Following up on a question Tim asked during tonight’s MacRendezvous call.
We’ve used three different (but they all tend to be the same) life vests for our pups over the years and for us we found the most important part is the fit. The one we’re currently using for Piper we actually had to reorder a size down. It came from the Amazon so the return of the oversized one was on Bezos. I’ll paste a link for the one we bought though I must say it looks like they’ve changed the style a little. Structurally it looks to be the same as the one we’re using.
The ones we had for our previous pup had one feature this one does not have and that is a removable “chin cushion” which floats up under pup’s chin keeping their head well above the surface of the water. We ended up using the life vest without it attached as by the time we were in deep deep waters Holly was much older and a very good swimmer. For a small or very young pup I’d consider leaving it attached but do try it before you subject the pup to survival with it attached as it may or may not be helpful and could actually be a hindrance. We only ever had that one with the chin float and don’t think I’d worry about it in future. This one I’m pretty sure was purchased online through a specialty pet store and the brand name is Sierra Dog Supply.
Back to the fit though….you want a life vest that fits well enough and is secure that you can hoist pup out of the water by the back strap. The straps are large enough that if you needed, a boat hook could even be used. The comfort we take with the vest is knowing that if things went bad the floatation would help pup not have to expend so much energy while we got to her. But you still want to get to them as fast as you can even if it means you go over to help in the water while your boat is brought around to you. I firmly believe that when a dog hits the water and has nothing under their legs the instinct is to just start paddling and never stop.
Current vest Amazon
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