Best harness for Norwegian Elkhound pulling

Norwegian Elkhounds are notorious for this — that deep chest, thick neck, and compact muscular build puts them right in the gap between standard sizing brackets, and most harnesses either sit wrong on the shoulder or slip constantly. The most effective tools for lead pulling in general are no-pull front-clip harnesses and head collars, but fit is everything, and a dog built like an Elkhound needs something with genuine adjustability across multiple points rather than a one-size-steps-up design. What size is your dog roughly in kilograms, how hard is the pulling — manageable or genuinely hard to hold — and have you already tried any harnesses or other equipment?

That tracks exactly. The Julius-K9 is a great harness but it's designed for longer-bodied dogs — on a short, barrel-chested Elkhound the girth strap rides up and the whole thing rotates. The cheaper front-clip harnesses have the same problem, often worse. At 23kg with real pulling strength, you need something with a sternum strap you can position independently, a belly strap that sits further back, and enough adjustment points that you can dial in the fit for that specific shape rather than hoping it lands in the right place. Can I ask — does he pull consistently the whole walk, or is it more reactive pulling toward things he sees?

Right, so this is classic sled-dog-heritage pulling — he's bred to pull and he's doing it enthusiastically rather than reactively. For that combination of body shape and consistent forward pressure, I'd go with the Ruffwear Front Range harness. It has five adjustment points including an independent chest strap you can position precisely on the sternum, the back panel is short enough to clear an Elkhound's rear correctly, and the front clip redirects that forward drive without putting pressure on the throat or restricting the shoulder. It comes in a medium which covers 23kg dogs well, but critically you can fine-tune each strap separately — that's what lets you solve the twisting problem you've had with the other two. It won't stop the pulling on its own, but it gives you actual control and stays where you put it, which makes training genuinely possible.

It's a bit more involved than a two-strap harness, but Ruffwear provide a good fitting guide and once it's set up correctly you don't need to re-adjust it every time. The key for an Elkhound specifically: fit the chest strap first so it sits flat across the breastbone with two fingers of clearance, then adjust the neck loop so it's snug but not riding up, then the belly strap last. The mistake people make is adjusting the belly strap first, which throws everything else off. Do it in that order and it stays put. One thing worth knowing — the Medium fits most Elkhounds but measure the chest girth before ordering, as a particularly broad male can sit right on the Medium/Large border.

Good plan. Measure the widest point of the chest and compare it directly to Ruffwear's size chart rather than going by weight alone. Once it's fitted properly and staying in place, the front clip will give you enough mechanical advantage to work on the pulling without your shoulder taking the hit. Most people notice a difference on the first walk just from the redirection — consistency from there does the rest.