A family has a wonderful dog, Sparks, that they love very much. It is a German Shepherd that they got as a puppy. He grew up to be their best friend and a member of the family. He is always there to play whenever any of them want, or just keep them company when anyone is feeling down. He even goes on trips with them, and why shouldn’t he? He’s as much a part of the family as anyone else. He’s out jogging or walking with them, securely restrained by his
dog leash. If it is a long trip, he has his own
dog seat and can even wear his cute
backpack and carry some of his own stuff.
One day, the whole family takes a boat cruise, and their trusty friend is there too. Everyone is excited and having fun, as is the dog. However, a ball is accidentally hit overboard and the dog in his overexcitement goes after it. For a second, everyone is scared, none more so than the dog himself who thought he could swim and would prefer not to find out for how long he can tread water. Luckily, Sparks is floating – he’s wearing his life jacket. Incredibly relieved, they take their time getting him back onto the boat and then to land, where he can play freely, with only his wet fur reminding them of his accident.
A good dog owner knows to provide safety for their beloved pet at all times and in all situations. A dog life jacket works much like a regular human life jacket, but is designed to fit dogs. With this, you can be assured of your dog’s safety when you take him to the pool, the beach, the river, and anywhere else with unsafe amounts of water.
It is normal to want to find the best dog life jacket for your furry friend. For this reason, we’ve taken the time to help you do just that. In this guide, we have provided information to help you pick the life jacket that will keep your dog as safe as possible.
Price
When purchasing a dog life jacket, it is important to get your money’s worth. We found during our research that a good dog life jacket can be bought for between approximately $20 and $50 (and above if you want more bells and whistles).
There are many factors that can determine the price of a dog life jacket. These include its size, weight capacity, and the materials used, among other things. As always, the more features you want, the more you should be willing to pay. In fact, you may find much more expensive models with more features. It all depends on your needs. We, however, advise that, to ensure your dogs continued safety, you stay away from cheap dog life jackets as these may be far from safe.
Features
There are many features to consider when choosing a dog life jacket. These features are what will determine whether one is suitable for your dog or not. Here are some of the features to look out for:
- Size
- Weight
- Material
- Harness Type
- Color
- Handle
- Design
- Front Float
- D-Ring
Let us expand upon these:
Construction and Design
Dog life jackets come in a variety of sizes. Obviously, the size you pick should correspond to the size of your dog in order to fit properly. It could be very dangerous if a dog’s life jacket is too big and allows the dog to slip out of it, or if it is too small and restricts the dog’s body. In addition to coming in specific sizes, every dog life jacket has a weight capacity. This is the maximum amount of weight the life jacket can support and still function effectively. It is also important to note this to make sure that your dog is within the life jacket’s weight capacity.
A dog life jacket is meant to keep the dog afloat when it’s in a large body of water. This is done through the materials used in designing the life jacket. It is constructed using materials that stay buoyant in the water, and keeps the dog wearing it afloat.
The harnesses are the parts of the dog life jacket that you use to secure it around the dog. It is important for a dog life jacket to have a strong harness system to prevent it from slipping off the dog when in the water. The harness is usually adjustable so that it can be sufficiently tightened to secure the dog, while being loose enough to be comfortable.
Like a human life jacket, a dog life jacket is usually brightly colored in order to ensure that it can be easily seen. They come in a variety of colors, but it is important to make sure that the one you choose is easily visible. While some manufacturers have dog life jackets in only one color, others have the life jackets in a range for you to choose from.
A dog life jacket needs to have a way for you to hoist your dog out of the water, and this often comes in the form of a handle. The handle can be on either side of the dog life jacket, or directly on top. There can also be more than one handle on a dog life jacket and it’s up to you determine how many you prefer.
Performance and Ease of Use
Dog life jackets come in a lot of fun designs for you to choose from. A dog life jacket can feature a shark fin, playful writings, and other cute additions. These make the dog life jacket more interesting, while making it no less safe.
A front float is an extra bit of safety in the form of an extra buoyant pad. When the dog life jacket is worn, the front float is located directly underneath the dog’s neck. The front float ensures that your dog’s head always stays above the water. This is not present in all dog life jackets, but can be a great help.
A D-ring is a little metal ring on the neck of a dog life jacket that you can attach to a collar. This lets you conveniently go from walking your dog to having your dog in the water. The D-ring is an especially good idea, as it means you can maintain control of your dog both on land and in the water.
Picking the right life jacket for your dog requires careful consideration as there are many features to think about, such as your dog’s size, the durability of the material used, and even the color of the life jacket. This review highlights all these varying factors so you and your canine pal can pick the very best jacket to fit both of your needs!
Now that you’ve gone through our review, we believe you should have sufficient information on which life jacket will be best for your pup. So, go ahead and place your order!
