Fit & Safety

Last updated November 6, 2026

A walk goes better when the gear fits and has had a quick look before you head out. This page brings together how to fit the SANPO harness and collar, the checks to make before every walk, and a few plain habits for the leash, the weather, chewing and the bags. Please read it before the first walk, along with the product page and any instructions in the box. If the instructions in the box ever say something different from this page, follow the more cautious of the two and tell us.

Before every walk

• The fit: two fingers slide flat under every strap of the harness and under the collar, no more.
• The buckles: each one clicks shut, and none is cracked or chipped.
• The rings and the snap hook: the D-ring on the back and the other rings are not bent or cracked, and the snap hook closes by itself.
• The straps and the stitching: no fraying, cracks, cuts, tears or loose seams.
• The leash: clipped to the D-ring on the back of the harness, with the snap hook closed.
• The ID tag: on the collar, with your current phone number.
• The rest: bags in the holder, and water for your dog on a warm day.

If anything looks wrong, use other gear for that walk and write to us.

Fitting the harness

Measure first: around the widest part of the chest, just behind the front legs, and around the neck where a collar sits. Then pick the size on the maker’s size chart, on each harness page and on our Size guide. When the chest and the weight point to different sizes, go by the chest. Between two sizes, take the larger one. It is the same harness on all four breed pages, so the chart is the same too.

1. Open both buckles and loosen the straps.
2. Put the harness on with the D-ring on your dog’s back, between the shoulders.
3. Close the buckles until they click.
4. Tighten the neck and chest straps until two fingers slide flat under every strap, no more.
5. Check the fit: the harness must not slide over the head when you draw it gently forward, and it must not rub behind the front legs. The straps lie flat, with no twists.
6. Clip the leash to the D-ring on the back.
7. Check the fit again after the first few walks, and whenever your dog’s coat or weight changes, for example after a haircut, or when your dog wears a coat or a sweater under the harness.

Too loose, and a dog can slip out of a harness, often by pulling backward; too tight, and it can rub. If you cannot get two fingers flat under every strap once the straps are adjusted, the size is not right: see Wrong size, or write to us with your dog’s chest and neck measurements.

Fitting the collar

1. Measure around the neck where the collar sits. The neck range of each collar size is still being confirmed with the maker: until it is published, e-mail us your dog’s neck measurement and we will tell you which size to take.
2. Buckle the collar around the neck and pick the hole that leaves room for two fingers flat under the collar.
3. Tuck the loose end under the keeper.
4. Check that the collar cannot slide over your dog’s head, and that it does not press into the neck.
5. Add your dog’s ID tag.

For walks, clip the leash to the harness, not to the collar.

Checking the gear

A quick look before every walk is enough. This is what to look for:

• Buckles: they click shut and stay shut when you tug on the straps. Stop using a harness with a cracked, chipped or loose buckle.
• D-ring and rings: firmly stitched in, not bent, cracked or worn thin.
• Snap hook: its gate opens and closes by itself, without sticking, and stays closed. Stop using a leash whose hook sticks or stays open.
• Straps and webbing: no fraying, cracks, cuts, tears or chew marks. Coated webbing that cracks or peels has worn out.
• Stitching: no loose, pulled or broken threads, above all where a ring or a buckle is sewn in.
• Bag Holder: no tears in the silicone, and the cord loop is whole.

Stop using a product that is cracked, frayed or torn, even if it still seems to work, and do not pass it on to anyone else. If it happens within 30 days of delivery, it is a defect: see Defective, damaged or wrong items. After that, please write to us anyway.

Never alone in a harness or a collar

• Take the harness off at home, once the walk is over.
• Never leave your dog alone in a harness or a collar, at home, in the yard or anywhere else.
• Take the harness and the collar off before your dog goes into a crate or a playpen.
• Take them off before your dog plays with other dogs, at home or at a dog park.

Straps can catch: on crate bars, a fence, a branch, furniture, or another dog’s teeth or paw. A dog caught by a strap can panic, choke or get hurt. When your dog is home alone or in a crate without a collar, a microchip registered with your current details still identifies them: ask your veterinarian.

No tie-outs, zip lines or car seat belts

• Never tie your dog up with the leash, the harness or the collar: not to a post, a fence, a tree, a bench, a bike rack, a table leg or a door handle, not even for a moment outside a store.
• Never use them on a tie-out, a cable, a runner or a zip line.
• Never attach them to a bike, a stroller or a scooter, and never use them to run your dog beside a bike.
• Never attach them to a car seat belt or a car seat. Our harness is not a car restraint and has not been crash-tested. In a car, use a crate or a restraint that its maker sells for car travel and has tested for that use.
• Never leave your dog in a parked car, even for a few minutes, even with the windows open.

Never lift or carry by the harness or the leash

The harness is for walking on a leash. Never lift, swing or carry your dog by the harness, the D-ring, the leash or the collar, not even to help them up a step, over a puddle or into a car. To pick up your dog, put one hand under the chest, just behind the front legs, and the other under the hindquarters, and keep the body level. Long, low dogs such as Dachshunds and Corgis should stay level all the way up and all the way down.

