One box, one color, and a tape measure to decide which pieces he wears

“I’m getting my first bulldog a week from now and making all my purchases now”, wrote an owner on r/Frenchbulldogs. This set is made for that shopping list.

The box holds four pieces in one color: a padded harness, a collar, a leash and a small holder for poop bags. You match nothing afterward. The colors are lilac, olive green, light gray, coffee, mint green and black.

One thing to know before you pick a color. The harness and the collar do not suit the same dogs. The harness closes on a chest from 43 cm. The collar in size S closes on a neck of 30 cm at most. Both numbers are in the tables below.

That is no reason to walk away. It is a reason to measure first.

The harness is a padded vest with a thick pad, a mesh lining and metal D-rings

The harness is a vest, not a strap. Oxford cloth covers the outside. Inside sits a thick pad lined with spacer mesh, a fabric with an air gap woven between two layers. A pad also sits under his belly.

The straps are nylon webbing. The buckles are plastic and open with a squeeze on both sides. Sliders sit on the shoulder straps and on the belly strap, so you tighten it in several places, not in one.

The D-rings are metal, in the color of the harness. Wash the harness by hand.

All six colors are muted. A brindle or a pied coat already has a lot going on, and none of these six competes with it. The metal parts differ a little. On the lilac and olive sets the snap hooks and the collar buckle are silver. On the black set they are dark.

The collar and leash are PVC-coated, and the collar is the piece to measure twice

The collar and the leash are not cloth. Both are nylon webbing with a PVC coating, in the same color as the harness. The collar closes with a metal pin buckle and has a ring for his tag. The leash has a snap hook on each end and a small ring on the strap.

In feet, the S leash is a little over 5 ft long and the M leash just under 6 ft.

The bag holder is the piece people forget until they are standing on the sidewalk with nothing in their hand. It is a matte tube with a cord loop on top and an opening in the side, where the bag comes out.

Loop the cord around your wrist on the way out the door, and it is there when he stops.

Here are the four pieces with their numbers.

Now the catch. In size S the collar adjusts from 20 to 30 cm around the neck. Two owner guides put the neck of a grown French Bulldog at 34 to 38 cm. A collar that stops at 30 does not close on that dog.

Size M has a collar for 30 to 40 cm. But the M harness starts at 58 cm around the chest, and that size is for the big, stocky Frenchies.

So the collar in this set suits a young dog with a neck of 30 cm or less, or a very broad adult in size M. For a grown Frenchie in size S, count on the harness and the leash. Put your own collar on him for the tag.

Measure his chest and neck flat and snug, read each number in the table, then check with two fingers

Stand him on a flat floor. Wrap a soft tape, the kind used for sewing, behind his front legs and around the widest part of his chest. Write the number down. Then measure his neck at the base, where a collar would sit.

Keep the tape flat against his chest and neck, snug but not pressing in. Nothing gets added to the number it shows, so find that number in the chest column.

From 43 to 58.9 cm it is S, and from 59 to 80 cm it is M. No number from 43 to 80 cm falls in a gap, but 58 to 60 cm sits in both rows, because S stops at 60 and M starts at 58.

When a number sits in both rows, take the size that holds it farther from its edge. So 58.5 cm is an S. At exactly 59 cm he sits in the middle of the overlap, and there the larger one wins, because a harness can be taken in but not let out.

Once the harness is on him, two flat fingers should slide under the strap, and owners on r/Frenchbulldogs repeat that rule.

Now the neck. A neck of 34 to 45 cm suits the S harness. Only a neck of 30 cm or less suits the S collar. If your two numbers point at different sizes, believe the chest for the harness and skip the collar.

Weight will not help you here. A Frenchie’s chest and neck are wide for his weight, and two puppies of the same age can be two sizes apart. The tape is the only number that closes the strap.

A puppy with a chest under 43 cm should wait for the Puppy Harness

Size S closes down to 43 cm around the chest. A harness that hangs loose on a small dog can twist to the side, and twisting is a complaint owners write about.

Our Frenchie Puppy Harness covers chests from 32 to 49 cm, from about eight weeks to eight months. Measure your puppy the day he comes home. Measure again before you order this set.

If he has not arrived yet, order the puppy harness now. Buy this set when the tape reads 43 cm or more. That costs you a second order. It also saves you a return.

This set walks a dog who stays beside you, not one who leans into the leash

“The harness tends to pull and twist to the side a lot. Yes, it’s adjusted as best as possible to fit him”, wrote an owner asking for a no-pull harness on r/Frenchbulldogs. If that is your Frenchie, this section is for you.

Here’s what a chest ring does. When he leans forward, the leash pulls on the front of the harness, and his body turns toward you. He loses the straight line to the next tree.

This set is not sold as a front-clip harness, and nothing on this page promises it will stop a dog from pulling. For a Frenchie who hauls, our Front-Clip Harness has a ring on the chest panel and a ring at the handle.

Here is how the set sits next to two others in our shop.

The Denim set has the roomier collar. Its L collar closes on a neck of up to 38 cm, and L is the size most grown Frenchies take there. The Front-Clip Harness is the one for a dog who hauls. This set wins on padding and on the number of pieces in the box.

Let him meet the harness indoors, then check the straps after walks one, three and ten

“I tried her on a harness for walks the first few times but she was just stubbornly sitting and wouldn’t move”, wrote the owner of a four-month-old. You know the scene: a dog planted on the sidewalk, leash tight, going nowhere. The walk is not the place to solve it.

So skip the walk. Put the harness on the floor where he sleeps and let him sniff it. Snap a buckle shut and let him hear the click. Do it at home, so the click does not arrive with the traffic.

Then put it on him indoors, with a treat in your hand. Keep it on for a few minutes and take it off while he is still calm. A few short sessions like that beat one long fight at the front door. Leave the collar and the leash in the box for that first day.

Before the first walk, slide two flat fingers under every strap. The chest strap sits behind his front legs, not in the armpit. Do the same under the collar.

After the first walk, lift each front leg. Look at the fur under it and at the skin. You are looking for a red patch or bare fur where a strap rubbed. If you see one, stop using the harness and show him to your vet.

After the third walk, check the sliders. Webbing can creep through a plastic slider, so a strap you set tight on Monday can be loose on Thursday.

After the tenth walk, look at the stitching around the rings and at the buckles. A frayed thread or a cracked buckle means it is time to stop using that harness.

Skip this set if any of these four sound like your dog

His chest is under 43 cm. He is a puppy, and the Puppy Harness is the right size.

You want a chest ring to steer a dog who hauls. Take the Front-Clip Harness.

You need a collar that closes on a neck of 31 cm or more, and his chest is under 58 cm. Size S has the harness for him and a collar that is too small. Size M has the collar and a harness that is too big.

The Denim set is the better fit there. Its L collar closes on a neck of up to 38 cm.

You want a mesh harness, not a padded one. This vest has a thick pad. Our Plain Mesh Step-In is mesh.

If none of those is your dog, the set does what a first walk needs. It gives you a harness that fits, a leash in the same color, and a place to hang the bags.