THE QUICK ANSWER
Ask how the minimum is counted before you decide the split. Our typical MOQ is 100–500 units; product, color, size, tooling and packaging can change these ranges, and the minimum that applies to you is confirmed in the written quotation. So put the basis in the RFQ: per style, per color, per size, or per size-and-color combination. Then launch the full published size chart in one color, and keep the range decision with the pattern maker.
How is the minimum actually counted?
Ask it in the RFQ and refuse to guess at the answer. Our typical MOQ is 100–500 units. Product, color, size, tooling and packaging can change these ranges, and the figure that applies to you is confirmed in the written quotation — a single headline figure is rarely enough to plan an assortment. So ask which basis applies: per style, per color, per size, or per size-and-color combination. The reason it matters is arithmetic. Five sizes in three colors is fifteen size-and-color combinations. The same five sizes in one color is five. If the minimum is counted per combination, those two assortments are not the same order, however similar they look on a single total line. If it is counted per style, they are much closer. You cannot build a split until you know which. Get the basis and the order total written as two separate lines in the quotation, before you allocate anything.
Which decision is yours, and which is the stockholder's?
The range is settled with the pattern maker. The split is settled with whoever signs for the stock. Keep them apart, because they fail differently. A range failure is a proportion problem, and no quantity fixes it. One thread on r/dogs asks about a harness that fits everywhere else but sits in the armpits and rubs. That is one owner's experience, not evidence about harnesses generally, and it is not a chart-number problem — it is a question about whether the pattern suits that dog's proportions. Grading more sizes off the same pattern does not answer it. A split failure is the opposite: the sizes are right and you own the wrong quantities of them, which the reorder can fix if a reorder exists. So route them to different meetings. Proportion goes to sample review. Quantity goes against the minimum basis you asked for in the RFQ.
How far does one graded pattern carry?
Our harness development sheet lists six specification fields — neck opening (min/max), chest girth (min/max), back panel length, webbing width, finished weight, packed carton volume — beside the instruction to grade every size in the run. Read together, that is six values you owe for every graded size. The sheet states the fields and the grading instruction separately, so treat that as our reading of it rather than a line we publish. Sizes stay inside one pattern while only those values move. The break comes at webbing width. Our own hardware order puts the buckle first, because buckle type sets the whole strap path, and the walking set is meant to share one webbing width across harness, leash and collar. If the extremes of your run need different widths, that is a second strap layout, a second hardware set, a second box-X stitch spec at the load points and a second sample round. Decide it before material booking.
Why color multiplies faster than size
Size is bounded by the pattern. Color is bounded only by how many you approve, and each one multiplies the same sizes again: five sizes in one color is five combinations, in three colors fifteen. Walking products may be split by webbing color and size, so color is the axis to hold still on a first order. Color also reaches further than one product. Our leash is specified to be sold as a set with the harness and collar in one dye lot, which makes approving a second webbing color a decision about three products, not one. Two things belong in the RFQ rather than in your assumptions: whether a later reorder can be matched to the first run's lot, and how that match is evidenced. Do not approve a reorder color from an emailed image.
Where does the split come from before you have sales?
You are forecasting without history, so collect measurements instead of hunting for a percentage. We treat search-interest exploration as context, not a sales forecast; it says nothing about how many mediums to buy. Competitor charts do not transfer either — size labels are not interchangeable between brands, which is our own position. Three inputs do help. Ask each wholesale account to commit by size on the line sheet before the factory order is placed. If you sell direct, run the pre-order with measuring instructions attached and count the chest girths that come back rather than the size names people picked: AKC's guide to measuring a dog for clothes and gear treats chest girth and neck girth as the measurements to take, and Ruffwear's guide starts at the widest part of the chest, behind the front legs. Third, record whatever split you choose as an assumption, not a finding.
What does publishing a size commit you to?
The decision is whether to publish a size you will not hold depth in. If it is on the chart, a customer can measure to it and order it. Make that call at chart sign-off, not at allocation. Two mechanics follow. Give the chart a version number and carry that version into the specification, the quotation and the label, so a later regrade is visible rather than silent. And decide what happens at the boundary between two published bands: a dog measuring between them either buys up or buys nothing, and which of those you want is a chart decision you make once, in centimetres and inches, using the same measuring method you printed. Then confirm the factory grades to that method. Adding a sixth size later is a new graded size and a new chart version, and whether it also needs a new sample round is a quotation question — ask which sample route it takes.
The reorder, and the carton it ships in
Ask for the reorder position in the same quotation as the opening order, because it decides whether your edge sizes are buyable again: the reorder minimum per size, the unit price, and how long that price stays valid. Two sample clocks are published and you can time against them — a custom sample on a stock item within 7 days once artwork and details are confirmed, and a fully custom sample within 15 days once the specification is confirmed. Which clock a new size or a new color starts is a quotation question. Ask it; do not assume the shorter one. Then ask for the carton, per size. Packed carton volume is already one of the six fields on our harness sheet, and FedEx explains that carriers may compare actual weight against dimensional weight, which reflects package volume. An edge size bought in small depth still ships in cartons, so get its pieces-per-carton and carton dimensions before comparing freight.
A useful comparison
| Line in the RFQ | Wording to ask for | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum basis | State whether the minimum is counted per style, per color, per size, or per size-and-color combination, and state the order total on a separate line. | Whether fifteen combinations is one order or fifteen |
| Reorder position | State the reorder minimum per size, the unit price, and how long that price stays valid. | Whether an edge size can be bought again this season |
| Sample clock | State which sample route a new size or color takes — stock-item custom sample within 7 days, or fully custom within 15 days. | When a reorder or an added size can realistically be approved |
| Size chart version | Quote against size chart v1.0; list neck and chest minimum and maximum for every size. | That a regrade between runs is visible, not silent |
| Adjacent bands | Confirm on the graded pattern where each size band stops and the next begins. | Whether a dog between two bands buys up or buys nothing |
| Webbing width | Confirm one webbing width across the size run, or name the sizes that break it. | A second strap layout and hardware set, found before material booking |
| Color match | Confirm how a reorder shade is matched and approved against a physical reference, not a screen match. | A reorder color signed off from an image |
| Carton per size | State pieces per carton and carton dimensions for each size. | A dimensional-weight comparison made on the real pack-out |
Explore private-label product options.
No-pull dog harness — materials, customization and sample checks Standard dog leash — materials, customization and sample checks Adjustable webbing collar — materials, customization and sample checksSources and research context
Sources reviewed 2026-09-14. Community excerpts are anecdotes. Manufacturer guidance applies to that manufacturer’s products. Shortlists are editorial comparisons without hands-on comparative testing or verified sales rankings.
- Reddit · r/dogs · February 18, 2022
- Ruffwear · How to Measure for Your Dog’s Gear
- American Kennel Club · How to measure a dog for clothes and gear
- FedEx · What is dimensional weight?
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