RUFFWEAR - Float Coat Reflective Life Jacket for Dogs, Dandelion Yellow (2016), Medium

Last year 40lb Border Collie Meg had to be coaxed into the water and then would only go in if I did. When she did swim, she was awful and struggled to keep her head up and could not maneuver very well. I began the search for a good life jacket last fall. After much research and reading reviews about cheaper ones that rubbed, were bulky, or had weak fabric or straps, I narrowed it down to the Ruffwear Float Coat or the Kurgo Surf n'Turf. The Ruffwear looked like it would fit her body better and was available locally at REI. Plus, I love yellow!Its a bit pricey, but its very well made and should last a very long time. It took a couple tries to get it adjusted just right, but once its set, you don't have to mess with it unless your dog loses weight with all that swimming. I let her wear it around the house for a while to get used to it. She tried to rub it off a bit, but was ok with it. Then we went to a calm small lake so she could try it out. She was nervous about going in the water with it on, but once she realized she wasn't struggling to keep her head up, she relaxed a bit. The real test was the second time she wore it, when she knew what it was. She had no hesitation going into the river with it on and was having a blast. Not only did she swim out to get her floating toy, but she wanted everyone on the beach to throw it so she could go get it again. When she was done with fetch, she just swam for the pure joy of swimming.The best part is she's now a MUCH better swimmer. She's learned to maneuver and turn and she can keep her head up without a struggle even without the life jacket. She's not afraid of the waves the boats make anymore and she LOVES to swim. With her Float Coat, she can swim for hours.The Float Coat is a bit stiff, especially at first, but its tough and it works great. Meg is very stable in the water when she wears it and can handle being in the wake and still keep her head out of the water. It seems comfortable and does not rub anywhere. Meg even wore it on a hike along the lake. She loves putting it on.The handle on top comes in handy. I did pick Meg up by the handle just to test it. Meg wasn't thrilled, but the handle and straps held and the padding underneath made it tolerable for her. If I needed to haul her into the boat, it would help do the job.Now I need to get another one for my Lab. He can swim great, but tires long before Meg (with her Float Coat). I highly recommend this product!Just an added note on sizing: Both of my dogs are in between sizes. Meg has a 27" girth and Bear (lab mix) has a 32" girth. The Ruffwear website recommends choosing the smaller size, but both my dogs are also a bit long in body. For Meg I went with the Medium and it fits perfect adjusted to nearly the smallest it will go. I tried the Medium on Bear, and while he can wear it (straps are plenty long enough, neck fits), it looks too short in body length. I'll be getting him a large. So if you have a short bodied dog that is between sizes, I'd say got with the smaller. Longer bodied dogs should go with the larger size.The medium is 14 1/2" for the length of the back.

I was hesitant to spend this much money on a PFD for my dog. After using it I'm really glad I did. The vest is really well designed and is easy to put on and take off. Our dog didn't seem to mind wearing it at all. We bought this vest so we could start taking our dog with us when we go kayaking. He was already a strong swimmer but this gave him the confidence to stay in the water for most of our trip. What I really appreciate about this vest is there are no exposed straps or buckles. Everything is concealed and neatly tucked away. This was very important when we needed to lift him out of the water and into the kayak. The other jackets we looked at all had the straps and buckles exposed along the sides which could have easily gotten caught on something when pulling him into the kayak.The vest is very well made and I expect it will stand up to years of use. The material is very durable and it is highly visible and reflective so it can be seen from a great distance. This vest also did a great job of keeping him up and his head out of the water even when he wasn't actively kicking. This vest wraps completely around the dogs chest while most other vests stop along the sides and only the straps wrap around. This is important for 3 reasons: it prevents their fur from getting caught in the buckles, it adds flotation material under dog providing additional buoyancy, and finally it distributes pressure when lifting him up and out of water across entire chest.

Third life vest we've purchased and finally the one we are not returning! Getting one for the second dog after we return the other brand. Dog is a 55lb catahoula mix and we purchased a Medium in Dandelion Yellow. She looks adorable and is swimming much easier now.We kayak and boat frequently and want our dogs to be safe and not tire too quickly. With this jacket she doesn't have to work as hard, and she is much easier to pull back into the boat when she jumps out to go swimming. It seems to be built well and i don't hesitate to pull her up by the handle. Because it is situated towards the front of the vest it is easier to pull up and get her back in the boat. The other vests had handles in the middle and it would pull them to the side when we tried to get them back in the boat.One thing important to note is the length of the vest. It is not on this site but on the Ruffwear site. Our other dog fits the chest and weight requirement but when we put this size on her she was not long enough. The edge of the vest hit her in the hip when she tried to sit or lie down and would not have been comfortable. She is getting a small even though she is 45 lbs and a chest depth of 27"Overall excellent product. Most expensive but best quality.

This is a great product, my dog doesn't mind wearing it. My dog is an excellent swimmer and has been in the water his whole life. However, he is getting older at 11 years of age and I just wanted some added protection just in case he gets tired. He is a very stubborn dog and does not like wearing anything. Let me say he doesn't mind wearing this lifejacket, in fact he thinks he is invincible in it. I like that the padding is durable and gives lots of protection to my dog. In addition, it is very lightweight so it's not heavy for your pet. The yellow is bright so anyone can see him out in the water, especially boaters. I love that it has a grab handle in case you ever have to pull or grab onto your pet to get them out. Number one thing is that even for the best swimmer it holds their head up out of the water, making it much easier for them to swim. I notice he works a lot less at swimming and is less tired in it. That could be a good or bad things depending on how active your pet is, mine is very active and has lots of energy. I would highly recommend this item to anyone. I have tried others and they don't compare, it's work the price....you get quality and safety. That is what is most important.

