DoggyStyle: Portable Dog Raingear

When I first moved to the city, I didn't realize how important it was to always plan ahead for the weather. Since we walk everywhere, there's always the chance that the seemingly nice weather could erupt into a thunderstorm. I learned this the hard way when I thought it was ok to make the 3 block trek from the train to my office and I ended up completely soaked and huddled up to a space heater for the entire work day. I've learned to carry a mini-umbrella in my purse, and we were looking for some similar accommodations for the pups.

Since we don't have a yard, and our pups depend on daily walks for potty breaks, we quickly learned it's easier to toss a raincoat on Miss M then wait with her as she circles and paces because the rain distracts her from her potty duties. Our pups have been wearing these Sunshower raincoats from Ruffwear (unfortunately discontinued!) though they can be bulky and cumbersome to bring along with us if rain is only in the forecast.

After a few outings that started sunny then opened into a downpour with all of us huddled under a little awning, we spied the Packable Pet Poncho from RC Pet Products.We liked that they were lightweight and tiny enough to carry with us all the time in our bag.

The raincoats are a thinner material than our other raincoats which is a plus during the warmer weather, but also causes them to fold up in the wind. Without a lining they also have a bit more static cling to the dogs' fur. Though, this is the payoff for being able to have something lightweight that we can carry at all times. They come in the tiniest of pouches where you can just tuck the coat in until it's ready to use. They come in a variety of colors (we were excited to have matching yellow slickers) and we like that it has a big hood to keep the rain out of their eyes.

Our pooches--they are about 65 lbs--ended up taking the XL. It fits well around their necks and bellies, but falls a bit short of fully covering their behinds. There is a huge size difference between the XL and the XXL which we originally tried. While the XXL did cover more area, it was huge and difficult for the pups to walk in. The XXL seemed to fit a much taller and thicker dog, the coat would be roomy on a large Rottweiler, so I imagine there is probably also a large discrepancy between the Large and XL.

We have yet to try them in a huge downpour, and we will probably still use our sturdier coats when we leave the house in the rain, but we're excited to have this option of an easy-to-carry option for those unexpected downpours.

Do other dogs wear raincoats? What type of raincoat do you use? And has anyone else tried this style?

Also:
Puddle-leapers!
What we do inside when we can't go outside.
How we're always prepared.