Ancol Viva Exercise & Travel Dog Harness Black XL 80-120cm

Ancol Viva Exercise & Travel Harness – Black, XL (80–120cm)

The XL starts at an 80cm chest girth, which is five centimetres inside where the large finishes. In that 80–85cm overlap the XL is almost always the one to take, for a simple reason: the large arrives at 85cm with its straps at full extension and nothing left, while the XL is barely a fifth of the way into a 40cm span. Any dog still growing, or carrying a heavy coat, or likely to gain condition over a winter, wants that reserve.

The case for the large in the overlap is only about bulk. A dog measuring 80cm on a shallow, greyhound-ish frame will end up with a lot of surplus webbing gathered at the buckles in the XL, and if it is fully grown and lean the large will sit flatter. Weigh tidiness against headroom and headroom usually wins.

Performance & Benefits

• Fits an 80–120cm chest girth — a 40cm adjustment span, by far the widest of the four sizes.
• Overlaps the large at 80–85cm, where it offers far more adjustment in reserve.
• Durable poly-weave webbing with soft air-mesh fabric for breathability.
• Fully adjustable at the neck and the girth for a secure and comfortable fit.
• Ancol say the design distributes pressure evenly for improved control and support — which counts for more the heavier the dog.
• Reflective band for increased visibility in low light.

Suitable For

• Dogs measuring 80–120cm around the chest, just behind the front legs.
• Great Danes, Mastiffs, Newfoundlands, large Rottweilers and heavy crossbreeds.
• Dogs measuring 80–85cm that are still growing or carry a winter coat, where the large would be at full stretch.
• Everyday walking, and car journeys used with a separate vehicle tether.
• A lean, fully grown dog measuring exactly 80cm sits flatter in the Ancol Viva Exercise & Travel Dog Harness Black L 60-85cm, with less surplus webbing to gather in.

How to Use

• Measure the deepest part of the chest, just behind the front legs, and note whether the figure lands in the 80–85cm overlap.
• If it does, choose the XL unless the dog is lean, shallow-bodied and fully grown.
• Fasten the girth strap behind the elbows, chest panel over the breastbone, then close the neck opening down.
• Adjust until two fingers slide flat under the webbing, and no more — then tidy the loose strap ends through their keepers.
• For car use, attach a separate tether such as Ancol's ISOfix Seatbelt, item 741600, to the harness. It is not supplied here.
• Ancol publish no washing instructions; rinse in cool water and air dry away from direct heat.

Specification

• Size XL, chest girth 80–120cm. Colour black. Ancol item code 182310.
• Poly-weave webbing with soft air-mesh fabric.
• One reflective band, as Ancol describe it.
• Also made in S (35–45cm), M (45–65cm) and L (60–85cm), in black, blue, lime, pink, purple and red.
• Ancol publish no webbing composition, breaking strain, harness weight, hardware metal, wash temperature or maximum dog weight for any size, so none is stated here — which is worth knowing on a giant breed.
• Some retail listings describe a padded chest section and two lead clips. Ancol publish neither, so neither is claimed here.

Care & Caution

• Ancol publish no maximum dog weight and no breaking strain for this harness. On a giant breed, do not treat the webbing or the attachment as rated for a hard lunge.
• Ancol sell this as an exercise and travel harness and list it in their travel range, but publish no crash test, no safety standard and no vehicle-restraint rating for it. Do not assume crash protection.
• Ancol describe no dedicated seatbelt loop on the harness, and no vehicle tether is included; a tether is a separate purchase.
• Ancol's own instruction for their ISOfix Seatbelt is that it must be attached to a suitable harness, never to a collar, and that it does not replace a crash-tested harness.
• Used with a seatbelt, a harness restrains the dog rather than protecting it in a collision — and the heavier the dog, the larger the forces involved. Ancol claim restraint, not protection.
• A correctly fitted harness must not allow the dog to back out of it. Recheck before every outing, and check the strap keepers are holding the surplus webbing.
• Inspect webbing, stitching and buckles regularly and replace the harness at the first sign of fraying or a distorted ring.