It is much superior to the cheaper models that lasted one outing and were burst in no time. Has now had 29 days of use including dog over board and is still like new. Well worth the extra cost

Fast delivery, good fit and assists my dog well whilst swimming

The media could not be loaded.  Ich habe - bevor ich mich für das Modell von Ruffwear entschieden habe - eine ganze Reihe von Schwimmwesten ausprobiert. Zunächst das Modell von EzyDog, Seadog genannt. Günstig, aber leider ein ziemliches "Brett" ... der Hund kann sich praktisch nicht bewegen. Die zweite Weste die ich ausprobiert habe, war die von IDC (K9). Eine sehr gut durchdachte Weste, welche für den einen oder anderen sicher die richtige Wahl sein kann. Negativ finde ich hier dennoch, dass der Aufwand, diese Weste dem Hund anzuziehen, ziemlich erheblich ist. Außerdem wird praktisch der ganze Hund in die Weste eingehüllt. Insgesamt ist die Weste von IDC die "dünnste", sofern man das überhaupt so nennen darf. Dennoch ist durch die komplette Umschließung des Hundes diese mit Sicherheit auch die wärmste. Bei Sonnenstrahlen hält das kein Hund lange aus. Wer also z.B. an Bord eines Bootes den Hund damit ausstatten möchte, tut seinem Hund damit keinen Gefallen. Zuletzt habe ich dann die Weste von Ruffwear bestellt. Die Verarbeitung ist wie bei IDC einfach tadellos. Der Schwimmkörper umhüllt nur das vordere Drittel des Hundes. Zwischen Weste und Hund ist an Land recht viel Luft, so dass es hier nicht so schnell einen Hitzestau geben kann. Die Weste behindert den Brustkorb des Hundes gar nicht, sondern setzt erst auf Höhe des Zwerchfelles an. Hierdurch bleiben auch die vorderen Pfoten absolut bewegungsfrei. Der Hund kann gut schwimmen. Die Kritik, die ich hier in anderen Rezensionen gelesen habe, dass der Griff ungünstig positioniert sei, kann ich in keinster Weise nachvollziehen. Meinen Hund kann ich am Griff problemlos hochheben. Den Hund stört es überhaupt nicht, da seine Atmung beim Anheben nicht behindert wird. Es ist auch keine Rede davon, dass der Hund beim Anheben aus der Weste rutschen würde. Das könnte m.E. nur dann passieren, wenn man eine völlig unpassende Weste wählt oder aber die Weste, welche stark verstellt werden kann, völlig unpassend eingestellt wurde.

Ich liebe Ruffwear.Hab zwar immer geldprobleme und so,aber trozdem .Ruffwear is teuer,aber wenn man sich ansieht was es leistet is es ds geld wert.Selbst wenn der hund aufhört zu schiwmmen hält es ihn oben.würde er also in ohnmacht fallen würd er trozdem nicht ertrinken.Fällt er aus nem boot passisert nix.Der griff is wenn richtig angelegt auch gut zum hochziehen. die ganze weste ist super durchgedacht.Der rücken ist so verpackt ds nix zwackt oder stört.auch wird der hund gut oben gehalten ohne beim schimmen behindert zu werden oder schief zu liegen.egal ob für bottsfahrte,schwimmanfänger oder physio,für alte kranke oder oder oder.Diese schwimmweste ist die absolut beste und sie is das geld wert.Ruffwear hat inzwischen uch mehr farben ,aber als ich sie kaufte gab es leider nur rot und gelb.AUch egal eig. soll ja nur helfen.Sie is auch nicht zu steif oder so. ich bin hochzufrieden.Da ich n assistenzhund hab möchte ich das er wirklch überall mitkann.und auf nem boot ist es Pflicht für jeden mitfahrer ne weste zu haben und da is der Hund keine ausnahme.Im wasser schützt es,stützt es und macht gut sichtbar,es sichert und hält egal wie lange und hilft dem hund.an land ist sie nicht nervig oder zu "kastig". damit nervt sie auch nicht den hund,und da ich grad was anziehn einen hund hab der nicht so gern was "an hat" kannich wirklich bestätigen das es sich gut anfühlt :)immerhin trägter e sohne sich im kreis zu drehn und mir zu vermitteln das er es nicht will.

...vorab - ich habe noch nie eine Rezension eingereicht, aber bei diesem Artikel kam ich nicht "drumherum", da wir sehr begeistert sind:Wir haben die Schwimmweste in Größe "M" für unseren 30kg Griffon gekauft. Er hat uns auf unserem Segeltörn begleitet.Die Weste hat wunderbar gepasst, war sehr leicht anzuziehen, hat unseren bewegungsfreudigen Vierbeiner in keinerlei Weise eingeschränkt - sondern im Gegenteil noch gewisse Vorteile beim Schwimmen verschafft (Auftrieb)!Was besonders praktisch ist, ist der Tragegriff!!! Hätten wir den nicht gehabt, wäre es wirklich schwierig geworden, den großen Hund über die Badeplattform wieder ins Boot zu befördern.Beim Schwimmen haben wir an dem Griff einen kurzen Tampen befestigt, so dass man den Hund etwas "steuern" bzw. wenn nötig bremsen konnte...Rundum - eine volle Kaufempfehlung. Wuff!