pilarzmom's Full Review: Guardian Gear Protective Hooded Dog Rain Coat Jack...
My one-year-old pug Spanky is a bit like a little kid: keep him cooped up inside the house too long and he gets a bit hyper and destructive. So I make sure I walk him at least once every day, even if it's raining or snowing. Fortunately, he doesn't seem to mind wet weather, but I'm not crazy about the wet dog smell, so I decided to get him a Guardian Gear Protective Hooded Dog Rain Coat for those days.
Product Details
This rain coat for dogs is designed a bit like a poncho style in that it fits over the head and hangs loosely over the body. It has an adjustable strap that fits across the belly, as well as elastic back leg bands to hold the coat in place. It is made out of a heavy-duty vinyl that comes in blue, yellow, and pink, with a reflective strap across the back and one across the front. The hood has a drawstring and elastic around the neck. There is leash opening on the back as well as a pocket with a Velcro closure.
Sizes range from X-small to XX-Large. For my pug I got a small and it fit just right, covering his whole body down to his tail (of course, with pugs their little curly tails refuse to be covered, and his curls over the coat !)
I got Spanky's coat through eBay for $14 (including shipping).
My thoughts
I probably wouldn't have bought this coat had I seen it in person. Sure, it looks cute in pictures, but upon opening the package I was greeted by a very strong vinyl smell. I imagine it smells even worse to my dog.
It is a well-made product otherwise, with good stitching and workmanship, as well as some nice details, such as plastic knobs on the end of the hood strings. The coat is also easy to put on as the hood slips easy over Spanky's head. He's not too crazy about the hood, so I don't tie it around his head - it just sort of covers his thick neck and the back part of his head. Anything that goes over his ears he tries to shake off.
While it does keep his back dry, the problem I soon discovered is that his belly gets wet. This might be a good product for the longer-legged dog, but for the shorter breeds, they're still going to come home with a wet belly in most cases.
I also don't like that it just has a leash opening. Many people (in particular, those with small-breed dogs) use harnesses where the leash hook is further back. I'd like to see an additional opening for harnesses. We use an Easy Walk harness that has the leash hook in front so it's not an issue now, but when Spanky was younger, we used a standard harness. I found so often that dog sweaters and jackets didn't accommodate this type of harness and this coat is no exception. Overall rating
Guardian Gear Protective Hooded Dog Rain Coat is not a bad product, but it has several flaws that keep me from recommending it. First is its strong vinyl smell. And second is the lack of a leash opening for harnesses. Three stars only. My advice is to look for something else if you need a rain jacket for your dog.
The days of smelly wet dogs are over! This heavy-duty, waterproof vinyl Guardian Gear Rain Jacket keeps pets dry in wet weather. Features a drawstrin...More at BaxterBoo.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.