Dog Life Jacket

The life jacket that lets your dog decide for themselves when the swim is over.

Paddleboard, boat, lake or river with a current, even a strong swimmer gets tired: flotation foam under the belly and along the flanks keeps the head above water, the reinforced back handle lets you haul your dog aboard in one move, and the reflective strips keep them visible from afar. Round here the oldest dog in the house wore it first: he swims shorter laps than he used to, but he swims, and nobody lifts him out of the water. Quick-dry Oxford fabric, adjustable neck and belly straps, four sizes from XS to L.

• Flotation foam under the belly and along the flanks
• Reinforced rescue handle on the back, lead ring
• Adjustable neck and belly straps, clip buckles
• Quick-dry Oxford fabric, reflective strips

Measure chest girth and back length, then check the size chart in the photos. Four sizes, XS to L; orange in all of them, green in XS and S. Try it on dry before the first swim.

Do the first test in shallow water with your dog standing, checking that the jacket does not ride up to the neck and that they swim level. A jacket that is too loose tips and pushes the hindquarters down; tighten until only two fingers fit under the straps. Rinse with clean water after every outing, especially at sea, and dry in the shade: salt and sun degrade the foam. Never leave a dog unsupervised in water, jacket or not.

Rinsed in clean water and dried in the shade, the jacket comes out looking new; the dog, slightly less so.