Hi, so I adopted a rat terrier 3 months ago from a local shelter.  She came to us with kennel cough and has had a bit of a roungh start but now is doing better than ever.  I have owned dogs before but never Rat Terriers.  When we got her we were using a harness all the time untill we noticed it irritating under her arms a few weeks after we got her.  We now have a collar that she wears and we use the harness when we go out on walks because she likes to wiggle out of her collar (if she attempts to chase after a cat she has been known to wiggle out of her harness as well ha) 

She still has spots unter her arms where her hair has been rubbed off and gets irritated.  she now even has an area under her neck where her collar is rubbing off hair and it has even caused a small scab this last week.  I have done my research and know they have sensitive skin and i have been told to use athletic tape on her collar where it is irritating the skin and that hasnt helped at all.  any suggestions?  some cream i can rub on it? a harness that doesnt irritate? I dont know what to do about the collar since she needs to have her tags on.

all suggestions or opinions are greatly appreciated!

Maybe a rolled leather collar would work better.  there is another thread here some where that talks about a rope and go harness that other folks are try out for their ratties it is suppose to be a custom fit thing. good luck and welcome to the site

Hello, my Fred had the same problem and my mom found him this great harness at petsmart I believe. the under part by the arms is very padded and there are no more burns from the rubbing.

I also believe Puppia makes a great harness as well.

http://www.agathaandlouise.com/servlet/the-1419/Puppia-Soft-Harness/Detail

As for the collar, is it tight?? I would also have the vet check it out to make sure if she does have sensative sking you can take the apporpriate measures! Good luck toyou!

Thank you everyone for your responces!  I have looked in to the harnesses.  We were told be the vet when we first got her that we could leave the harness on instead of getting a collar so we did that for the first week, this was also the vet who told us that her coughing and wheezing was probably just cause she was in a new environment.  We have since switched vets since i recognized the signs of kennel cough and found someone who was more qualified.  Unfortunately at the time i didnt know any better.  I do know about the collar and hers is loose enough so it's not because it is tight and i do take it off about an hour before bed and leave it off till well into the next morning but i worry about her getting out the front door, since she was quite the escape artist (we've actually worked on not bolting out the door and are doin pretty well), and not having her tags.  Her neck doesnt seem to bother her she doesnt mind it being touched and she isnt itching at it or anything.  I will take her collar off more when she is inside and see if it helps

Here is a picture of my girl

Thanks, maybe i will look for a leather collar and see how that does.  Jasmine is microchipped so if she does get out she would be returnable to me, but you know if someone finds her its easier and quicker to call the number on her tag...less worrieing time for me haha.

hey anyone know why i can't post pictures?

Hi and Welcome.  I didn't catch any names.  About getting pictures to show, it looks like you gave it a link to the page and not to the picture, so I cheated a little.  I hope you don't mind.

Oh my, what a little sweetie pie.  But what is this world coming to?  I saw dogs, and cats, and even people sleeping together

I also recommend the Puppia harness. I just ordered one for Rocky on Monday from http://www.k9instyleclassic.com/ and got it today (Friday). We've only used it today and I love it! (Thanks to those of you who suggested this harness to me!) If your dog doesn't wiggle out of a harness, then they are great. Rocky's fits well lengthwise and around the belly but is a little loose around the neck. He's not an escape artist so it's not a worry for me. Based on how it fits, I'm pretty certain that this harness will be the end of the red marks and sores on his chest from his nylon harness.