RUFFWEAR, Float Coat Dog Life Jacket for Swimming, Adjustable and Reflective

I've used a variety of doggy life jackets over the years. Most were either cheaply made and didn't hold up, or were poorly designed. Since my two gold border collies join me on my paddle board regularly, and a paddle board is very easy for a dog to slide off of (even though my dogs are trained to stay on the board until my release command "OK") I decided to bite the bullet and spend the extra money on a Ruffwear Float Coat for each of them. I decided that since my dogs are priceless to me, why not do the best that I can to protect them? Even though they are both very strong swimmers, we are at times way out in the middle of the lake...and any dog can tire in the water.WOW! Is this PFD ever well made and well designed! The quality is obvious as soon as you pull it out of the package. These jackets will last for the lifetime of my dogs and then some! And the beauty of the design lies in it's simplicity...no dangling straps and moving parts. This thing simply slides over their heads and once you get it adjusted to the exact right size, you pop two buckles together and wa-la! You are DONE. It needs no further adjustments. It must be super comfortable, as my dogs don't even know these things are on them. There is no pesky Velcro for their long hair to get caught in. My last life jacket had a huge Velcro panel across the stomach and my dogs' fur got stuck in it and it made the whole thing uncomfortable. Not this one...very simple...VERY effective! The padded part of the jacket gently wraps down over the ribs and on my dogs, those side panels come all the way around to within about one inch of each other at the bottom on the dog's stomach...leaving a one inch gap, perfect for water to drain out the bottom, but closed enough that the straps barely touch the dog if you have to lift him out of the water.My dogs weigh 37 pounds each. Their girths are 24" and 26". I followed the size chart and got the small in Atoll Blue and orange. You can see by my included photos how the colors look. They are beautiful!!! The small fits perfectly, with the concentration of the jacket up in the chest and shoulder area. I don't like too much jacket to cover the further back parts of the dog's back, as those jackets tend to offer too much flotation in the rear, forcing the head down. Let's face it...the most important thing to keep out of the water is the head. And being that this jacket puts emphasis on the chest and shoulder area, it seems to do a nice job of that. IF you have a long bodied dog, you may need to order up a size for a longer jacket. You can see in my images how far the jacket comes on a more square built dog.The handle on the top of the jacket is SUPER strong, and there is another loop to attach a water-light if your dog swims at night. Under the lift handle is a leash attachment...which seems poorly placed to me. This is the ONLY flaw in this design. That attachment should be on the top of the jacket right in front of the lift handle. Reflective piping is sewn into each jacket too for extra safety at night. The fabric dries in minutes, so you don't have a soggy wet thing to haul home in your car.In a nutshell...this thing is worth every single penny. I've never had a dog life jacket that has been even close to the quality and exquisite design as this one. It will be the last dog life jacket you will ever need to buy.

Absolutely wonderful! Couldn't ask for anything better. We bought a large for our 90 lbs. male German Shepherd who is just over 1 year, expecting it to be a little lose since we figured our pup is not quite done growing. It fits good, we do have to tighten it all the way but it works great & does not slide around at all. Also the handle on the back is very sturdy & we're able to lift him out of the water by the single handle without a problem or fear of it breaking. Highly recommend.

We live on a lake and even though my Service Dog is a "water dog" I wanted a sense of security when we are on and/or around water. I looked at a lot of dog life jackets. After reading reviews and doing some research I decided to purchase the #1 dog life jacket on the market, the Ruffwear - K-9 Float Coat. I could not be happier with the purchase. My dog's float coat arrived ahead of estimated arrival date, I watched a brief but comprehensive video on fitting the float coat to your dog. I followed the very easy instructions in the video and fit my dog with the float coat. Again very easy and very quick. The float coat fits like a glove and it isn't bulky so it does not restrict any of my dogs normal movements. For a test we headed to the pool. Not only was the float coat a great success, my dog did not want to get out of the pool. Immediately I could tell my dog was more confident. At the end I also realized he didn't expend the normal amount of energy swimming, so he had plenty of energy left to want to continue in the pool. The float coat really is awesome. I know it is one of the more expensive dog life jackets, but it is worth every dime. From proper fitting, to buoyancy, to keeping my dogs head elevated above the water in a natural way, to the easily seen color, to the reflective trim, to the integrated heavy duty handle, to the sleek profile, to the light weight, to durability (built to last), etc., etc. Now when I open the pool cover my dog heads straight to the float coat. No coaxing to put on. Can you put a price on your dog or your peace of mind? You get what you pay for. And in this case you get an Awesome life jacket for your dog. I'd recommend to family & friends and I would purchase again.

What I really like about this vest that's different from most others is how thick the floaty stuff around the neck is. Most others use velcro or straps to connect two side flaps around the neck that always end up shifting so there's not enough float to keep my chunks flat face out of the water. But this is one solid piece that stays in place. My chunk monster is a 36 pounds French Bulldog. I had originally ordered the Small based on the measurement chart provided, but had to return for the Medium. I've tried LOTS of other brands and designs, and this is the best. Even better than the ones that have the extra floaty flap under the chin.

This product has gone through strict quality control procedures for sure. I use it for my 72-pound Golden Retriever and it fits well (Large). A bit pricey but you get what you pay for, right?June 2020 update.Changing my rating from 4 to 5 stars! 4 years after, this is still going strong. Used it for both pool (chlorinated) water and mostly at the beach (saltwater). It has stood the test of time. Just make sure you clean it after each use (I use a mild shampoo and rinse well in running water for a couple of minutes) and air dry it after.

I am very pleased with the jacket, I wasn’t sure a small would fit because everyone puts Labradors in a bracket and ours is slim! We chose the small based on the size guide and was amazed to find the sizing very accurate. Beau measured 27inches around her chest and the small states up to 27 inches so I was a bit worried about the fit bit there’s still a bit of space on the straps to go so I’m pleased we didn’t choose the medium or it might have swamped her. We will be taking this on holiday to Devon and making good use of it in the sea!

We had a floatation jacket and found out Jack Russell x Staffie still was not happy trying water in it (he needs hydrotherapy for his elbows or we wouldn't pursue this!) - I discovered this jacket and could see it was probably much better for the purpose of dogs swimming rather than if they fell off a boat so took a gamble and bought it. He wore it and for the first time he got in the water and swam without being carried in (unlike his previous floatation coat). I am so pleased and highly recommend this product to anyone with a dog that needs some swim time in their lives. It's very slimline and doesn't restrict our dog at all. You can look up fitting chart for this vet online too and there are a few videos out there of it. Fits as per sizing given. Ordered Saturday arrived (and used!) Sunday!

We got this to try to get something the dog will wear in comfort. Pricier than the previous one. Our Mini Schnauzer was happy to go sailing, but hated his old lifejacket, making him almost "freeze" every time it was put on. From the first fitting of this one, he moved freely and did not mind it being on for extended periods, which life much easier for him and us.

We has a Crewsaver coat the first time believing that Crewsaver was a good brand. Unfortunately this came apart very quickly so we changed it for a Ruffwear one and i must say this is perfect - Would highly recommend. I have heard tales of cheaper jackets having the buoyancy in the wrong place and therefore not supporting the dogs head above the water! Even the pull out handle is really strong.

A great float coat. I wasn't sure whether to purchase the medium or large, but went with the measurements and purchased a medium. It fits very well and looks great! You even can adjust it a little bit. I also like the bright red color - great visibility. Can't wait to try it with our dog when canoeing :-)Delivery was super speedy as well! Thank you!