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Dog vest sizing & Roxi swims

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:13 pm
by wems2371
Hi. I was curious how tight a neoprene vest should fit on my dog. Tight like a scuba suit? First gun dog and first time using vests. She's almost 9 months old and approxi. 55lbs, and we went from a medium to a large--and feel like even that's too small. How tight is too tight? It almost takes two of us to get it on, one to feed the zipper together and one to zip. She's wearing it in the photo below and still works freely/okay in it, so hopefully it will last the rest of this season. Won't sit when wearing it--but then she never did want to in the med. either. Oh, and here's a real newbie question: When it fits right, will it keep the dog dry? Just curious.

Posted on "Chat" about 5 days ago, about "Waterwork with Roxi" and video link. Took her out yesterday, and she now swims better than I do. Video link below to NEW swimming footage. Sorry if pics are huge--I'm working on learning that. Denise

http://s199.photobucket.com/albums/aa28 ... CN1941.flv


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Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:25 pm
by mtlee
From the pictures and the video it looks like the vest fits fine to me. My female weighs 56 lbs and a large will fit her snugly, an XL is a little loose. I think its better to be snug than loose. Especially in the front because if it is loose water just dumps in the front and I would think it has to create resistance when the dog is swimming.

No the vest will not keep the dog dry...it holds a layer of water next to their body, which their body temperature heats up and keeps them warm...like insulation. At least that is my understanding of how it works. My shorthair stays plenty warm with it on, but then again it doesn't get that cold around here.

None of the vest really fit the versatiles that well...they're all made for labs/chessies/goldens, etc. Which obviously have different body types.

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 5:34 pm
by Wagonmaster
Its better to be snug than loose. Loose produces chaffing, especially at edges such as the openings for the legs. Not real tight though.

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:54 pm
by CherrystoneWeims
My female weighs 56 lbs and a large will fit her snugly, an XL is a little loose.
OK Matt, I have to ask you. Are you using a vest here in SC??? I've never used one on my dogs.

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:56 pm
by BigShooter
In case you don't know ... neoprene vests are good for water work ... not so great in the field. Watch for chafing around the arm holes. During dry field work be careful the dog doesn't overheat. Don't be afraid to custom fit with a little scissor work.

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 12:04 pm
by mtlee
CherrystoneWeims wrote:
My female weighs 56 lbs and a large will fit her snugly, an XL is a little loose.
OK Matt, I have to ask you. Are you using a vest here in SC??? I've never used one on my dogs.

I use it if its really "cold" and we're waterfowl hunting...I think I used it once or twice this year...one day it was snowing and I put it on her. I really use it for protection from stumps and stuff more than anything...Lake Moultrie is FULL of underwater stumps! I've seen what one can do to a dog's chest, not a pretty site!

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 12:23 pm
by jcbuch
at least for wet suits a neoprene vest should fit snuggly. allowing a thing layer of water to get between the body and vest. Your body then heats up this thin water layer creating another insulating layer. Unprotected the body would lose heat rapildy to the colder water.

Joe