Dog Life Jacket - Recommendations

[BigAbe75]

Got our new puppy today. 8wks old, 12.5lbs Standard Golden Doodle

What life jackets do you guys recommend? We have had dogs before, but never any that boated with us.

He will be 50+ lbs, maybe up to 70, I guess.

Surely there’s not one that will be “that” adjustable. So, I guess I need something that would work for the next 4 months or so, and can reevaluate next year.

Any thoughts?

@Dixie Highway @Julian (other golden doodle parents lol)

 

[Scottintexas]

We have ruff wear, it's been very durable for 2 years now

 

[zipper]

X2 on Ruffwear. We have several that are too small for them now. Our guys are under 50#s. Float Coat™ Dog Life Jacket | Dog PFD | Ruffwear

 

[Dough]

Outward Hound makes a good jacket too.

 

[Dixie Highway]

I don’t recall the brand off the top of my head, got it at Petsmart. I’ll look in a bit. It’s neoprene, and they had a good range of sizes so I’m sure you could get an extra small for a puppy and just move up. Ours is 70 lbs, but doodles are pretty tall and skinny so you have to consider that. Not feasible right now, but the great thing about Petsmart is we could go “try them on”. Maybe MO will have pet stores open?

 

[mwalker4]

We have a 1 year old Golden Doodle that is 60lbs. He was born Apr 8th. We got a puppy life jacket last year too early in the season and he out grew it by fall when he actually was going in the water. The one picture is late spring the 2nd is early fall. We purchased Outward Hound Large for this season. Haven't use it yet but it fits well.

 

[IA_210SX]

We had a smaller one when our dog was smaller. Now at 60 pounds we have an outward hound, the dog is actually a better retriever on the water than land. Will swim for hours and hours.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

AWE!
Post a pic!
We have a 15 month old golden doodle. Best decision we have ever made. We got one from West Marine. It lasted one trip.
I just ordered one from chewy.com. Should be here in 2 weeks due to delays.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

This is Oliver. He is 15 months and just had a super short haircut. Super smart and doesnt shead. Loves the boat

 

[IA_210SX]

She is under a year old in these photos.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

Also something to note is your dogs "shape". Oliver is very athletic and lean. Basically pure muscle (hes 55 lbs) and will not grow anymore at his age, approx 15 months. He has a big chest and thin "tummy" area so it might be difficult to find something that fits well. I hope the one from chewy.com fits nicely.

 

[BigAbe75]

I don’t recall the brand off the top of my head, got it at Petsmart. I’ll look in a bit. It’s neoprene, and they had a good range of sizes so I’m sure you could get an extra small for a puppy and just move up. Ours is 70 lbs, but doodles are pretty tall and skinny so you have to consider that. Not feasible right now, but the great thing about Petsmart is we could go “try them on”. Maybe MO will have pet stores open?

How fast do they grow? Is he going to double in size between now and July? Maybe I should just wait a bit?

 

[Matt Phillips]

Out 10lb Terrier mix has a really large chest area, then skinny chihuahua but. This makes her hard to size because in order to get anything big enough for her chest, it's usually too long for her torso. We're on our third and the Ruffwear is by far the best. It's pricy though.

Your baby is only 8 weeks old and 12/5 pounds on the way to somewhere between 50-70. My recommendation is to get her something that's less expensive from your local PetSmart knowing that she will outgrow it throughout the season (she may even need 2). Then next year when she's fully grown, I'd spring for a Ruffwear.

 

[BigAbe75]

Got our new puppy today. 8wks old, 12.5lbs Standard Golden Doodle

What life jackets do you guys recommend? We have had dogs before, but never any that boated with us.

He will be 50+ lbs, maybe up to 70, I guess.

Surely there’s not one that will be “that” adjustable. So, I guess I need something that would work for the next 4 months or so, and can reevaluate next year.

Any thoughts?

@Dixie Highway @Julian (other golden doodle parents lol)

Here’s Oscar with his new kids. He’s pooped after his first day and lots of new things and people.

 

[Dixie Highway]

How fast do they grow? Is he going to double in size between now and July? Maybe I should just wait a bit?

I don’t know about double, but 50% larger isn’t out of the question. I’ll look and see what I have for comparison.

 

[Dixie Highway]

9 weeks


20 weeks

 

[bumpy]

We have a 16 week old standard; she is growing like a weed. We bought this one : Amazon.com : Outward Hound Dawson Dog Life Jacket, Small, Red : Pet Supplies
We got the Small one and it still fits, but I'm not sure how long.

 

[crazy4life]

Here is mine at 10 months. Vet said they keep growing for year and a half. Gonna have to get second job to feed him. Got a smaller life jacket last year when he was a pup. Gonna need a bigger one for this summer.

 

[BigAbe75]

We have a 1 year old Golden Doodle that is 60lbs. He was born Apr 8th. We got a puppy life jacket last year too early in the season and he out grew it by fall when he actually was going in the water. The one picture is late spring the 2nd is early fall. We purchased Outward Hound Large for this season. Haven't use it yet but it fits well. View attachment 118177View attachment 118178

Yeah, I'm thinking I better hold off a few more weeks. We're just now going to pickup the boat from storage today. We probably won't spend a whole bunch of time just swimming until June, anyway. Until then, I imagine it will be a bit hit and miss... although, with everyone already home - maybe we will go boating more...

 

[BigAbe75]

Here is mine at 10 months. Vet said they keep growing for year and a half. Gonna have to get second job to feed him. Got a smaller life jacket last year when he was a pup. Gonna need a bigger one for this summer.


View attachment 118287

Holy Cow!! How much body is under all that hair? He's huge! Lol