We have wasted a fortune buying the wrong doggie coats!
In the first of my December gift guides, I am going to preview 10 of the best doggie coats. A number of these are The Fab Four’s favourites and I can heartily recommend them, since they have been very well tried and tested on our travels.
This selection will keep your fur family snug, cool, clean, dry, afloat, healthy – and I have added a couple just for fun!
Prices are correct at the time of writing.
The Best For Warmth
1. Equafleece – After much research, we bought Equafleece Polartec™ fleece dog suits and can’t speak too highly of them! 100% rainproof, breathable, warm and washable, the suits are made to be a good fit, with a ‘slim’ option available that is suitable for Doodles. They cover most of the dog, to keep off mud or prevent snow from balling up on all but the lower legs, lower belly and backside (which have to remain uncovered to allow for calls of nature.) This is The Fab Four’s third full ski season and their Equafleeces still look like new! Prices for the full suit start at £28 with free delivery in the UK. (Shipping abroad is available.)
2. Hugo and Hudson Puffer Jacket – Hugo and Hudson are luxury pet outfitters from London, who offer a lovely range of Dog Puffer Coats and Quilted Jackets in nine sizes and a selection of five colours. With five star reviews all the way, they not only look fabulous but keep your dog warm and dry too.
The Best for Mud and Waterproofing
3. Hurtta Slush Combat Suit – with sizes from Chihuahua to Great Dane, the Slush Combat Suit is a premium quality, all-in-one suit which covers head to tail and all four legs, while still allowing for calls of nature. The material is strong, light, windproof, waterproof and dirt repellent, with a leash opening in the back. A two way zip makes the suit easy to put on and take off. Three of The Fab Four have these for muddy walks, or as an extra layer over their Equafleeces. (Ruby has a long back and fell between Hurtta’s sizes, but we found a solution… see below.) Prices from £47.99 – £55.99 with free delivery options on orders over £29.00.
4. Hand Made Waterproof Suit – hand made to measure by a small, private business, these nylon suits are very affordable, come in bright colours and have received great feedback from users. If your dog wears a harness, the harness goes over the top of the suit. Delivery is usually a couple of days, but depends on volume, since each suit is made to order. Cost – £30 plus £3 for UK delivery. Please email Larysa on lar212000@yahoo.com for further details and to order.
The Best To Keep Cool
5. Ruffwear Swamp Cooler Cooling Vest – Dogs are very prone to heat exhaustion, since they do not sweat. They lose heat primarily by panting. Certain breeds suffer the effects of heat more than others; short-nosed dogs, such as pugs and bulldogs cannot lose heat as efficiently through panting. Older or overweight dogs, or breeds adapted to cold climates, such as huskies, will also struggle to adjust to high temperatures.
A great solution is a cooling vest. Cooling vests are soaked with water and can be re-wetted while in use. Composed of special materials, they then accelerate the rate of evaporation, which is the principle behind refrigeration. Some also reflect sunlight to help keep your dog cool. In order to get the maximum cooling effect, it is important that the cooling vest is a very good fit.
The Ruffwear Swamp Cooler is one of the best cooling vests on the market. It has a three-layer design, which uses wicking, evaporation and heat reflection to keep your dog cool. A more lightweight and slightly more affordable option is the Ruffwear Jet Stream, which has a webbing back and cools only the dog’s chest. The Jet Stream is the better choice for a more active dog. The Hurtta Cooling Vest also gets excellent reviews; it is well-priced and has a shorter design, which gives a better fit for some dogs. We bought this one for The Fab Four.
The Best Flotation Device
6. Outward Hound Doggie Lifejacket – essential if, like us, you like to take your Pups on SUPs or float your Fido in any other way. This lifejacket is available in several sizes and is very reasonably priced. It has the essential handle on the back to lift your pooch out of the water, strong clips and a chin float to keep your Fur Baby’s head above water, even if he is tired or hits his head. The bright colours are easy for you and other water users to spot. At the time of writing, this jacket was reduced from £22.14 to £9.22 with free UK delivery.
