Features:

  • MAXIMUM BUOYANCY - Side foam panels provide maximum buoyancy
  • WARMING INSULATION - Keeps dogs warm on cold swims
  • RESCUE HANDLES - Offer easy rescue & restraint
  • HIGH VISIBILITY - Never lose sight of your dog with bright safety red color
  • PERFECT FIT - Choose from XS to XL and consult the sizing guide to order the best fitting dog life jacket for your furry friend
Peace of mind for me and my dog

Doggie life jackets run the range from absolute crap to human-worthy support. Outward Hound is definitely the latter. I have a standard poodle who weighs about 55 pounds - long body, long legs, deep chest and small waist - so he can be tricky to fit. The large Dawson Buoyant life jacket fit him perfect, with enough adjustability to fit both his chest and waist. The color is perfect because I can see it from far away, and so can boaters. My dog can swim, but sometimes I need to haul him out of the water into my kayak, and it is impossible without a handle, so this life jacket makes it easy to get him into the boat. It also acts as peace of mind if I fall in the water and can't help him, because it helps him stay afloat even when he isn't paddling. It feels like it is made out of high quality, human-worthy materials with double stitching to keep it all together. The floats are not too bulky, but large enough to provide buoyancy. The reflective piping and insulation keep my dog warm and visible when he is in the water. It is the perfect jacket for my poodle who doesn't love the water, but loves going out on the boat with us. It keeps him safe, warm and makes it easy for me to lift him out of the water. And it is well made enough to last for years.

Dog (and cat) approved

We own two of these extra-small yellow one for the cat (13# bengal kitten), and a small orange one for the dog (15# papi-poo). Both fit well and keep each critter afloat. Both of them have had the opportunity to jump out of the kayaks and swim along side, which has given my husband and me an opportunity to test the rescue handles. Neither of them are hampered in their ability to swim while wearing the jackets. They also dry fairly quickly and are easy to clean.

Good, sleek design, allows movements and assists in keeping a swimming dog afloat.

We bought these for $25.48 in August 2016. I have never accepted discounted products for reviews. I generally rate products like this: if the product works as advertised and the quality is in line with the price then I give it five stars tentatively, then deduct stars for usability or other problems. We have a 35 pound golden doodle, who was a slow learner in the water. Just doesn't "love" the water the way some dogs do. But we spend a lot of time on lakes or on the Missouri river, so wanted him to be safe. This has been a great buy and I would recommend it to help keep your dog safer. The vest definitely works to keep the dog afloat. However, unlike human life jackets, dog life vests aren't really made to keep the head above water if the wearer is unconscious. Dog's bodies really aren't made that way that I can see. So maybe there are vests designed to do that, but this one is for helping a dog who is awake. In that regard, its awesome. Our dog now feels very confident in the water, swims around and we never worry when he is in a boat. He will get tired eventually and start whining for us to all go in to the shore (he is very protective and if we are in the water he comes in to "protect" us and will swim until he gets too tired) but with this vest he can stay in the water a lot longer. The quality and design also earn a five star rating. I like the neoprene designs; they seem sleeker and seem like they allow a dog to have more natural movement. This vest does indeed allow our dog to just wander and be himself. When he is out of the water, he doesn't immediately try to get it off. We've never had to haul him on board by the strap, but it seems like a quality design that would hold up. All the stitching and straps are likewise attached securely. (Edit on 7/20/2017) I now have used the strap for that purpose--he decided he was done on the tube and jumped off and swam to the boat, but we were in the middle of the lake. The strap worked like a charm to pull him up with. Didn't seem to cause any discomfort in the dog, either. All in all, its a great product at a fair price.

Phenomenal product, fit perfectly, great price, slim fitting design, comfortable for the dog.

This neoprene version works great. We have an 80 pound black lab and the sizing says large goes up to 85 and so the sizing was perfect as well. Our dog loves the water but he has a lot of muscle and so sometimes although probably not in reality he appears to have trouble swimming as if all but his head is underwater and I worried that he would choke or something would happen as he loves to fetch anything and everything in the water, this completely resolved that. I have seen and used a lot of products of this nature between different dogs I have had and my friends/ girlfriend has had and this is by far the best product that I have used in the dog flotation category. Better yet, the price is phenomenal. You have to give any company that makes a great product....a phenomenal product actually, and then sells it at a more than reasonable price. I would choose Outward Hound over Ruff(only on my wallet) wear any day. This neoprene jacket worked better than the Ruff wear life jacket did as well and rubbed on our dog less. He does not even notice this jacket is on him and will wear it happily even in our house. It really does the perfect job of being sleek enough to not slow his swimming speed, but keeps him floating correctly. The big black lab of ours who wears this now spends more time in the water which I really noticed after using it a few times, even when small waves are crashing at the lake from boat wake, he is not phased by it where prior to this jacket he would usually make his way out of the water if close enough to shore.

Best one out there!

