Product Review: Sylmar Body Guard Dog Vest

Sylmar's Body Guard Vest is a high-visibility vest designed to protect your dog's chest and belly from burrs, sticks, barbed wire, and other nasty stuff they can run into out in the field. This vest is made from heavy duty nylon, with three adjustable buckles along the back. It comes in Safety Orange, High-Viz Yellow, and camouflage. The basic Body Guard is available in eight different sizes, with optional neoprene lining for warmth.

Photo by Erin Koski

This product was originally designed for hunting dogs, but it will work for any dog that needs protection on their underside. We've been using it to keep the foxtails to a minimum, and it also protects Zip from cactus spines and barbed wire.

The Body Guard design is different from the standard visibility vest, though it serves that function nicely. This vest has two leg holes, and provides full chest and belly protection as well as visibility.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros

• Thick ripstop nylon protects against thorns, cactus, barbed wire, burrs, and foxtails
• Genuine Safety Orange and Safety Yellow colors for high visibility during hunting season
• Open back design allows body heat to dissipate
• Sylmar says they do custom sizing and colors, small company eager to wok with customers

Cons

• Leg-hole design may cause chafing if the fit isn't right
• May restrict range of motion

Bottom Line

While the Body Guard does a nice job of keeping the foxtails off Zip's chest and belly, I feel it restricts her range of motion when she runs full-speed. Since most burs and stickers just fall out of her coat, I don't really need to keep her covered like this. However, her dad has a curly coat that picks up every nasty thing in the field, and this vest does wonders for him. Sylmar also makes sleeved suits for maximum protection, and we're seriously considering one for him.

Product Review: Kurgo Reflect and Protect Active Dog Vest

Kurgo's Reflect and Protect Active Dog Vest combines high-visibility safety-orange with flashing red lights, so that everyone can see your dog. This vest is made from lightweight durable fabric, including mesh areas for better airflow. Reflective piping and tape runs around the sides, top, and front. There is a row of flashing red LEDs along the back for even greater visibility. This vest is available in five sizes, to fit dogs with chests 14-45" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

I really like the concept of Kurgo's visibility vest. It's much sturdier than our OllyDog vest, and feels like it will hold up to romps in the woods through major brush. I think it's important to have safety-orange-colored stuff on Godzilla when we're hiking, because she moves in a way that makes random people on the street ask if she's part coyote. I like to make sure everyone that sees her knows she is definitely an owned domestic animal and not a chupacabra.

The vest does have some serious sizing issues. Ours is a size small, intended to fit 18-25" chests. Sisci Godzilla measures 22", but this vest barely fits her when adjusted all the way out. It's also surprisingly short. Like most of Kurgo's smaller-sized jackets, it appears to have been made with very short-backed dogs in mind.

Pros

• Easy to put on
• Lightweight and comfortable
• Good for hot weather or over winter jackets
• Flashing lights increase visibility

Cons

• Surface area is lacking a bit
• Not offical "blaze orange", slightly duller color
• Sizing runs very small

Bottom Line

This is more of a road safety vest for leashed walks at night, and less of a "please don't shoot my dog in the woods" safety vest.

Product Review: Ollydog Night Visibility Dog Coat

OllyDog's Night Visibility Dog Coat is a bright and reflective way to keep track of your dog. This is a very lightweight mesh vest that allows freedom of movement. Velcro fasteners at the neck and belly make it very adjustable, and t goes well over a harness, coat, wheelchair, or whatever. This might be out of production now, but originally came in three sizes to fit dogs with chests 11-36" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

This vest is a lot like the visibility vests joggers use when running on roads, and that is really what it's good for. The material is extremely light and thin, it won't trap heat but also feels a bit flimsy. This is a thrift store treasure that I expected to be like my $4 eBay dog visibility vests from China...until I saw the tag.

While it's a great idea for walking, I'm not sure how well this little coat will stay put on a running dog. This is definitely for urban walking and not runs in the woods.

Pros: Reflective striping is very reflective. Will not make dog too warm. Very bright and highly visible,

Cons: Will definitely tear if it gets caught on a bush or anything. Probably won't hold up very long to regular velcro use either.

Bottom Line: Walking your old lab around town at midnight? Great! Running through the woods with your hunting dog? Not with this visibility cape.

