Doggie life vests

[sarahheartmaddy]

If there is one near you, check out Tuesday Morning. They had lifevests for 7.99!!

[manina]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

What is the best brand out there? I heard the "Fido Floats" brand the zipper breaks easily.

I checked on ebay and there is also Pawsaboard (seems the best), Outward Hound, Guardian Gear. Guardian gear sizing seems weird. Anyone have any of these, and what do you think?

Uni is 12 1/2" chest, 8 1/2" neck, 11 1/2" length. I would say she is xs, but some of these sizings says xxs? No way, there are pups way smaller than her.

Help me! Thanks.

I have Outward Hound pet gear got it at pet mart last year for 1/2 price after the season was over, good time to buy summer thing for next year . Miley loves it and i feel she is safe. U should take your furbaby with u for fitting.
good luck!
bark@ulater!
manina,miley,max

[chattiesmom]

I think this is the life vest I will be buying for Emmitt. We have just acquired a 21' cabin cruiser and Emmitt is my "go bye bye" boy. He is the only one of the pack that enjoys going.

From reading doggie life preserver reviews one of the problems with many of the life vests available are the narrow straps that go around the chest and waist -- if you have to pick them up it causes a lot of pressure in those areas. I am new to all of this boating stuff so watch out. Once I find out who is "boatish" I will be picking your brains.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

I think this is the life vest I will be buying for Emmitt. We have just acquired a 21' cabin cruiser and Emmitt is my "go bye bye" boy. He is the only one of the pack that enjoys going.

From reading doggie life preserver reviews one of the problems with many of the life vests available are the narrow straps that go around the chest and waist -- if you have to pick them up it causes a lot of pressure in those areas. I am new to all of this boating stuff so watch out. Once I find out who is "boatish" I will be picking your brains.

Cindy, I got the pawsaboard one with the nautical theme motif on it, very cute. The straps under the chest and waist and over a mesh netting, so if you have to use the handle it's still pretty comfy. Looks like when they have to rescue a horse or cow or something. LOL The neck circumference is SMALL though. Size up at least one or two sizes.

[chattiesmom]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

Cindy, I got the pawsaboard one with the nautical theme motif on it, very cute. The straps under the chest and waist and over a mesh netting, so if you have to use the handle it's still pretty comfy. Looks like when they have to rescue a horse or cow or something. LOL The neck circumference is SMALL though. Size up at least one or two sizes.

Picture please

This one is a Ruff Wear that I found at REI. I think I'm going to take Emmitt for a fitting later this week. They are fairly pricey, but hey, he deserves the best. I really like the fact that this one covers his belly with the flotation material. I'll let you know how it fits I'll take my camera and get some pics of his handsomeness trying it on.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

I think this is the life vest I will be buying for Emmitt. We have just acquired a 21' cabin cruiser and Emmitt is my "go bye bye" boy. He is the only one of the pack that enjoys going.

From reading doggie life preserver reviews one of the problems with many of the life vests available are the narrow straps that go around the chest and waist -- if you have to pick them up it causes a lot of pressure in those areas. I am new to all of this boating stuff so watch out. Once I find out who is "boatish" I will be picking your brains.

Cindy, here are some pics of what we use. They are not the best but I think you can see them.

The first 2 are of a vest that we happened to find. It has 2 straps that go all the way around, nothing under the belly.

the 2nd one, yellow- there is mesh on the belly part. It also has a neck support. This one works very well, but I don't think it is very comfortable for the dog. We got this at petco.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Originally Posted by Mom to Hot Rod

Cindy, here are some pics of what we use. They are not the best but I think you can see them.

Here is the other vest that we have: These are from petsmart website. They wrap around the belly so the dog is supported. The band is velcro so it will not shift or loosen up in the water.

I dont know if you can see the neck area, but there is a piece that velcros around the neck then a strap around it. You can make it as small or big around as you need. I like this as it keeps the dog face out of the water if you should need to do so. Maggie doesn't have any trouble wearing it. We swap between maggie and hot rod all the time.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

Picture please

This one is a Ruff Wear that I found at REI. I think I'm going to take Emmitt for a fitting later this week. They are fairly pricey, but hey, he deserves the best. I really like the fact that this one covers his belly with the flotation material. I'll let you know how it fits I'll take my camera and get some pics of his handsomeness trying it on.

Here is a link to their website that shows all the styles. Scrool down to the little yorkie, that's the one I got with the nautical theme. It works great for Uni. Got it on ebay, it was cheaper, about $22.

http://www.pawsaboard.com/dog-lifeja...ife-jacket.asp

[chattiesmom]

Well, after much debate I bit the bullet and bought Emmitt the Red xx-Small Float Coat from the REI outlet for $29.93. It sells for $49.93 in their retail stores. Since I'm not positive about the fit I had it shipped to an REI store and when it arrives I'll take Emmitt in to try it on. If it doesn't fit I was assured that I could get an immediate refund. We'll see how that goes.

I know that this live jacket isn't as stylish as some and is more expensive, but I was really concerned about the functionality and safety since he will be with us on the boat in deep water. I'll post pics of Emmitt wearing his new Float Coat when it comes in.

[chattiesmom]

As promised, here is Emmitt in his new Float Coat. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled about modeling, BUT the Float Coat is a spectatular product and fits well. What I like about this life vest that is different from some of the other less expensive ones that I researched is that this vest has flotation material on the under the belly as well as on top. Now if my boat building hubby could hurry up and get the boat finished -- that was mean of me because Ron is spending all of his spare time working on the boat! Just wait until you hear our plans for Christmas of 2010!

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

As promised, here is Emmitt in his new Float Coat. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled about modeling, BUT the Float Coat is a spectatular product and fits well. What I like about this life vest that is different from some of the other less expensive ones that I researched is that this vest has flotation material on the under the belly as well as on top. Now if my boat building hubby could hurry up and get the boat finished -- that was mean of me because Ron is spending all of his spare time working on the boat! Just wait until you hear our plans for Christmas of 2010!

Great pictures! He looks as thrilled as Hot Rod did when we first put his life vest on. Love the first picture. He doesn't even want to look at the camera.

Cindy Emmitt is beautiful. He's got such beautiful coloring!

[chattiesmom]

Originally Posted by Mom to Hot Rod

Great pictures! He looks as thrilled as Hot Rod did when we first put his life vest on. Love the first picture. He doesn't even want to look at the camera.

Cindy Emmitt is beautiful. He's got such beautiful coloring!

Bo, thank you for your compliments on Emmitt. He is an awesome little boy. He wasn't thrilled when we tried the vest on at the REI store, lol it was hysterical! I tried it on him again a couple of times driving home (Don't recommend trying to put a life jacket on an unwilling dog while driving down the interstate ). By the time we got home and I got the camera out we had put on and taken off the vest at least a 1/2 dozen times and he was resigned to having to wear it.

He didn't do the crab walk, but he did fall over a couple of times