The K9 Pursuits lifejacket is a very similar design, with the chin float, starting at £16.50 for the XS (sizes up to XL). Ruffwear also supplies a premium Float Coat in sizes from XXS to XL.
The Best Dog Drying Coats
7. Ruff and Tumble Dog Drying Coats and Robes – Tired of smelly towels or the stench of wet dog? These bestselling coats wick and absorb moisture to dry your pup quickly. They are a brilliant way to make sure that what happens outside stays outside!
The Best Post Operative Recovery & Rehab Suit
8. Suitical Post-Operative Recovery Suit – a bestselling and more comfortable alternative to The Cone of Shame, it comes in a variety of sizes, from Chihuahua to St Bernard. The Recovery Suit protects wounds, bandages, hot spots, skin conditions and can be used with incontinence products. Lightweight and breathable, the four-way stretch fabric, acts like a second skin for maximum protection. Poppers allow for calls of nature without removing the suit. We wished that we had found this suit earlier – when the pups were spayed as well as on those occasions when we have had a sick puppy on our travels.
And Just for Fun!
9. Matching Dog and Human Onesies – with a choice of Christmas reindeer, bears or plaid, with items to fit you, the kids. the dog and the cat (with a back flap for, well. You know!) you can really cut a family dash this Christmas. It is so electric, I am not even going to add a picture. Click if you dare. It will blow your mind…
10. Dog Coat with Santa Riding! – C’mon. Who doesn’t want one of these?! with five star reviews, it is available in a variety of sizes.
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The Fab Four all look so cute in their coats. Finn isn’t a fan, we struggle getting him to wear a life jacket when going in the kayak.
Great recommendations.
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Thank you, Anne. Curiously, The Fab Four have never had a problem with coats, although they have been wearing them since they were puppies – and associate them with FUN!
I am glad that the recommendations are helpful.
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The Fab four make great models. Funny we were only just discussing flotation options for Ada especially as she is probably the clumsiest swimmer I have ever known and we also are thinking about taking her out on kayaks, so a doggie life jacket is on the list. Great post.
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Thank you! I am glad that the post was helpful.
The Fab Four are all very good swimmers, being half Poodle. Blade, the Romanian stray collie-type whom we rescued, was noticeably less competent in the water!
A life vest is a good idea for all dogs, though, regardless of how well they swim. It will keep them afloat if they are tired or injured and the handles are indispensable for lifting a slippery or soggy doggy.
We take The Fab Four on SUPs, but are looking at kayaks for our next trip to the Baltics, which is a true water world!
I hope Ada has a fabulous time on her kayaking trips! She is one very lucky dog. xx
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Hiya! We only have a fleece for our two. I did look at the Polartec, but ended up buying from Ginger Ted. Can’t remember why. But we do use them when we take them to the beach in the winter so by the time we walk home they are mostly dry, and we used them when we were camping in the Pyrenees in the van as it got chilly at night, so they had their PJ’s. We haven’t used them in snow yet as we haven’t had any. We have working Spaniels so they really don’t need a coat on their walks as they tend to exercise themselves. Will be taking them with us when we go to the lake district next year though. As for being waterproof, they are water repellent, and I suppose if out in the rain long enough they would get soaked, but ours don’t mind that! We do need life vests and will most likely get the one you recommend. We haven’t been out on a boat with the dogs yet, but I imagine our big one would do something stupid (he can’t help himself) and so it would be quite useful. 🙂 Thanks for the links. Hope you are having fun on your travels.
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Hiya – I don’t know the Ginger Ted fleeces, but I know that there are a few manufacturers around. I am sure that they are all good. We had been looking around for suitable coats for our first year in the Alps and saw a Cockapoo in an Equafleece. It was exactly what we were looking for, so we bought them and have been extremely happy with them.
Our pups are small, so probably a bit more prone to the cold than your Spaniels, although they share the love of water… The sun is shining in Monte Rosa at the moment and I took the dogs out in the snow in a T Shirt yesterday. If it carries on like this, we won’t need any coats!
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