Fit & Safety

Last updated November 6, 2026

A harness, a leash and a collar are simple things, and a few plain habits keep every walk calm. This page brings together the fit and safety information for every KEEL product. If a product comes with printed instructions, read them and keep them. If they ever say something different from this page, follow the more cautious of the two and tell us.

For every KEEL product

• Read the product page, its care lines and its fit and safety panel before the first walk.
• None of our products is a toy, for a dog or for a child.
• None of our products is a car restraint, a seat belt or a handle to lift your dog.
• Never use any of our products to tie your dog up, and never leave your dog alone in a harness or a collar.
• Stop using a product that is torn, frayed, cracked, bent or loose, and tell us.
• What each product is made of, and what is still being confirmed, is on our materials page.

Fitting the harness

Start with the size. Measure the chest all the way around at its deepest point, just behind the front legs, and the neck around its base, just in front of the shoulders. The chest decides the size. Our size guide has the chart and the steps, and if your dog falls between two sizes, e-mail us both numbers and we will help you choose.

1. Open both side buckles and loosen the straps.
2. Slip the neck opening over your dog's head, or lay the harness on the floor and let your dog step in, with a front leg on each side of the chest panel. If your dog backs away from the neck opening, use the step-in way and never force it over the head.
3. Bring the sides up and click both buckles. Listen for the click, then check that each buckle is fully closed.
4. Adjust the neck strap and the chest strap with their sliders, a little at a time, on both sides.
5. Check how it sits: the padded chest panel lies flat on the breastbone, the Y-shaped front sits between the front legs, the straps run behind the front legs without cutting into the armpits, the back panel lies over the shoulders, and the D-ring sits on the back, between the shoulder blades. No strap is twisted.
6. Clip the leash to the D-ring on the back.

The two-finger check

Once the harness is on and buckled, you should be able to slide two fingers flat under every strap, and no more. If you cannot, the harness is too tight: loosen it. If you can slide in more than two fingers, or the harness turns around the body or slides toward the neck, it is too loose, and a dog can back out of a loose harness, especially when it stops short or lowers its head. Tighten it, and check again.

• Check the fit again after the first few walks, as the straps settle, and whenever your dog grows, gains or loses weight, or wears a coat under the harness. Puppies and young dogs grow fast: check them often.
• Look under the straps now and then, after a walk. If the skin looks red or sore, or the fur is rubbed thin, stop using the harness until it has healed, check the size and the fit, and ask your vet.
• The first few times, put the harness on indoors with a treat, and let your dog wear it for a few minutes before you go out. Stay calm and keep it short.
• Never lift or carry your dog by the harness or by its D-ring, and never use it to hoist your dog into a car, onto furniture or over an obstacle.

Before each walk

Make it a habit at the door, every time:

• Buckles: both side buckles click shut and stay shut when you give them a gentle tug. No crack, no chip, no missing tooth.
• Sliders: the straps have not crept longer since the last walk.
• D-ring: not bent, not worn thin, and the stitching around it is complete.
• Stitching and straps: no torn, cut, frayed or chewed edge, no loose thread where a strap is joined.
• Leash: the snap hook opens, then closes fully by itself, with no sticking. The loop handle and the ends of the strap are firmly fixed, and the strap or its coating is not cracked or split.
• Collar: the buckle pin and the holes are sound, and the keeper holds the strap end.
• Bag Holder: the base is closed and the cord loop is whole.

Once the leash is clipped on, check that the snap hook sits on the D-ring with its gate fully closed. If anything is torn, cracked, bent, loose or sticking, do not use it. Tell us, and see When to retire gear.

Leash habits

• Clip the leash to the D-ring on the back of the harness. For walks, never clip it to the collar.
• Slip your hand through the loop and hold the strap. Never wrap the leash around your fingers, your hand or your wrist: a sudden lunge can twist your fingers or throw you off balance.
• Keep the leash short near traffic, driveways, crossings, other dogs, people and bikes.
• Never tie your dog to anything with the leash, even for a moment.
• Do not let a leash trail on the ground or hang from a dog left on its own: it can catch, trip or tangle.
• Follow the leash laws of your town and of the parks you walk in.

