About Fido Pro
Fido Pro(tection) is a small team of dedicated outdoorsy people whose mission is to help dogs and their owners stay safe while on adventures. Paul Hoskinson founded the company after he needed to carry his 65 lbs dog out in his backpack with a leg injury. The incident made him realize that the already traumatic experience could have ended very differently if he is unable to carry the dog - which is why they created Fido Pro!
About the Fido Pro Panza Harness
The Panza Harness is a unique and innovative emergency carry-out system. The Panza harness can be used as a regular, standalone harness that the dog wears, while it has the carry straps and sling in the zippered sections. This way, if something happens, it can be quickly deployed, and the harness transforms into a carry sling.
This could be perfect for trail runners, cyclists, hikers, or skiers with minimal backpack space to carry dog gear. It comes in one size, that should fit dogs from 35 to 90 lbs, and in two colors: black and red.
You can even add their Saddle Dry-Bags turning it into a doggy backpack if you need your dog to carry something on a longer hike.
It has adjustable straps and metal hardware. The harness itself is a well-made, heavy-duty harness with breathable mesh panels, reinforcement points and a stury lifting handle. The chest and belly section of the harness also works as a brush guard, protecting them from cuts and scrapes.
The zippered pockets are in the back panel and in the chest piece under the ribcage of the dog.
When opening the zippers, the sling easily unfolds with the straps and metal clips that you can attach to the back of the harness. You can order the Shoulder Padding separately for $25, they fit over the shoulder straps and only weigh 1 oz.
The design of the Panza harness has its Patent Pending at the moment. Fido Pro has offices in the US, Canada, Europe, and soon in Asia but their products are made in Colorado, USA.
Fido Pro Panza Harness Review
While it has multiple adjustment points, it will not fit all dogs the same way, especially because it comes in one size. While this is not a huge issue for emergency carry-out situations as long as the dog is safely secured and the circulation is not cut off, it can be a problem with a harness worn regularly over a longer period.
Let’s first talk about using it as a harness for hikes/runs. It is a well-made, sturdy harness that can easily handle all off-leash adventures. On the other hand, it could put pressure on the shoulder (due to the wide chest panel) and stomach (because the bottom panel reaches behind the ribcage) if the dog constantly pulls on the leash. Some dogs also might be able to back out from this design in leash walking situations.
The design of the harness part leaves plenty of space behind the front legs, so there is no risk of armpit chafing and all straps have a wide adjustment range. However, the broad chest piece (designed for ideal chest support when carrying) might rub the inside of the front legs on skinny chested dogs when they walk.
Deploying the rescue sling is easy and there is even a detailed guide on the sling itself that you can look at (as I’m doing below).
You have to lift the back legs into the holes on the sling, attach the metal clips on the back of the harness and are ready to go. Since the dog is already wearing the harness, I think deploying the sling is still managable if the dog cannot stand or is unconcious.
As far as I’m aware, there aren’t any researches on the ideal weight support for dogs in these carry harnesses, so I asked Dr. Landry’s opinion on how they should fit a dog. Since I mainly review harnesses, the chest and front part of this carry harness seemed well-fitting but Dr. Landry raised an interesting point that I hadn’t considered before.
Having the front section fit high on the neck (laying on the chest bone) could cut the circulation if the dog is unconscious or just hanging its head for any other reason. The chest panel can be somewhat shifted on the straps and the neck straps can be loosened which could help changing the fot in this situation.
How does the Fido Pro Panza Harness Compare to the other Dog Rescue Harnesses on the Market?
The Panza harness is hard to compare to the other options on the market because its concept is so different. Having the harness already on the dog makes it much faster and easier to switch to carrying. It is much heavier (20.45 oz) and less packable than the other products but it is meant to be on the dog instead in the backpack.
The design of this carry-out system is more open than the other, much more packable versions. There are huge holes around the legs so I wouldn’t be worried about cutting the circulation and this also makes it easier to fit it on dogs with different body shapes. It also leaves the sides open, that can help keeping the dog cool if they overheated, and it doesn’t sqeeze their sides as the others do.
If you want to see our article comparing the four emergency carry-out harness options, click here!
Review Summary
The Panza harness is an innovative solution among rescue harnesses offering a different approach to safety gear. While having a 2-in-1 solution is a great idea, it only works if the harness itself fits the dog well which might be hard with offering only one size. If you are trying to decide if the harness looks good on your dog, you can check out our article discussing how to fit a Y-harness well.
Where to Buy
You can buy the Fido Pro’s products on their website. When writing this review, it is only available in North America.
Mia’s measurements
Many of you asked Mia’s measurements to better understand the different products’ fit. Your best chance of finding a good fitting gear is always to measure (and remeasure) your dog. Even we grab the measuring tape before getting a new product - even though we tested a lot of them, and have a good feeling of her size by now.
I share her measurements below, but don’t go ahead and order the same size just because your dog is similar to Mia ;)
Shoulder height: 19.5 inches (50 cm)
Weight: 37-44 pounds (17-20 kg)
Widest chest circumference (where the most harness would have the chest strap): 25-26 inches (63-65 cm)
Neck circumference for collars: 15-16 inches (38-40 cm)
Back lengths: 22 inches (56 cm)
