Float Coat™ Dog Life Jacket

My standard poodle is still getting comfortable with swimming. She loves the water, but turns tail once her paws start to come off the bottom. All the same, a good game of fetch can coax her (hesitantly) into deeper water. I hoped that the float coat would boost her confidence, and I was not disappointed! It also makes me feel at ease, since she's not yet a confident swimmer and doesn't have a ton of experience in the water (not to mention she hasn't figured out how to grab her toys from the water without inhaling half the river...).

The fit is amazing. My pup is rather gear-averse when it comes to harnesses, and I was worried she'd hate how stiff the float coat is, but was hopeful because there is no strap between the front legs (the one thing she hates most). She also doesn't really like things going over her head, so I did a lot of cooperative work to teach her to put it on and off herself. She's still a little weirded out by being buckled into it, but once we're on the beach, she forgets all about it! It's not at all bulky, and it gives her an amazing range of motion.

I was torn between the small and medium sizes, but ultimately went with small, and I'm so glad I did! It's perfect. My dog is 47lbs and slim, but with a very deep 28" chest. She has a very similar frame to the model dog Vilas in the product photos, which illustrates the exact fit I was hoping for. I wasn't sure if her being one inch over the max girth for the small would matter that much, but I'm happy to…

These are triple, maybe even 4x the price of life jackets on Amazon and whatnot, but this is the only brand I’ll put on my dog. The fit is just so perfect on all my dogs. They aren’t bulky, aren’t so long they cover the dog’s entire back, and are so high quality. I like how minimal they are. My dogs wrestle, run through bushes, and roll in the sand while wearing these and nothing has torn yet. I use the handle often to lift my heavy dogs onto the paddle board and the handle is super sturdy. Anatomically, I don’t think my dogs have any restriction with the range of motion. They’ll wear these jackets for 1-3 hours at a time and seem extremely comfortable. I also like how you can tie back the excess strap so it’s not just dangling under your dogs belly. After owning these, and having experience my friend’s off-brand life jackets, I will only buy Ruffwear! I’m so glad I bit the bullet and started with these instead of messing around with cheaper ones.

Blue: Size Medium

Purple: Size Small

Golden Retriever: 70lbs, 31” girth

Black Lab: 65lbs, 28” girth

Border Collie (puppy): 30lbs