Precious Kurgo. . . #chewyinfluencer

Mommy calls me her "Most Precious" . . . dog . . . kid. . . thing. . . I don't know what follows. She just says that much; kinda like "Come here my Most Precious." She is weird like that. She says her number one job it to keep me and Mommy #1 safe, well fed, and happy. It is a BIG job.

She says SAFE is the hardest of all three. And that is where this story begins.

Molly and I both have JULY
birthdays so we celebrate
LARGE

Since July was my BIRTHDAY month, Mommy let me choose what I wanted from the Chewy.com newsletter. As I have previously stated, I chose TREATS. Mommy reserved VETO rights, though and said she wanted me to put a little more thought into my choice and she ELIMINATED treats from the list. Well, that didn't leave a lot to choose from but a couple kinds of FOOD and a harness. Well, my harness is as OLD as I am AND SO THIS is how I came to try and review the Kurgo Tru Fit Smart Harness for walking and auto.

At first Mommy ordered the wrong size. She thought the SMALL was up-to 16 pounds and I am somewhere between 15-17 pounds, depending on how many peaches I have eaten (Hint: a lot lately). So she ordered the medium because she KNEW at my last vet visit I was 17 pounds. In two days time,  the harness arrived. It was BIG and heavy and Mommy was so unsure about it. But there are 5 points of adjustment on this harness so she figured once it was adjusted all would be well. So she set about tightening everything possible.

Padded chest plate adds to the comfort. It also
has a D-ring in front to attach the leash and
provide no-pull walkability

Still the MEDIUM but you can tell how
nice looking the harness is

See the various buckles? That is how you
customize the fit

Once she put the harness on me GUESS WHAT? It was still too big! You may not be able to tell here, but Mommy can put her whole hand under the straps and that means Noodles "Houdini" the Pug could easily escape this harness. At this point, Mommy did the UNTHINKABLE . . . she read the box and found this -

If you BIGIFY the chart you will see the MEDIUM size is for dogs OVER 25 pounds. No wonder the Kurgo Tru Fit Smart Harness did not fit! It was WAY WAY WAY too big. So Mommy contacted Ms Natalie at Chewy.com and told her the tale of woe. . . or WHOA as I like to call it. Ms. Natalie immediately sent out the new SMALL harness and it arrived 2 days later.

It was much much smaller than the first so THIS time Mommy loosened all of the adjustment points as the box suggested. She then slipped it over my head and set about making the harness fit perfectly. As you can see, it really is a good fit. Mommy can only slide her fingers under the straps and best of all - I cannot slip out of the harness. Unlike all of the other car harnesses Mommy has tried and TAKEN BACK, this one can be adjusted at the neck. And as we all know, pugs have mediumISH size necks and chests on otherwise small bodies. It is not at all TIGHT. It fits snugly enough to prevent me from sliding my head out. Once I can do this, it is ALL OVER. I can wiggle out of anything once my head (Big head as Mommy says) is free. 

There is no point where this harness is unwieldy or uncomfortable and I honestly like to wear it.

This is the harness in action. It is slid onto the seat belt which
is then closed. The carabiner clips onto the ring at the top of
the harness

The question is - does it work? Short of getting in a crash to check out the "Crash Tested" part of the marketing claims, I would say yes, it does. I am safely buckled on the seat and I have enough mobility to lay down or look out of the window. I cannot jump down to the car floor which I have done before - almost hanging myself in the process. That was NOT a fun time.  If Mommy has to stop quickly, I also don't fly off the seat to the floor. I am so comfortable that I have stopped fussing at Mommy whenever we get in the car and go bye-bye. I used to. I used to whine my displeasure at not seeing out. . . at the movement. . . at pretty much the whole adventure until I got used to it (generally 10-15 minutes in). Now I DO NOT FUSS at all and Mommy says it MUST be the harness.

And walking while wearing the harness is a dream. I don't pull like some dogs (Molly) so I have no need for the front leash attachment. Mommy tried it and I was very confused. So she switched it back to the top ring and I was fine. I do my happy trot when I am wearing it because I love it so much.

While the harness is a little higher priced than many other harnesses out there, it is by far one of the best and most versatile harnesses as well. It has TWO functions - Auto Harness and Walking Harness - and it does both jobs equally well. So I am thinking it is CHEAPER than buying two harnesses to do the same job.

