Thursday, May 30, 2013

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.

13 comments:

Annie & Pauls Mom said...

We have a pair of ruff wear coats in green that we got when REI had a clearance sale. They work well, but there's no hood (honestly, I think Annie and Paul would be afraid of the hood.). This is a great idea for quick coats on the go! Living in Virginia, we've run into the same issue with sudden down pours. What else is in your magical dog walking bag?

Unknown said...

Miss M and Mr B are adorabull as usual and I'm fostering a huge crush from Maryland. My two girls actually love the rain. Ginger loves to just sit in it and soak in the sights. Not needing raincoats here.

Hannah@Eriesistibull said...

Love these! We have the same issue in Erie and have been dreading the idea of carrying around their Ruffwear rain coats -- we never thought about getting lightweight fold-up ones!! You may have just solved our problems!

SherBear said...

Nala has a poncho but the hood isn't big enough for her head - I will be ordering one of these as soon as I pick a color and size!!!

SherBear said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Courtney said...

I think there needs to be a post (or series of posts) devoted to what you carry with you on walks, with pictures showing how you manage to pack and carry it all!

sweetemaline said...

We totally bought a couple of the RC raincoats for Turk and Ru awhile back - in the red & navy nautical pattern! I absolutely love them! Ms. M and Mr. B look so cute in their yellow raincoats! Now if only they made doggy wellies!

Emily @ Our Waldo Bungie
www.ourwaldobungie.com

Anonymous said...

Melvin has one very similar to yours and it works great on hot, rainy days. I got Jake the same one and of course, like all other things, it does not fit around his crazy wide chest. Still looking for his! Love the yellow on M&B!

Pitlandia Pooch said...

We have this very same raincoat in two different colors! Athena also wears a size XL (she's 45 lbs) because we wanted the full coverage. They are so handy because they pack up so nicely. It's also a bonus that they are so inexpensive!

Of course, Ms. M and Mr. B look great in theirs!

Two French Bulldogs said...

We have raincoats like that too. You guys wear them well
Benny & Lily

Unknown said...

I don't have a rain coat and we live in England but it definitely is a great idea- Mom is looking for a waterproof fleecy coat for when it is cold and wet!
Dina

Wendy said...

These caught my eyes at a local pet store a while back. I need to get one for Spot because just this morning we were caught in the rain. Since he is 90+ pounds, he may need the XXL. They had these really cute navy with yellow rubber ducky printed ones:)

Unknown said...

This post solves a lot of my problems. I was thinking to buy dog raincoat for Joss my lab as he doesn't like to move out of the house during rains and i wasn't sure of buying one for him thinking he might not like it. Many thanks once again :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...