didn't have that intensity about her work; out of the corner of her eye, she'd check out a bird or air sniff. But she always came through for me. If she were to narrate her work, it'd be like: "Okay, going forward... Hi birdie, how's it going? ... Watch that thing there, move right... Hey those flowers smell interesting. Hi dog, I'm Zitta; can't say hi, though. Working... Ho-hum. Here's a curb. Hang onto your horses. I'm doing my job, aren't I?" I learned a lot about making compromises and that for a dog like her, less management got more. Anyway, her pull was pretty light; then again, I guess that's subjective because I typically like a harder pulling dog. But my instructor rated Z's pull as very light, not quite "floating". Oh, I also loved that you referred to your dad's dog as a pocket rocket. Those little dogs can kick ass and take names. I now like a taller dog because when I worked a little one--my first was a black Lab who pulled like a train--I felt like my center of gravity was off. I'd say "forward" and BOOOOM! Fillster was off like a shot. HughRoughen is 27 inches tall; we're a bit overmatched in the pull department, but I used the clicker to teach him to decrease about two notches. Thanks for making such great content. I'm a handler who really loves the finer aspects of dog training, so I'm always interested in learning from and sharing with other dog trainers. Especially any trainer who trains GSDs. I'd work another Retriever, but I'm a fan of a well-bred and dignified Shepherd who gets offended and takes things personally. ::LOL::

@@khanhhm5762 this was very funny! I know more than one female GSD guide who can window shop and work at the same time ;)

Hi! They do make different sizes. We had both the Medium and the Large in this video. The GSD in the video is about 65 lbs and the medium was too small. So a medium would fit a smaller poodle, while the large would fit a larger one. Hope that helps!

I don't believe Ruffwear does any leather products so it's unlikely to come from this company. Great gear though!

Hey River! I do love the ruffwear products, and they even have a discount program for service dogs. Generally, for clients looking to use their harness for service work I recommend this harness: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TfZ2oCmZv8M.html For general daily use I also like the webmaster for hiking and front range for every day walks. My favorite low profile backpack for hiking is the singeltrack pack. If you can't tell, I have a little bit of a ruffwear obsession ... :)

Unfortunately, this harness is only available through schools that use them. You can reach out to your school and see if they would partner with Ruffwear to get one for you.

@@DoggyU that’s frustrating. I wish more places sold to individual handlers because that would make it easier for owner trainers as well

Hey Cindy - I think you'd have a hard time guiding her from behind. It may make more sense to have a stiffer lead attached to her harness to help her out? How recently did she go blind? Most dogs adapt fairly well if you use voice cues and they have something like a Halo to make sure they don't bump into stuff, don't move furniture around, and use auditory cues of locations throughout the house such as noise machines, or tiny water features. Hope that helps!

@@DoggyU Thank you.

Cindy, we've had a couple of older dogs in the family go blind, and what we do for them is to attach 2 zip ties to the dog's regular flat collar, one on each side of the dog's face, lower toward the cheeks rather than up by the ears, and snip the length so that there's anywhere from a half inch to an inch of zip tie sticking out past the end of the dog's nose, depending on the dog's size and how much warning they need before they bump into something...you can always start a little longer and snip off excess length if the dog doesn't need it. This works like a pair of stiff whiskers or "white canes" for a blind dog, so that when they are about to walk into something, the zip tie hits the obstacle first, the dog can feel the pressure on the collar, and knows to stop and investigate carefully. You may have to tighten the collar a bit to keep them in place if you are used to keeping the dog's collar very loose, but it only needs to not twist around, so the dog is still comfortable and can drink and eat normally. We've had dogs that were completely terrified of going outside start to run and play again once they figured it out, which doesn't take long at all. Might be worth a try if you haven't found a good solution for your blind dog yet.

Hi Camryn - regular consumers cannot purchase this harness. If you have a guide dog, you can ask your school if they will work with Ruffwear to get you the harness.