I use a raincoat for my GSD simply because I don't want to spend 20 minutes drying his thick coat after a 2 hour walk in the rain. :) He doesn't mind it at all, so I don't!
My dog wears a collar, not a harness and there's no issue there, but you can get raincoats that have a little opening in the back where you can access the links on the harness. If not, you could get the coat and have a seamstress put a large buttonhole in the back where the links would be!
OR - like you said, you could put the harness on over top of the raincoat - I don't think it makes a difference at all.
I have a raincoat for my dog and find that it does help to keep her dry. Obviously her head and legs generally still get a bit wet, but I think it's a better alternative than having her totally drenched. I'm not all that fond of the aroma of soggy labrador permiating my office if I can help it. :) She doesn't seem to find it at all uncomfortable to walk in. She wears it under her harness, which works pretty well. The material of the coat isn't all that thick, so I find the harness doesn't need to be adjusted or anything when she wears it. My dog is quite small, but when I've bought coats for her I've generally found they have ones in much bigger sizes than she needs, so I don't think you'd have too much difficulty getting one for a larger dog. Also, the one I have folds up into something about the size of a small wallet, which is really useful as it doesn't take up much room in a backpack, so I can just carry it everywhere in case I need it.
where did you get the rain coat you use? It sounds great and my Doberman needs one. She is also small and all of the ones I've seen at pet shops and such have silly hoods or are really complicated to put on. Thanks.
I have the GDB raincoat, and though I can only speak for smaller dogs, it works great for Rita. I put it on under the harness, and there's some velcro on the neck so that you sort of fit the fuzzy piece into a fold of the other kind of material to make it really secure. Then, there's one long strap that wraps from one side, behind the front legs and up to the other side of the body. I'm probably making this sound much more complicated than it is, but it covers her from neck to tail and covers her sides and some of her belly. I have a great camping towel, super absorbant and folds into a little mesh bag, for drying her head, legs and tail. Bonus: drying such a small amount is easy, and it makes them so happy and silly! I have another friend from GDB who has opted for keeping her dog bare during the torrents because she finds the coat difficult to put on, but if you are ok dealing with a long strap and fitting some velcro together, a dry dog is a happy dog! Hope that helps, and ask questions if my wordiness made this confusing.
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My dog wears a collar, not a harness and there's no issue there, but you can get raincoats that have a little opening in the back where you can access the links on the harness. If not, you could get the coat and have a seamstress put a large buttonhole in the back where the links would be!
OR - like you said, you could put the harness on over top of the raincoat - I don't think it makes a difference at all.
Happy shopping! ;)
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Thanks.
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Mine has no silly hood (I agree) and is fastened by two velcro strips.
... Hope that helps!
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