8 Best Dog Life Vests – Keep Your Dog Safe in 2019
Life Vests for Dogs… really? It might seem like something completely unessecary to some people but it is actually quite a serious issue. Yes, your pet dog may be able to keep a steady doggie paddle for a couple of minutes but what if it were to fall into an icy lake or high flowing choppy rough waters. In these sorts of instances without a life jacket they may simply have minutes to live.
If you are at sea and your boat capsizes then you and your four legged family member are going to be in the waters for a long length of time. Why should you as human have a life jacket but your dog not. Fatigue will kick in with dogs the same way it will with a human and eventually drowning really is a possibility without assistance from a life vest.
While there are no solid statistics publicly available online for the death of dogs from drowning DR. Patty Khuly mentions that per year the toll could be close to 400,000 deaths. That really is shockingly large number. That might seem hard to comprehend but just think of the number of people who have pools in their backyards or walk their dogs leash less next to lakes and simply searching on youtube can you should you hundreds of videos of close calls.
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What Makes a Good Dog Life Jacket?
Buying a poorly made cheap life vest for your dog can actually make a situation whole lot worse. You really don’t want to buy one that leaves your dog floating on it’s back or one that is so loose it leaves your dogs head under the water. Fortunately there are a number of really great jackets online that are tried, tested and designed to let your dog to float swim naturally with just the right amount of assistance.
The Top 8 Dog Life Jackets in 2018
RuffWear K9 Float Coat
The RuffWear K9 is without a doubt is currently the best dog life jacket available online and it really does a great job protecting dogs. The first important thing to note is that the K9 Float Coat comes in 6 different sizes which is probably the most important feature. If you get a life jacket that doesn’t fit your dog properly then that could leave it useless and your dog could be left with serious consequences. The K9 Float Coat sizes start at XX-Small and go up to X-Large which is 13 inches up to 42 inches. The vest is very easy to use and you can adjust the straps to get a perfect fit for you dog with one simple clipping. Another good feature with the vest is that it has a very good handle on the top of the jacket that makes it easy to pull your dog out of waters quickly. It also has reflective strips on it so if situations where it is dark it will light up with a torch lit up on it.
RipStop Outward Hound
The RipStop is really great cheap option for people looking to protect their dog. It comes in 5 different sizes which is pretty dog starting at extra small going up to extra large. It comes in Pink, Orange and a Fun Fish color scheme all of which include reflective strips on the design which ensure your go is easy to identify if it happens to be in the water. This vest features velcro straps which provide an extra layer of protection making sure it doesn’t get tangled up in anything in the water. This is a really comfortable vest for dogs and you will notice that your dog finds it very easy to walk around while on land even though though the vest will be strapped on super tightly. This is definitely one of the safer cheaper options and just because they have cut down
Fido Paws Abroad Neoprene
This life jacket makes sure you will be able to see your dog nice and clearly with the bright red colors and reflective strips. This is a good life jacket and has good straps on it that make it snug but only if you get the correct size for your dog. If you don’t then this vest is pretty much useless. It’s quite hard to find the best size first time round due to there being no really good size chart out there. If you manage to get a good sized Fido vest for your dog then there really not that many faults out there and this vest will keep your dog nice and safe for a very reasonable price.
Red Ezy Dog Life
The Ezy Dog Life Jacket is a really well built and made out of high quality materials. It comes in 5 different sized selections. This vest is optimized for flotation and this keep the heaviest dogs afloat and is especially good for dogs with wide chests. Like all of the others it comes with reflective strips and that can light in dark settings. The strap is very large and you should fine it easy to lift your dog out and into the waters and the stitching seems to be done well. This vest is actually quite similar to the fido paws one in quite a lot of ways.
Petacc Shark Life Vest
The Petacc might be cool because it makes your dog look a shark but it only comes in 3 different sizes which means that there is a high chance you might order the wrong size for your dog which is the worst possible situation for people looking to keep their dogs safe in the water. It also only comes in one color and has no reflective strips which make it not safe at all for when your dog ends up in the water at night time. It does however do a good job of keeping your dog warm in cold waters and is designed to do a good job of supporting your dogs neck, that is if you get the right size of course. It is made out of high quality material and so you can expect this to last for quite a long length of time. The price is also very reasonable but remember cheaper is not always better when it comes to your dogs safety.
One More Choice Camo Preserver
This really has to be the perfect life jacket for hunter pet owners and in fact some hunters might even prefer to use this if there isn’t any water around! The straps on this are covered by velcro so there is no danger of your dog getting tangled up in any branches. In theory the camoflauge could make this life vest dangerous for dogs stuck in water at night time but to counter that problem they put reflective straps on the one more choice jacket. This kind of does defeat the purpose of the camouflage however as they are quite noticeable even in the day time. This jacket does most importantly however come in 5 different sizes and does a very good job of keeping dogs afloat in water which is the main thing.
HE&HA Chin Float
The HE and HA vest in 5 different sizes and orange reflective color. This life vest offers strategically placed flotation points like one the dogs neck and one on the underbelly which ensure you that your dog will be able to float easily and not topple over. They offer quite clear instructions on how to measure your dog to get the right life jacket which is a very good sign and they have also made the effort to manufacture their vests with a mesh like material that will allow you to dry your HE & A jacket out super quickly should your dog enter the water. This jacket allows your to attach your leash to it and has a nice big handle to lift your dog in and out of water. This jacket is price very reasonably and does the job if you get a good fit.
Kurgo Surf and Turf
The Kurgo company also manufacture and sell normal rain coats for dogs and this life jacket definitely works as both a life vest and warm comfortable coat. It comes in jus the 1 classic bright red color for high visibility and features the all important reflective trim. It comes in 5 different sizes and features a metal ring which can be used to attach leash to it. Which means you can keep your dog collarless when wearing the Kurgo Surf and Turf. It does a pretty good job as an actual life jacket but it seems like they focused on making it a warm comfortable coat more. If you are getting a life jacket for your dog safety really should be the number 1 priority and comfort a very close 2nd but not the other way round.
Closing Thoughts
The more you look around at the different life jackets the more you will see that although the prices vary around a lot the actual designs and technicalities for each vest will remain the same. The most important thing any dog owner needs to consider prior to getting a life vest for their pet is to check the size of their dog.
It is so important to get a life vest that fits properly so choosing a vest that clearly states their sizing charts is important. Your life vest should really have reflective materials and bright colors as the worst types of accidents can occur at night time.
Life jackets for dogs are not just only useful for emergencies and can actually be used for an array of different situations like kayaking, learning to swim, old dogs, amputated dogs or even just to keep warm in the water. Remember you if you use just a normal dog rain jacket for your dog to swim that could become heavy and drag your dog down. I hope this guide can help keep some of your dogs safe.