Cooling coats?

Toller_08

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#1
Does anyone have a cooling coat for their dog? I was thinking of getting one for Journey because she's constantly hot and panting, and she also has two summer shows that are bound to probably be quite hot. But do they actually work? I've been looking online and I don't even know what the best kind is to buy. I found one company that is over $100 for a coat her size, and another company is selling what looks like almost the same product (just no chest/belly part) for like $30. That seems like such a drastic difference. Both coats look like they're made of some kind of chamois material.

Also, perhaps a stupid question, but if I put one on her at a show, would it be moist enough to make her coat wave? I have to put a lot of effort into blow drying it and getting it to stay straight so I wouldn't want it to ruin all of that. Her coat isn't that curly, but it does look better straight than wavy.
 

Dekka

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#2
Dekka has one. If you have a dog without a lot of coat I think the ones that are breathable make a huge difference. If your dog has a fair bit of coat then I don't think it matters.

Dekka has ruffwear's swamp cooler. It breathes and evaporates nicely (that is what provides the cooling effect) It holds a fair bit of water so it doesn't evaporate too quickly. I like it much better than the ones that are essentially wet shammies or towels.
 

BostonBanker

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#3
If you are worried about the moisture messing with her coat, maybe try the Saratoga Horseworks cooling coats:
http://www.horseworks.com/inc/sdetail/157/181

Both of my dogs have one, and even used dry, they seem to help. I think the main benefit is the white color on my dark dogs. When it is sunny, both of my dogs will be hot to the touch on their backs; with this coat on, they will be noticeably cool if I put my hand under it. I do usually wet them (and leave them in the cooler while my dogs are crated in front of their fans), but even used dry I think they would help on a dark dog. They also don't hold so much water, so they may be less bad-hair-day-inducing than some of the heavier ones if you did try it wet.

I also have one of the Hurtta coats:
http://www.hurttacollection.com/en/motivation-en/products/cooling-coats/cooling-coat/
It was 50% off, so I couldn't afford not to buy it. I haven't actually had to use it yet, since our summer so far has been pretty much just wet.
 

Shai

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#4
If you are worried about the moisture messing with her coat, maybe try the Saratoga Horseworks cooling coats:
http://www.horseworks.com/inc/sdetail/157/181

Both of my dogs have one, and even used dry, they seem to help. I think the main benefit is the white color on my dark dogs. When it is sunny, both of my dogs will be hot to the touch on their backs; with this coat on, they will be noticeably cool if I put my hand under it. I do usually wet them (and leave them in the cooler while my dogs are crated in front of their fans), but even used dry I think they would help on a dark dog. They also don't hold so much water, so they may be less bad-hair-day-inducing than some of the heavier ones if you did try it wet.
^all of this (I also have Saratoga)
 

SizzleDog

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#7
I have chamois cooling coats and they work great for the dobes, but I'm not sure how well they would work on a coated dog. I only ever seem to see short single-coated dogs (like boxers and dobes) wearing the style I have.
 

SaraB

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#9
I have a hurtta cooling coat that I love. It keeps the dogs nice and cool after their shows.

The chest/belly piece is one of the most important in my opinion. Easier to cool a dog by keeping their belly cool.
 

BostonBanker

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#10
I have a hurtta cooling coat that I love. It keeps the dogs nice and cool after their shows.

The chest/belly piece is one of the most important in my opinion. Easier to cool a dog by keeping their belly cool.
Do you just spray it down and use it? Like I said, I haven't had a chance to use my Hurtta yet; it just rides around in my car with us. Do you get it really "drippy", or just wet and wring it out?
 

Toller_08

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Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

All I've ever seen on dogs around here are the chamois ones, but always on smooth coated breeds. I remembered last night that my Dobe breeder had a few cooling coats. Maybe I'll ask her if she has a spare one that she might have used on a smaller girl and see if it works for Journ before I actually buy one. I think she just has the chamois ones too, but it's still worth a try I think. If she has one little enough. If not, I'll look around more at the Swamp Cooler/Hurrta/Saratoga and see which one people seem to prefer.

The chest/belly piece is one of the most important in my opinion. Easier to cool a dog by keeping their belly cool.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking too after looking at them some more. I just thought it was a little crazy how much of a price difference there was between ones with belly straps and ones without. But that was maybe just that one company.


Following this because Fuzzy B&W dog thinks I should buy him an AC unit....
Pretty sure Journey would love that as well haha. She's always so hot. Even if the house doesn't seem hot, she's generally panting a bit.
 

Sit Stay

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#12
I STILL haven't used my Hurtta one, but I can't say enough about the fit and quality. Quinn is notoriously impossible to fit - everything long enough just HANGS off of her and slides because she is so narrow, everything that fits in the belly region is way too short. Journey may have the same issue although she's probably shorter backed than Quinn. I am incredibly impressed with the fit of the Hurtta.
 

JennSLK

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#13
What they borzoi people do so they dont wreck the coats is take a bag of ice and put in against her tummy at shows. If the coat does happen to get wet you dont notice it on the belly.

I had a clot one for Jazz. The kind that when they dry out the get stiff like there is cardboard in them (there isnt) I loved it .
 

stardogs

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#14
Just a heads up, but REI has the Ruffwear cooling coats on sale right now for cheap!
 

Shai

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#16
It does depend on how you use them. If you keep them wet with decent airflow to get the evaporative properties, then many of them are good. I use mine both wet and dry, so I like the saratogas because they are white and breathe well -- little danger of compounding the problem, and they have excellent reflective properties so my black dog doesn't become a frying pan in the sun. I also have some dog ice pack things so I rotate those through the crates as well -- they can lay on them if they wish (and they do) or move off them if they get chilly. Gives them the option to somewhat self-determine their needs.
 

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