I have to say - I give the Kurgo Tru Fit Smart harness INFINITY PAWS UP because it is the best harness I have ever had. It is SMART looking, SMART fitting, and SMART safety-ing. I cannot think of a downside at all and I have tried. And tried. AND TRIED.

**I was given the above product by Chewy.com for the sole purpose of testing it out and offering an honest opinion of it. I have never been paid by Chewy.com nor the product-company and all opinions expressed in my blog belong to me.

Let's CHEW-y On This for A Minute. . .

This box is MINE

You all know I am a HUGE Chewy.com fan. This was true before I became an influencer and continues the MORE I work with them. The variety of items they sell is staggering. The prices are competitive and in some cases less than BIG BOX stores even with the added shipping costs. The convenience of having your products arrive at your door is hard to quantify BUT think of how many more cuddles you get when your human does NOT have to run to the pet store for food! Yes, I am a fan and I am SPOILED by Chewy.com.

As a Chewy Influencer, I get to choose from a monthly list of items to review. It is great because I get to try new foods, treats, and toys and all I have to do is write a review! It is truly a win win for me. So when this month's newsletter arrived I was all prepared to pick out a treat because, I hate to say this, we are running low on TREATS.

Nothing against my Mommy #2, but she does overreact a bit. When it was revealed at the Dogter's office that I had PUT BACK ON a couple of pounds, she tossed away all of the old treats and put me on a NO TREAT diet. Yeah, it worked but now I have a shortage of treats for when I am really really deserving.

But I digress.

The last newsletter was FILLED with all kinds of tasty, I assume, treats for Dogs, Cats and even LIZARDS. But my eyes filled with tears of JOY just looking at them and I could not decide what I wanted. Mommy volunteered to help and SHE noticed there was a special HARNESS available to test. There was a limited number to test so no promises. My current harness is as old as I am so I really needed a new one. But There's MORE! This harness is also a seatbelt for the car. Yes, you heard me right. It will, theoretically, keep me safer in the car than even my crate. Mommy and I had tried these so-called seatbelts in the past and took them ALL back. You see, I am a master at wiggling out of them. That's right - to accommodate my NECK they were all too loose for my HEAD and CHEST.

The Kurgo Tru-Fit Smart Harness is different in that it adjusts in 5 spots for a better fit! And it crash-tested up to 75 pounds and 30mph!!! That's a pretty good recommendation. So to make this long story short, we chose to review the harness.

The package arrived in TWO DAYS only and boy was I excited! I tried it on RIGHT AWAY. Ummmm, that's a fib, actually. I was at LAKE TAHOE when it arrived. But as soon as I got home, I tried it on.

I like the chest pad and the fact I pretty much
step into the harness

It is a very sharp looking and HEAVY duty harness. It took a while to make the adjustments and Mommy ended up adjusting down ALL of the spots. She had ordered a medium because the lowest weight was 16 pounds and I was closer to 17 pounds when we went to the VET.

The top loop is where you hook the  seatbelt

Remember back to the story above about DIET and NO TREATS? Well, apparently it worked because the harness was TOO BIG. I could totally wiggle out of it and THAT was exactly what Mommy did NOT want. The guideline is TWO fingers under the harness all around. But Mommy could put her whole hand.

You can't see it but this is quite loose. Overall
the look is sharp

So Mommy contacted Ms. Natalie at Chewy.com and told her the problem. We understood there was a limited number and were quite bummed that we might not be able to review the harness. We picked an alternative TREAT just in case. Well - we needn't have worried at all! Ms. Natalie said she wanted us to be able to review the harness and she would send one right away. I asked her about the one that didn't fit and she said to donate it to the shelter or gift it to a FURiend in need. 

If you remember Lulu who stayed with us in April, well she is just a little bigger than me and she does not have a seat belt. Her mommy lets her sit on her lap! That is so unsafe. So I am letting her try out the harness that does not fit me. If she doesn't like it, then I think Pablo, my other FURiend just might. My point is - Chewy.com is like that! Rather than the expense of shipping it back and re-shelving it, they would rather it be donated, scrapped if broken, or gifted. Their customer service is the best.

So stay tuned for my future adventures with my new Kurgo Tru-Fit Smart Harness. I hope it is everything I dreamed it would be.