How to Make Your Own Dog Rope Harness

Having the know-how to make harness leashes for dogs is helpful if you are ever dealing with a dog who gets loose and needs to be secured for his own safety, if you are out and about with your dog and your leash breaks, or if your dog slips out of his collar. Handy do-it-yourself solutions like this can be life-saving for your dog and sanity-saving for you.

The first thing you'll need to do is find some rope. Perhaps you already have some rope or maybe an extra leash on hand. You can buy the kind of rope you want to use. A large dog, like a Great Dane or a Saint Bernard, will require a thicker gauge of rope than a small dog, such as a Yorkie or miniature pinscher. The rope should be smooth and soft regardless of thickness. Avoid fibrous rope because it can cause skin irritation.

If you have a long length of rope on hand and/or need a temporary harness urgently, you can create a harness using one rope as long as it's about four times the length of your dog. First, fold the rope in half. Then, make a secure overhand knot or a double overhand knot near the folded end of the rope. Pull a length of rope through the hole in the knot, thereby making two loops of roughly the same size.

Line up the knot at your pooch's front shoulder. Next, loop one end of the rope around the pooch's torso and pull that length of rope through the knot. Loop the other side underneath your dog's chest area right in front of his front legs. Fold the two pieces of rope together. Voila! You've just made a harness out of one rope with no tools needed.

If you have more time, you can make this DIY dog harness rope. You'll need three lengths of rope. The first piece of rope will go around your dog's torso. The second section of rope will go around the dog's neck like a collar. A third piece of rope will be used to connect the two circles together.

To measure the torso, wrap the first length of rope around the dog's torso and create a circle or loop. Check to make sure the circle of rope is easy to slip on and off the dog. Using a knife or scissors, cut the rope at the appropriate length you need and then tie a double overhand knot.

Take the second length of rope and make a loop around the dog's neck. The rope should be snug but should not constrict the dog. The collar portion of the harness should slip on and off with ease and without causing discomfort for your pooch. Cut this section of rope at the length required and tie another double overhand knot.

Now, you're ready to put the harness rope on the dog for fitting. Take the two circular lengths of rope and place them on your canine pal. One will go around the dog's body and the other around her neck. Line up and adjust to make sure they are snug but comfortable. The harness should be tight enough so you can control the dog and keep her from slipping out of the harness but not constricted or uncomfortable. A good guideline is to be sure you can fit two fingers between the harness and the dog's body at any point on the harness.

Next, measure the distance between the two sections with another piece of rope. Once you have that measurement, tie one end of the third rope to the torso circle and the other end to the collar circle. Use double overhand knots. The rope that holds the two sections together should allow enough slack to give the dog free movement. Slack length will be dependent on the size of the dog. It's very important that the dog can sniff the ground easily without choking.

You don't even need metal clasps, carabiners, or D-rings for this DIY dog harness rope. Simply clip any leash to the length of rope that connects the two circles and away you go!