This is far better than all of the others I've seen. I am replacing another neoprene vest that was only a single layer of neoprene. This one has foam blocks sewn into the layers for more buoyancy, just like a human ski vest. I ordered a large. When I received it, it looked a little small for my German Shepherd so I ordered an extra large. As you can see in the photograph they are nearly identical. The difference is mostly in the length of the straps. The straps have adjustments on both ends and a buckle on one end. The quality seems very good. I would definitely recommend this. If your dog is in between sizes, feel confident in ordering the larger size as the straps allow lots of adjustability. By the way, the large is closest in the photograph in the XL size is further away at the top.

Very nice life jacket

Fits solid on my 25lb Boston Terrier and not bulky. The sizing guidelines did not work for my dog. I initially purchased a medium size as my dog's 3 measurements (neck, back, chest) far exceeded the small size limits on the fitting guidelines. The only thing that warranted getting a small size was his weight fell into the weight range. The medium fit loosely with everything adjusted on the smallest settings but it was obviously bulky as a result but it did work and helped my dog swim and float with enough buoyancy. The small size at first glance looked too small until I put it on and adjusted it - fit perfect and can't wait to use it tomorrow at the beach! Definitely recommend if you want a life jacket that works and has a minimalist look and fit.

5 star product with incorrect sizing

I have a beagle/dachshund mix. She is 22-24 lbs. her weight made her a small, her neck is 11 inches which made her a medium, her length was 16 inches which is a large and her girth was 19.5 inch which was on the max of small. I bought a medium and it's too big in the neck, tightened as much as it can in the belly, and perfect in the length. Wish I got the small but it will do for 24 dollars.

Great price for an Excellent Life Jacket.

Our medium sized dog is getting older and we were concerned that she would get too tired to swim in the ocean with us. We were very happy with this life jacket. It's easy to put on her and the handle on the back was great for helping to haul her in and out of the water. This made us feel much more comfortable, knowing she was safe! I will say, though, the sizing was really tough to figure out based on the recommendations. Our dog's dimensions (we measured several times) called for the Extra Large size. But her weight called for the Large. We opted to go with the Extra Large to make sure it would fit. It seems to fit pretty well, but we had to guess.

High Quality and Comfortable for the Pups

Overall I'm very impressed with this life jacket. I wasn't going to skimp on something that could potentially save my dogs' lives, so I spent quite a long time researching different life jackets before buying this one. I had a cheap one previously that, although it probably would have worked if I ever used it, never seem to fit very well and was only secured by one small strap underneath. This life jacket is significantly better than the cheap one. First of all, the neoprene material is far better than some of the cheaper ones here on Amazon. Most life jackets use that noisy and waterproof material, which is fine, but it isn't nearly as durable or comfortable as neoprene. In addition, the neoprene material allows the jacket to really fit snug and hug the dog while still allowing airflow to dry the jacket out when the pup is in the boat and not in the water. Next, the jackets is actually strong enough to pick the dog up. The cheaper life jacket I used to have made it difficult to pick the dog up by the back strap. Since it was only secured by one strap underneath the dog, the strap would dig into my dogs' stomach and they would squirm around when trying to pick them up. With this jacket, the bottom is secured by two strong straps and a flap of neoprene to spread the wait out. I was able to pick both of my dogs up and (not at the same time!) and neither of them seemed to mind at all. In fact, I was able to carry them around the house for about 30 seconds and neither squirmed to get away or even seemed to be bothered at all. There were no ripping sounds from the handle or straps as I thought there might be (both my dogs are over 70 pounds). The next strap also seems to take some of the weight (though not too much to hurt the dog's neck) and it also helps to the keep the life jacket actually on the dog and not sliding around. Next, I was worried about sizing when I ordered the life jackets. I have a German Shepherd/Lab mix and a Golden Retriever/Lab mix. The German Shepherd is pretty thick (not fat, just a thick dog) and weighs about 80 pounds. The Golden is the exact opposite. He is incredibly thin and lanky (he's only a year or so old). I was pretty confident the large would fit the German just fine, but I wasn't sure what size to get for the Golden. He's very long, so I needed at least a large for him, but because he's so thin, I thought a large would be too loose on him. Well I ended up buying two larges and they are both so adjustable that they worked perfectly. I was able to tighten the jacket almost all the way and it fit perfectly on the Golden and as he grows and thickens, I will be able to expand the straps and it should still fit him. I've only had this jacket for a few weeks, so I can't speak to the durability and how it will hold up in the hot Arkansas sun, but I will post back sometime in the future. I don't foresee having any issues because it seems like it was so well made.

He is a great swimmer and loves the water but we were planning ...

Our dog is a rescue and whatever mix of jack russel terrier, border collie, lab he might be resulted in a long slender body, with a broad chest, very skinny waist, and short legs. He is a great swimmer and loves the water but we were planning a vacation to a beach house with a dock and open access to the bay. The dock only has a ladder for humans and we wanted a life jacket that he could comfortably wear for long periods of time while outside, so fit had to be spot on, and most importantly a strong top handle to pull him out when he was done swimming. This jacket was perfect with all the adjustable straps, he didn't seem to mind wearing it at all and was able to run jump and swim freely. Pulling him out of the water was very easy. It dries pretty quickly on the dog and very fast if you remove it and hang it in the sun. This jacket looks nice too and was much cheaper then others we tried on at Petco. For reference he is 30 lbs and wearing a medium.

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