Doornikse Heerweg 12, Oudenaarde
Veldhond started in 2016 because Joris Vermeulen could not buy a harness that fitted a deep-chested working lurcher. Elke Daems drew the first pattern that winter. Ten years later the range is twelve pieces and the room has not got any bigger.
Five sizes, each one drawn off a real dog that came through the door. Size 3 is a lurcher, size 5 is a Dutch shepherd, size 6 is a bernese. The ranges overlap on purpose so a dog between two sizes is never between two harnesses.
Every load point gets a bar-tack, and every bar-tack is counted before the piece leaves the bench. It is two hours forty minutes of work on a size 4, and about forty minutes of that is stitching that nobody will ever see.
Every new pattern runs for one full season on four dogs in Oudenaarde, Ronse and Lokeren before it is sold to anyone. Two patterns have been thrown away at that stage. Neither is on this site.
Everything here is older than the business. The shears were Elke's grandmother's, the dividers came out of a saddlery in Ronse that closed in 2011, and the awls get resharpened about twice a year.
Three materials
Woven in Ronse, 180 kg break strength, dyed in three colours and nothing else. It does not stretch when wet, which is the whole reason it is not nylon.
Only for leads and only the butt of the hide. It comes from a tannery near Liège in whole sides, and we cut around the brands and the fly bites rather than hiding them under dye.
For throws and bed sleeves. Wool takes a soaked dog and dries hard instead of going sour, and an undyed fleece shows you exactly how filthy it has become.
“A harness is a load-bearing thing you strap to an animal that cannot tell you where it hurts. That is the whole job. Everything else about this business is decoration.”
Joris VermeulenCuts and stitches everything hereFinished pieces, already made, waiting for somebody. Reserve one and it does not go into the next batch.
Knock if the light is on. You can watch a harness being tacked, bring one in for repair, or stand your dog on the cutting table and leave with a number written on a card.