Skin checks

• After the first walks, take the harness off and look at the skin and coat under the straps: behind the front legs, under the chest strap and around the neck. Check under the collar too.
• If you see rubbing, redness, bald patches or sore spots, loosen the straps or stop using the gear, and check the size.
• If the skin does not clear up within a few days, or looks broken or swollen, call your veterinarian.
• After a wet walk, take the harness off, dry your dog, and let the harness air dry flat, away from a heater or direct sun, before the next walk.

The leash, near roads and in your hand

• Clip the snap hook to the D-ring on the back of the harness and check that it is closed.
• Slide your hand through the loop handle and hold the strap. Never wrap the leash around your hand, wrist or fingers: if your dog lunges, a wrapped leash can injure your fingers or pull you off balance.
• Keep the leash short near roads, driveways, doors, bikes and other dogs, and when you cross a street.
• Near roads, the leash should be held by an adult who can hold your dog steady.
• Do not let the leash wind around your dog’s legs, a pole or another dog. If it tangles, stop and untangle it calmly.
• Keep your dog on the leash wherever local rules require it, and anywhere your dog could run into a road.
• Never leave a leash clipped on a dog that is alone: it can catch.

Chewing and swallowed pieces

• None of our products is a chew toy, and none is a toy at all.
• If your dog chews a harness, a leash, a collar, the Bag Holder or the bags, take it away, check it for missing pieces, and stop using it if it is damaged.
• Between walks, keep the gear out of your dog’s reach, on a hook or in a drawer.
• If your dog swallows a piece, such as part of a strap, a buckle, a ring, silicone or a bag, call your veterinarian right away, even if your dog seems fine. Do not try to make your dog vomit unless your veterinarian tells you to.
• If your dog is choking or has trouble breathing, go to the nearest emergency veterinary clinic at once.

Hot weather and hot pavement

• On hot days, walk in the cool hours, early in the morning and in the evening, and keep to the shade.
• Pavement that is too hot for the back of your hand is too hot for paws: lay your hand flat on it before you head out, and if it is too hot, walk on grass or in the shade. Hot asphalt, concrete, sand and metal can burn paw pads.
• Bring water for your dog, and take breaks in the shade.
• Small, low dogs walk close to the ground, where the heat of the pavement rises. Dogs with short noses, such as French Bulldogs, and older or heavier dogs feel the heat sooner: keep their walks shorter on warm days.
• Stop and find shade if your dog pants hard, drools a lot, slows down, stumbles or seems confused. Give your dog water, wet the coat with water that is not ice-cold, and call your veterinarian: heatstroke is an emergency.
• In cold or wet weather, small dogs get cold quickly: keep walks shorter, dry your dog when you get home, and wipe the paws after a walk on salted sidewalks.

ID tags

• Keep an ID tag on your dog’s collar for every walk, with your current phone number, and update it when you move.
• Check that the tag is firmly attached and that the ring holding it is closed.
• Many cities and counties also require a license tag: check your local rules.
• A microchip registered with your current details identifies your dog even without a collar: ask your veterinarian.

Plastic bags and suffocation

• Plastic bags can cause suffocation. Keep the Poop Bags, the rolls and any plastic wrapping away from babies and young children. They are not a toy.
• Keep the bags away from your dog too.
• Store the rolls in a dry place, away from heat and direct sun.

The Bag Holder

• The Bag Holder is not a toy. Keep it away from children and from a dog that chews.
• Hang it by its cord loop from the leash handle, a bag strap or a belt loop. Never hang it around anyone’s neck, a person’s or a dog’s: a cord around the neck can strangle.
• If it swings into your dog’s face or bothers your dog, hang it from your bag or your belt instead.
• Stop using it if the silicone tears or the cord frays.

Disposal

• Used bags: tie the bag closed and put it in a trash can. Never flush it down a toilet, and never leave it on the ground or hanging from a branch. See Plastic bags and the California rule.
• A worn-out harness, leash, collar or Bag Holder: put it in household trash, following your local rules. Do not give away gear you stopped using because it was damaged.
• Packaging: follow your local rules, and keep plastic wrapping away from babies and young children until it is gone.

Recalls and safety notices

If we ever need to recall a product or share a safety notice, we will e-mail everyone who bought it, using the e-mail address given with the order. We will also post a notice on this page and on the product page, explaining clearly what to do and how we will put it right. Product recalls in the United States are also published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission at CPSC.gov/Recalls.

Reporting a problem

If you think one of our products is unsafe, or something happened with it, stop using it and keep it out of reach. If your dog is hurt, call your veterinarian or an emergency veterinary clinic first. If a person is hurt, get medical help first, and in an emergency, call 911.

Then e-mail us at contact@sanpodog.com with “Safety” in the subject line: the product, its color and size, your order number if you have it, what happened and, if you can, photos of the product, the part that failed and the packaging. Please keep the product: we may ask to see it. We answer within 2 business days, and faster when we can. We keep a record of every report and, when the law requires it, report to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

You can also report a product safety incident directly to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov. How we handle the information in a report is explained in our Privacy Policy.