Collar habits

• Buckle the collar so two fingers slide flat under it, and no more. Check it again as your dog grows or changes weight.
• Keep an ID tag with your phone number on it.
• For walks, clip the leash to the harness, not to the collar.
• Take the collar off whenever your dog is alone, in the crate, and during rough play, as explained below.

Never a car restraint or a seat belt

• None of our products is a car restraint, a seat belt or a travel harness. They are not made or tested for use in a vehicle.
• Never clip a harness, a collar or a leash to a seat belt, a seat, a headrest, a cargo hook or a door handle. In a sudden stop or a collision, a dog held that way can be badly hurt, or choke.
• For car trips, use a crate or a dog travel product designed and tested for that purpose, and follow its maker's instructions.
• Never let your dog ride with its head out of the window, and never let it ride loose in the bed of a pickup truck.
• Never leave your dog alone in a car. A parked car heats up fast, even on a mild day with the windows cracked, and heatstroke can follow.

Never tied up, never alone

• Never use any of our products to tie your dog to a post, a tree, a stake, a tie-out cable, a fence, furniture or a door, even for a moment outside a store. A dog tied up can tangle itself, choke or strangle, or get hurt trying to get loose, and it cannot get away from another dog or from traffic.
• Never leave your dog alone while it wears a harness or a collar, indoors or outdoors. Straps and buckles can catch on things, and nobody would be there to help your dog.
• Take the harness off once you are back home. It is made for walks, not to be worn all day or overnight.

Crate time and rough play

• Take the harness and the collar off before your dog goes into a crate. A strap, a buckle, a ring or an ID tag can catch on the bars, the door or a gap, and trap or choke your dog.
• Take them off, too, during rough play with other dogs. A jaw, a tooth or a paw can get caught under a strap or a collar, and two dogs caught together can panic and choke.
• In a fenced dog park, where dogs play off leash, a harness can catch on a fence, a branch or another dog. Stay close and watch, or take it off while your dog plays.

Chewing and swallowed parts

• None of our products is made to be chewed, and no harness, leash, collar or bag holder stands up to teeth for long.
• If your dog chews a product, take it away. Stop using any piece with tooth marks on a strap, a buckle or the stitching: a chewed strap can give way during a walk.
• Buckles, sliders, the keeper of the collar, the slide stopper of the Bag Holder cord, the cores of the bag rolls and pieces of fabric, padding, webbing, silicone or plastic can be swallowed.
• If you think your dog has swallowed a part or a piece, call your vet right away, even if your dog seems fine. Never try to make your dog vomit on your own: call your vet and do what you are told.
• Call your vet at once if your dog vomits, gags, drools a lot, stops eating, strains, or has a swollen or tender belly after chewing something.
• Between walks, keep the gear put away, out of reach of your dog and of other pets.

Hot days and hot pavement

• On warm days, walk early in the morning or late in the evening, and keep walks short and in the shade.
• Sidewalks, asphalt, sand and metal covers can get hot enough to burn paws in the sun, even when the air feels mild. Lay the back of your hand flat on the ground: if it is too hot to keep it there, it is too hot for paws. Walk on grass or in the shade instead.
• Short-legged dogs walk with their chest and belly close to the ground, close to the heat that rises from the pavement. Dogs with short noses, such as French bulldogs, and dogs with thick or dark coats feel the heat sooner.
• A padded harness covers part of the chest and the back. On hot days, take it off as soon as you are back inside.
• Metal rings, snap hooks and buckles left in the sun, or in a parked car, can get hot. Touch them before you put the gear on your dog.
• Bring water for your dog on warm days.
• If your dog pants hard, drools heavily, has a dark red tongue or gums, stumbles, seems weak or vomits in the heat, stop, move to the shade, give water, wet the fur with cool water, not ice-cold, and call your vet at once: heatstroke is an emergency.

