Ruffwear  Float Coat Dog Life Jacket

Our 12 year old Labrador, Meredith, was having increasingly more time struggling with swimming. Her last life vest helped keep her floating, but didn't have floatation *under* her. After wearing the Ruffwear float coat, she would confidently go into the pool. She figured out about the abdominal floatation and no longer hesitated "plopping in" from the steps. Without this vest, she always carefully entered the pool in a slow and steady motion. With this float coat, she would do her version of cannon balls, knowing that she wouldn't sink and never had to struggle. It may or may not be her last summer with us. Regardless, this one was a great one because of her floatation device.

Our Boxador loves swimming, but at 9 years old and slowing down, we decided to buy him an aid for our trip to Lk. Roosevelt. Buster loved his new float coat / life jacket and swam around with ease... he was very proud to wear it and I know he felt secure and confident!! We worked with him for a couple of weeks at home (on land), a little bit at a time so he could get used to the coat. After each session, we treated him with a jerkey and praised him big. I was a bit worried about the bulk and if he would be able to lay down. As you can see in the last photo, he did fine! :)

This is my 2nd brand of life vest for my 60lb husky. The medium jacket only has one handle at the top of the jacket. It has a pattern where the 2nd handle should be but is not. I was unable to pull my dog back into my kayak because of the lack of a 2nd back handle. My $35 Amazon life vest has 2 handles and I’ve always been able to pull him in when needed. The ruffwear also appeared slouchy after wet and the buckles are hard to tighten. I have same issue with their dog pack. The straps are ridiculously hard to tighten down. My dog did float! I love the vest material and how big it is. But I hope ruffwear takes this feedback and makes adjustments. I think this could be a really solid dog vest…. I take my dog kayaking regularly through the summer. This was not our first trip and I will be returning the best for these reasons.

Bummer dog approved. Great materials and stitching typical of Ruffwear, expect this jacket to go the distance. Very clean design, nothing hanging out to get caught or in the way, but still has all the extras (handle/dog light clip/leash point). Easy to fit and put on, nice colors and the bright yellow makes it easy to spot the dog. Dog seemed to really appreciate the extra protection/warmth when the wind picked up and waves were breaking over kayak :). Future design might consider making the handle stand a little more proud to make hooking from a boat a little easier. Overall very satisfied.

We have 3 dogs and 3 different brands of dog PFD. This one is BY FAR the best. The XL fits our 150 lb Newfoundland very well and has quite a bit of room still if your dog is even larger. Newfies are excellent swimmers but I was worried about him in the extremely cold high mountain lakes we enjoy visiting. This gives great peace of mind and my dog doesn’t mind wearing it at all. It’s super comfortable.

My dog didn't exactly make this an easy product to review! We did our best to get him to swim, but he just didn't want to wade in past his chest. I did toss him in deeper once, and he floated and paddled! But Egon was very good at testing this Float Coat for its ability to hold up to running through bushes, wrestling with other dogs, and even getting knocked over and rolled through dirt and gravel. Not a tear in it. He even tugged on his leash a bit, and the plastic D ring held up. It has points of fit adjustment at the front and under the chest, and I found these easier than other Ruffwear products' adjustment points.

I have a large German Shepherd so finding things to fit him right is tricky sometimes! He's also gear shy so having to constantly adjust or try on life vests is a no for him. Safety in water is important to us so we decided to go with the Ruffwear Float Coat bc it's one of the few life jackets for dogs that is recommended for boating and paddleboarding. We wanted ot order through REI, but used the Ruffwear Site to make sure we were getting the correct measurements! Although he isn't the biggest fan (re: hates wearing clothes/harnesses/life jackets) this life jacket fits him well and I know he'll be safe on all our water adventures!

Using this on my 80 lbs bloodhound mix, Buster who had a 34" chest circumference. By holding him stationary using the handle on the back or hooking him to a leash (there's an o-ring under the handle) he exercises in place.

We went rafting & kayaking in Tahoe with our 8 month old pup. She weighs 62lb and we got the size large. Perfect fit with handle. Very well made and super cute!

Fantastic jacket. Our 95 lb pit bull mix loves to swim but swims really low in the water and gets so much water in his ears and nose. He loves this life jacket and goes bounding around in the water now. It keeps his whole head above water while his paddling around. And he still has free movement to get zoomies on the shore while wearing it! Size Large is a perfect fit