Product Review: Nite Ize SpotLit LED Carabiner Light

The SpotLit LED Carabiner Light by Nite Ize is a sturdy and bright beacon that can be clipped to your dog. It comes in variety of different colors including Disco, which cycles through several different colors. It has a steady light mode and a blinking mode, and can provide 20-25 hours of light before it needs new batteries. It uses two 2016 3V lithium batteries and is water-resistant.

Photo by Erin Koski

I see these things on dogs at work all the time, and a lot of them have been wearing the same SpotLit for ages so these things clearly last a long time. This is actually a multipurpose clip light that can be used for just about anything.

The company, NiteIze, makes a whole ton of nifty doodads that I am prone to impulse buying while waiting in checkout lines. These include S-biner double-ended carabiners, gear ties, LED flashlights, and stretchy shoelaces.

These things are very, very bright. So bright, in fact, that looking at them in the dark is a bit painful. I've been putting one on Sisci for our late-night games of fetch in the tennis court, and in full darkness it's blinding. It looks totally awesome when she's chasing a light-up ball, though.

Pros: Super-bright and super-visible. Comes in lots of colors so you can put a different color on each dog. Very durable, lots of people just leave them on their dog's collar permanently.

Cons: Kind of blinding when it's really dark. A bit heavy, I wouldn't want to put this on a tiny dog and I'd be careful with it on a very loose collar as it does flop around a lot.

Bottom Line: This light is so effective and so popular that I don't actually see anyone using anything else.

Product Review: Flash & Glow Jr Ball

This Flash & Glow Jr. light-up ball by American Dog Toys arrived exactly one year ago in our October 2014 BarkBox. It apparently took me an entire year to use it enough to write a reasonable review. This is the smaller size of this ball, at a bit under 3" in diameter. Ours is pink, and when it hits the ground it flashes very, very bright red. It floats and is durable enough to handle being lobbed across a tennis court.

Photo by Erin Koski

This should be the perfect ball for late night games of fetch in the tennis court. It's a little small for Brisbane, but he is very picky about balls and pretty much rejects anything that isn't a tennis ball or an Ultraball. I'm a little surprised that BarkBox sent us the smaller ball because it's almost too small for 40-pound Brisbane and our box is supposed to be suitable for dogs up to 50-pounds.

The Flash and Glow Jr. ball is surprisingly heavy and hard, which might be part of why Brisbane doesn't like it. It's tough plastic without a lot of give, and it doesn't bounce at all.

As advertised, the ball does flash and glow, very brightly. In fact it is so bright that it destroys my night vision and hurts my eyes. I have to try very hard not to look at it directly and I wonder if the dogs feel the same way.

Pros: Very bright and highly visible. Smaller than a tennis ball so better for small dogs. Super durable, nobody has bit through it yet. Floats. Can handle being thrown forcefully on cement repeatedly.

Cons: Extreme brightness is not ideal for total darkness as all you will see for a while is the spots in your vision. It's like looking at the sun. Very hard, hurts the dogs when they get hit accidentally in the dark.

Bottom Line: Not bad for dusk, but after hitting Sisci with it during a totally blind game of fetch I think I will look for a softer and dimmer ball.

Product Review: Mhu Ghu LED Air Mesh Harness

The Mhu Ghu LED Air Mesh Harness is designed for high visibility. It features a ring of bright colored LED lights around the neck area, and is built with sturdy hardware. The harness is available in three colors and three sizes to fit dogs with chests 11.5-25" around the chest. Ours is a large green harness.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is a neat harness, visibility can be a big issue and collars and leashes sometimes aren't enough lighting. A lot of lighted safety products feel flimsy to me, but this one is nice and sturdy. It fits high on the neck and leaves the shoulders free to move. The battery sits in a little pack on the back that is screwed in place. The battery in our harness is currently dead, but can be replaced as long as I have a tiny screwdriver on hand.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros: Comfortable and nonrestrictive. Bright LED lights are easy to see.

Cons: The neck is not adjustable, and may be small for some dogs. It fit Hellin just fine, but might be a bit tight on a larger dog with a 25" chest. Brisbane is 26" around and there's no way in hell this harness would ever fit him.

Bottom Line: I think there was a groupon for these a while back. I could see actually using this for nightime visibility if I ever end up with a bigger yard, or go somewhere I feel comfortable walking my dogs off-leash at night.