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

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

An 80–120cm chest girth puts this at the top of Ancol's range, and on a dog that size the phrase Ancol use — distributes pressure evenly for improved control and support — stops being marketing and starts being the whole design brief. A 55kg dog that shoulders sideways at a passing cyclist puts more through a harness in a second than a terrier does in a year, and where that force lands decides whether you keep hold and whether the dog is comfortable afterwards.

Spread across the breastbone and the ribcage it is manageable. Concentrated on a collar it is not, for either of you. What Ancol do not publish is a breaking strain or a maximum dog weight for the harness, so the sensible reading is that the geometry is right for a big dog and the limits are simply unstated.

Performance & Benefits

• Fits an 80–120cm chest girth, a 40cm adjustment span.
• Ancol say the design distributes pressure evenly for improved control and support — the point of a harness on a heavy dog.
• Durable poly-weave webbing, which does not stretch under a steady load the way a soft strap would.
• Soft air-mesh fabric where the harness bears on the chest and behind the elbows.
• Fully adjustable at the neck and the girth for a secure and comfortable fit.
• Reflective band for increased visibility in low light.

Suitable For

• Dogs measuring 80–120cm around the chest, just behind the front legs.
• Heavy, strong, deep-chested breeds where a collar concentrates too much force on the throat.
• Everyday walking, and car journeys used with a separate vehicle tether.
• Handlers who want the load spread rather than the dog's head turned.
• Not a head-control or no-pull device, and Ancol publish no breaking strain — a dog you genuinely cannot hold needs a head-controlling design as well as, not instead of, a harness.

How to Use

• Measure the deepest part of the chest, just behind the front legs, and check the figure sits within 80–120cm.
• Fasten the girth strap close behind the elbows with the chest panel over the breastbone.
• Adjust until two fingers slide flat under the webbing at both points, and no more.
• Use a fixed-length lead you have inspected, not an extending line, on a dog of this weight.
• For car use, attach a separate tether such as Ancol's ISOfix Seatbelt, item 741600, to the harness. It is not included.
• Ancol publish no wash temperature; rinse in cool water and air dry away from direct heat.

Specification

• Size XL, chest girth 80–120cm. Colour blue. Ancol item code 182370.
• 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 maximum dog weight, no breaking strain, no webbing composition, no harness weight, no hardware metal and no wash temperature, so none is stated here.
• 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 breaking strain and no maximum dog weight for this harness. Treat it as a well-shaped walking harness for a large dog rather than as rated hardware.
• Ancol sell it as an exercise and travel harness and list it under travel, but publish no crash test, no safety standard and no vehicle-restraint rating. Do not assume crash protection.
• Ancol describe no dedicated seatbelt loop on the harness, and no tether is supplied. A vehicle tether is a separate purchase.
• Ancol's own instruction for their ISOfix Seatbelt is that it must be attached to a suitable harness and never to a collar, and that it does not replace a crash-tested harness.
• A harness on a seatbelt restrains a dog rather than protecting it in a collision, and the forces rise with the dog's weight. Ancol claim restraint, not protection.
• A correctly fitted harness must not allow the dog to back out of it — a strong dog that sets itself backwards will find any slack in the girth.
• Inspect webbing, stitching, buckles and the attachment before each walk, and retire the harness at the first sign of fraying or distortion.