Cold, snow and wet weather

• Small and short-coated dogs feel the cold sooner. Keep walks shorter in freezing weather.
• A coat or a sweater under the harness changes the fit. Put the coat on first, then the harness, readjust the straps, do the two-finger check, and make sure the D-ring is outside the coat. Adjust it again when the coat comes off.
• Salt and de-icers on sidewalks can irritate paws, and some are toxic if licked. Wipe your dog's paws and belly after the walk.
• On ice, keep the leash short and walk slowly.
• In freezing weather, check that the buckles still click shut and open, and that the snap hook closes fully.
• If the harness or the collar gets wet, take it off once you are home and let it dry completely at room temperature, away from a heater, a radiator and the dryer, before the next walk. Never leave a wet harness on your dog.

Walking near traffic

• Keep the leash short near roads, driveways and crossings, with your dog on the side away from the traffic.
• Cross at crossings, stop at every curb, and watch for cars backing out of driveways.
• After dark, at dusk and in fog, carry a light, choose lit streets, and keep your dog close: drivers see a low dog late.
• Check the buckles and the snap hook before you step out of the door, not on the sidewalk.
• Never let your dog off leash near a road.

The Bag Holder is not a toy

• Keep the Bag Holder out of reach of your dog's teeth, and away from other pets. Its silicone, its cord and its stopper can be chewed and swallowed.
• Hang it on the leash handle, a bag strap or a belt loop, not on your dog: a holder hanging from a harness or a collar swings, catches, and invites chewing.
• Keep the cord loop away from young children. Never let a child put it over the head or around the neck.
• Rinse it under warm water with a little mild soap and let it air dry.

Poop Bags and plastic

• Plastic bags can cause suffocation. Keep the rolls and the bags, new and used, away from children and pets. Never let a child play with a bag, and never put a bag over anyone's head.
• Use the bags only to pick up after your dog. Never use them to store or carry food.
• Turn a bag inside out over your hand, pick up, fold it back, and knot it twice. Wash your hands once you are home.
• Keep your dog from chewing the rolls or their cores.
• Store the rolls somewhere dry and out of direct sun.

Disposal

• Used Poop Bags: knot them and throw them in a trash can or a dog-waste bin. Never flush them: they block pipes and damage sewer and septic systems. Never put them in a compost bin or a yard-waste bin, never leave them on the ground, and never hang them on a fence or a branch. Pick up after your dog as your local rules require.
• Old harnesses, leashes, collars and bag holders: put them in household trash, following your local rules. Cut through a worn-out leash or collar first, so no one picks it up and uses it again.
• Packaging: follow your local rules, and keep plastic wrapping away from children and pets until it is gone.

When to retire gear

There is no fixed date: how long walking gear stays in good shape depends on how often it is used, the weather, the care it gets and the teeth it meets. Replace a harness, a leash or a collar when:

• a strap or its coating is frayed, cut, cracked, split, stiff or chewed;
• stitching is loose or missing, especially around a ring, a buckle or the loop handle;
• a buckle is cracked or chipped, or no longer clicks shut and stays shut;
• a slider no longer holds the strap length;
• a ring or the snap hook is bent, worn thin or rusted, or the gate of the snap hook sticks or does not close fully by itself;
• the collar's holes are torn or stretched;
• it no longer fits after every adjustment.

After a hard jolt, for example when your dog bolted after a squirrel, or after the gear was caught in a door, check every part before the next walk. Never repair a strap, a buckle or a ring with tape, glue or a knot: replace the product. If it happens within 30 days of delivery and the product is at fault, it is replaced or refunded: see Defective, damaged or wrong items.

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 vet first. If a person is badly hurt, call 911.

Then e-mail us at contact@keeldogs.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 and its packaging. 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).

Problems or injuries can also be reported directly to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov. How we handle the information in a report is explained in our Privacy Policy.