Product of the Month

Happy December 9th!! These are the Christmas coats that I made for the dogs. And take note of my matching ear warmer!:) Here are closeups of the dogs in their coats.

Today's post is my Product of the Month post and I figured that now would be as good a time as any to talk about dog coats. I have a few different types and styles for the dogs that I use for different weather conditions. I've also managed to find some really good deals that I wanted to pass along.

First up is the K-9 Overcoat by Ruff Wear. I bought this coat initially for Heffner for those outings where it wasn't quite cold enough to put a full on jacket on him, but just cool enough that I wanted a little something extra for him. Unfortunately, for him it's really no longer a good fit. I had him wear during his agility class last night because it was so cold and I wanted him to wear a coat that would still allow him free range of motion with his front legs. Well, he definitely had freedom of movement, but it's too small around the neck and was tight over his shoulders. He did NOT enjoy wearing the coat while running around the course. It's just barely a decent fit for Bess. Though I'm not entirely sure of that. Here's Bess modelling the coat:
It's otherwise a great coat. If I had slightly smaller dogs this would be fine. And it'll definitely work out well for the next dane puppy that we get.

Next up is a great all purpose, all weather coat that has a really great fit for both my dogs. The Windhorse dog coat. It has a great outer layer that is water repellent and a great wind breaker. The bottom layer is a fleecy type material that helps to keep in the warmth. I like these coats especially for when we got up to the mountain. They're not the coat that I choose for keeping them super warm, but they're a great all around coat. This is actually the coat that I've had the dogs wearing the past two nights that we've gone out running. With temperatures in the upper teens to low 20s, they need something more. These coats are also very durable.

Next up is just a fun fleece coat that I bought for Bess because it was pretty cheap (I think $11.99) and I thought it was cute. It works great as a light weight, but warm coat that I usually put on her when we're going to and from shows. I've also used this coat as the "pattern" for the Christmas coats that I made. It's made by Weather Beeta and I bought it from Rod's. They really have a great assortment of dog coats in a variety of colors and patterns that are inexpensive, but hold up well. The dogs actually have a few coats from Rod's!
Next up is the Polar 600D coat. This is another coat that I bought through Rod's. They're actually on sale right now for $15.99. These coats keep the dogs quite warm and are my next step up from the Windhorse for warmth. They're durable and water proof. And it's hard to beat that price for a well made dog coat! Especially one that'll fit giant dogs! One of the features that I like about this coat is the pleat (I think that's what you'd call it) in the front. This really allows for a freer range of motion for the dog, while still locking in the warmth.
Not sure why Blogger feels the need to flip the picture like that, but it won't let me upload it without turning it some weird way. So I'll just have to go with that.

When it comes to raining weather that's not too cold, but cool enough that being wet can really chill you, I like a nice light weight rain sheet. This is yet another coat that I bought from Rod's and it's on sale right now for $9.99! Such a deal! This coat is the same exact style as the Polar coat, but in a really thin, waterproof sheet. Perfect for running around outside and keeping your core dry and warm!

Last, but not least, we have the fun Halloween coats that I made for the dogs last year and forgot to get cute pictures of them wearing this year! The first one is Heffner's. It's a little over sized because I decided to stray away from the pattern and try to enlarge some parts. It didn't work out quite as well as I would have liked, but well enough. The second one is Bess' and fits just perfect. These coats are really just for fun. They do help to keep the dogs warm, but in October we don't really go any where that's all that cold that they would need to wear coats.
Seriously, does anyone know why Blogger does this randomly to pictures??? It's annoying me right now!
And now I'm off to get things ready for tomorrow. I'm taking the day off of work so that I can get the dogs up to the mountain for some skijoring!!! I'm so excited and I REALLY need this little break right now! I will attempt to take some video. It all depends on how wound up the dogs are and how steady I am on the skis after several months off.;o)