2 Hounds Design
Martingale collars, leashes and no-pull harnesses cut and sewn in Indian Trail, North Carolina — much of it made to order.
🇺🇸 Made in USA
Our assessment
Company details
Where 2 Hounds Design products are made
“All of our collars, leashes, and harnesses are proudly made in the U.S.A. with careful attention to the safety, functionality, and comfort of your dog, as well as a keen eye for design” — stated on the front page of 2houndsdesign.com.
“Proudly made in the USA by 2 Hounds Design” appears on collar listings and “Proudly made in the USA!” on Freedom No-Pull harness listings. 182 of the 438 products carrying any description at all state US origin; the rest are colourway variants with no description text.
“Our products are proudly made in North Carolina by a skilled team and many items are custom made when you place your order” — the company’s own shipping policy. Made-to-order production is hard to fake and hard to offshore.
The Federal Trade Commission reserves an unqualified Made in USA claim for goods that are all or virtually all of domestic origin. 2 Hounds Design states the claim itself, at product level, across the three lines it names, and identifies the state where the work is done. The one gap worth naming plainly is that its bandanas carry no origin statement in either direction.
The story
2 Hounds Design began in 2003 when Alisha, then working as an engineer, started making collars for her two retired racing greyhounds. Sighthounds need a martingale — a collar that tightens just enough to stop a narrow head slipping out, and no further — and the ones available were mostly poor. The two dogs that prompted it, Iceman and Paradise, are the original two hounds in the name.
The company that grew out of that is still built around the same two problems: how to hold a dog safely, and how to stop one pulling without hurting it. The Freedom No-Pull harness, its best-known product, works by redirecting a dog sideways rather than choking it forward, and it is the item most often recommended by trainers who will not use aversive equipment.
Production sits in Indian Trail, North Carolina, a town outside Charlotte. Much of the catalogue is cut and sewn after the order arrives rather than pulled from a bin, which is why the company can offer the number of colours and sizes that it does without holding enormous stock.
Why they matter
Dog gear is one of the easiest categories in which to move production overseas and one of the hardest for a buyer to check. Webbing, hardware and stitching all look much the same in a photograph, and a collar that fails does so under load, usually at the worst moment.
A company that sews to order in its own building cannot quietly swap a supplier without noticing. That is the practical value of the arrangement here, beyond the flag: the people answering the phone are in the same building as the machines.
It is also a business that exists because a customer could not buy what she needed. That is a common origin for small American manufacturers, and an uncommonly durable one — the product was designed by someone who had to live with the failure mode.
Shop 2 Hounds Design products
Martingale collars in a large range of patterns, the Freedom No-Pull harness in every size, matching leashes, and the double-connection leash designed to work with it.
Shop all 2 Hounds Design products →Visit 2 Hounds Design website →
2 Hounds Design questions
Are 2 Hounds Design products made in the USA?
Yes, for the collars, leashes and harnesses — the company states it on its homepage and repeats it on individual product listings, naming North Carolina as the place. Its dog bandanas carry no origin statement either way.
Where are they made?
At the company’s own facility in Indian Trail, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. Many items are cut and sewn after the order is placed.
When was 2 Hounds Design founded?
2003, by Alisha, who started making martingale collars for her two retired racing greyhounds after failing to find good ones.
What is the Freedom No-Pull harness?
The company’s best-known product. It discourages pulling by redirecting the dog sideways at the chest rather than tightening across the throat, which is why trainers who avoid aversive equipment tend to recommend it.