Product Review: Paws Aboard Doggy Life Jacket

The Paws Aboard Doggy Life Jacket is a personal flotation device sold by Petco. It features reflective stripes for visibility, a supportive mesh belly panel, and a handle on top for helping dogs out of the pool. It comes in two colors and six sizes to fit dogs with chests 11-44" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

Years ago when I had my cocker spaniel, personal flotation devices for dogs tended to consist of a somewhat contoured float thing with straps that went around the dog. The one we had did have a handle on top, but the design meant the dog's entire weight was suspended from two straps running under their body. Not exactly comfortable.

We've come a long way since then, and now even bottom-of-the-line doggy life jackets have supportive belly panels. This one also has two straps that buckle around the dog's middle, and another that goes around the front of their chest.

This is a bottom-of-the-line life jacket. The first thing I noticed about it was that the material seems very thin and flimsy. It should be just fine for occasional use, but for an active dog that's going to wearing it frequently, I would go with something higher quality. It's pretty thin, which means a nice low profile, but also less buoyancy. It's fine for smaller dogs, but I would hesitate to use it on a truly large dog, especially a poor swimmer. Still, it's a nice value. That extra bit of velcro on the side is actually for a strap on the other side that keeps the whole thing wrapped up neatly for storage.

Pros: Inexpensive, probably the lowest-priced PFD (personal flotation devices) for dogs right now. Supportive belly panel. Bright color provides excellent visibility. Not very bulky, low profile and close fit.

Cons: Sizes run small. Thin material means less flotation, so a bigger vest is better anyway. Xena is wearing a size large in this picture, which should actually be a little big for her according to the provided measurements. I'm not convinced this is the most durable material, and I don't think the handle is sturdy enough to lift a large dog either.

Bottom Line: Petco's Paws Aboard Doggy Life Jacket is an inexpensive way to keep a small or medium dog safe around a pool or on a boat. It's a good value for a dog that needs to get some confidence in the water. I would not recommend it for a large dog due to its limited buoyancy, or for major adventures for durability concerns.

Product Review: Fido Float Life Jacket

The PetSafe Fido Float is a doggy lifejacket that is supportive, easy to put on, and very secure. It is a step-in style lifevest that closes with a zipper on the back. The smaller sizes have a single handle on the back for helping the dog out of the water, the larger sizes have two handles for more support. The Fido Float personal flotation device comes in six sizes to fit dogs with chests 10-37" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

The vest is well-designed in my opinion, but I do have some concerns about material durability. I think the step-in style is very supportive, there is a mesh panel supporting Ru's entire chest instead of concentrating all the pressure onto a few straps.

Though it's not terribly obvious from the pictures, this little life vest has two handles. When the vest is zippered shut, the handles can be grabbed together in one hand. This allows me to lift Ru without ever putting pressure on the zipper at the top.

Photo by Erin Koski

The design basically guarantees that there is minimal pressure put on the zipper. This is important because that zipper is a major weakness of the design. One bad grab that misses a handle and you've likely destroyed the zipper for good. The good news is that a faulty zipper shouldn't cause the Fido Float to fail while your dog is swimming. The bad news is that it will likely fall off as soon as he gets out of the water.

The mesh bottom between the foam panels is a clever was to make this a supportive and somewhat form-fitting design. However, it is a very wide mesh. Most dogs won't have an issue, but I've heard of several short-haired highly-active dogs getting nipple irritation after a while.

I think durability is my biggest concern for the Fido Float. It looks nice, and I even bought this one secondhand, but I don't think the orange material on the outside would hold up to that much action. It makes a great just-in-case safety device for a dog that just sits on a boat, but I would choose a sturdier personal flotation device for a pup that is going to party hard at the beach. The difference between the Fido Float and the Ruffwear Float Coat is like the difference between an inexpensive kids' life jacket and a serious fishing life vest.

Pros: Inexpensive. Brightly colored and easy to spot. Supportive and easy to put on older dogs. Design will still support a swimming dog even if the fastener fails.

Cons: Not durable enough for serious active dog use. Zipper is likely to fail under stress. Mesh bottom can irritate some dogs.

Bottom Line: For keeping a sedentary dog safe on the water, for occasional use, and for helping an old dog swim, this is an economical choice. I would not expect it to hold up to a whole lot of adventuring.

Product Review: Ruffwear Float Coat Life Jacket

The Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat is a life jacket designed for active dogs and extended wear. It features a grab handle strong enough to actually lift a dog out of the water, reflective trim, and closed cell foam inserts that allow for a natural swimming position. It is currently available in two colors and six sizes to fit dogs with chests 13-42" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Ruffwear Float Coat shown in this picture is not the current model. Ours is almost 10 years old and still going strong. It is slightly faded in a couple of places from being stored in my car, in the sun, for months at a time. I think it has a spot of beach tar on one side. It has been used extensively and remains beautiful without showing much wear.

Brisbane normally hates wearing clothing, this is one of the few things he will wear without complaint.

When Brisbane was a pup, I used to take him to a tiny beach inside the harbor where there were no waves. We could play fetch without him getting swamped by waves. The only problem was that the beach was situated near the mouth of the harbor, and so there were often boats passing by. Brisbane mostly wanted to swim out to get his ball, but occasionally he would spot a boat and decide to paddle out into the channel. I was always worried that he would get too tired to swim and just sink out there, so I got him a life jacket.

Being a total dog nerd, I wanted to get Brisbane The Best Dog Life Jacket. At the time, my options appeared to be the flimsy big box store life jackets that often didn't make it out of the store unscathed, or the Ruffwear Float Coat.  Since Briz did quite a bit of running on the beach, I really needed something that would allow him to move freely without chafing even when he was wet and sandy.

My very first interaction with the Ruffwear company was nearly a decade ago when I bought this life vest. According to his chest measurement, Brisbane should wear a size small. However, at the time the Float Coat fitting chart gave both the chest circumference and length, and by length Briz would fit into a size medium. I contacted Ruffwear to ask which measurement I should use, and they said to go ahead and get the one that fit his chest measurement. They have since updated the fitting guide with that information, while providing both the length and neck circumference for each size to help get the best fit for every dog.

Pros: Allows enough freedom of movement to wear on a long hike or a hard run. Helps boost swimming confidence for newbie dock divers and beginning swimmers. Ridiculously durable. Obviously comfortable.

Cons: The straps on ours tend to slip looser after a few hours. I believe this issue has been fixed on newer models.

Bottom Line: Hands down the best dog life jacket on the market. Better pick a color you like because you'll be looking at it for years to come.