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.

Lake Tahoe

The dogs and I went on a road trip to Lake Tahoe last week. It was unseasonably warm and I'm told there should have been snow everywhere. It has been warm and sunny down here in Santa Barbara so I was somewhat unprepared for the colder mountain weather. It was nice though, I think I'd like to live up there.

Brisbane definitely enjoyed the hiking and swimming. Ru enjoyed sitting on my lap for the long car trip.

Product Review: Kong Aqua

The Kong Aqua is a floating water toy with a rope attached for throwing. The Kong Aqua is not a stuffable chew toy, but it is a highly-visible and floats high in the water. The Kong website states that the toy comes in medium and large sizes, but I've only ever seen the large.

Photo by Erin Koski

Brisbane is pretty hard on water toys. After he retrieves them, he wold really like to shred them. He ripped the cover off the Water Wubba, and will tear chunks out of our Chuckit disc and bumper given the opportunity. I get the feeling that the people who designed the Kong Aqua have the same problem.

The rope on this toy is really long, at least 2' if not 3'. This makes it super easy to lob the thing way out into the ocean without getting my feet wet. It's a braided plastic rope, so it doesn't absorb water and Brisbane can't shred it once he comes ashore. He tries, it just doesn't come apart.

This is the same size as a large Kong Classic, and no significantly bigger than a tennis ball. Brisbane has a lot of trouble locating a tennis ball or Ultra Ball in the surf. The Aqua Kong is far more visible, even when he is swimming with his nose right at water level.

Pros: Nearly indestructible, holds up even when he stands on the toy and tries to rip the rope off. High visibility. Easy to throw long distances.

Cons: Extra-long rope makes it kind of awkward to carry. Plastic rope doesn't feel great on my hands when playing tug. This Kong is not stuffable because it is filled with floating foam.

Bottom Line: This might be our new favorite swimming toy.