When the heat of the summer kicks in, finding a way to help keep your dog cool can be a real challenge. If your dog is anything like mine, in the summer they would rather stay in the air-conditioned house or go for a swim. Your dog will probably just want to lay in the shade when they are outside, and even the shade isn’t enough to keep them cool.
Keeping our dogs cool in the summer is hard.
They are stuck wearing the same fur coats that keep them warm during the cold months, and on top of that, they aren’t able to perspire like we do to help them cool down.
Take a look at this Ruffwear Swamp Cooler Review. It is a dog cooling vest to help keep your dog cool in summer.
Table of Contents
Ruffwear Swamp Cooler Review
Specifications
Product: Ruffwear Swamp Cooler – Cooling Vest For Dogs
Price: Around $60
Available: Amazon – Check Current Pricing Here
Size: 6 Sizes Available – XXS, XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL
Colors Available: Graphite Gray
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Ruffwear Cooling Vest Overview
If you are familiar with cooling towels for people, then you will already have an idea how this product works for your dog. A cooling vest imitates sweating across the dog’s body. As the water from the coat evaporates, it helps to move heat from the dog’s body to the environment and away from your dog’s skin.
Start by soaking your dog’s cooling vest in cold water and wring out. You can either put directly on your dog, or you can place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for later use.
When you are ready to use, simple put the vest on your dog with the easy release buckles and they should be ready to go, keeping them cooler even on the hottest of days.
There is a 3 layer construction to help maximize cooling effects for your dog. The outer layer will facilitate evaporation of your dog’s heat by the moisture wicking away from your dog, the middle layer is absorbent and stores water for evaporation and the inner layer transfers the cooling effect to your dog.
The light colored fabric reflects solar radiation, helping to keep your dog cool, provides shade for your dog and protects your dog from getting sunburn. It is also low light visible with reflective trim.
Recharge the cooling effect by regularly dousing it with cold water.
If you dog doesn’t have water to cool off in, they can quickly get overheated in the summer.
There are 2 openings provided for either hooking your dog’s collar or one for hooking your dog’s harness, making it workable even when your dog is on a leash.
The Good And The Bad
Good 1: Cools your dog even on the warmest days.
Good 2: Easy to use.
Good 3: Easy to recharge.
Bad 1: The fabric snags easily.
Bad 2: Doesn’t fit tight around the belly.
Bad 3: Not for indoor use.
Bad 4: Not as effective on humid days, since there is less evaporation.
Who Is Ruffwear Cooling Vest Good For
If you live in a warm climate and have a dog, this vest will help keep them cooler on the warm days and protect them from getting overheated and possible heat stroke. It will allow your dog to at least go outside even if it is for a short period of time and remain somewhat more comfortable, get a little exercise and go to the bathroom.
It works for all sizes of dogs and it doesn’t matter if they have long fur or short, they will be able to feel the benefits of the cooling vest.
Can you image going outside in the summer and not being able to sweat to help you cool down. Every time you are sweating and have moisture on your skin, as that moisture evaporates, you are feeling a cooling effect. That is the same thing that a cooling vest is allowing for your dog.
I don’t know about your dog, but as soon at the temperature hits above 60 degrees, my dog is in search of any water hole he can find to lay in and help him cool down. The problem is that it isn’t always easy to find clean water holes for your dog to lay in, but my dog’s energy level goes up immediately after he gets himself wet, even if it ends up just being his paws getting wet.
A cooling vest is providing your dog with this same type relief, and is safer than what some of those water holes might be and your dog will be a lot less stinky. (I have lots experience with stinky dogs laying in water holes.)
My Overall Opinion…
I do feel that the Ruffwear Cooling Vest is a good investment to help keep your dog cooler in the heat, even though it does have some shortcomings. I don’t like how easily the fabric snags, since my dog is running around in weeds and wherever he can go, but the snags won’t affect how effective the cooling vest is, and my dog doesn’t much care about fashion, so it won’t bother him.
Proper fit is a bit challenging and it would be better if it could fit more snugly around his belly, but any cooling I am offering him is better than nothing, so I can live with that as well.
If you are looking for something to cool your dog down when they are indoors, this isn’t the product for you, unless you don’t mind your floor being wet wherever your dog has been laying. If you are looking for something to cool your dog down indoors, I would recommend taking a look at How To Keep Your Dog Cool. It has many suggestions that you can use for your dog indoors, including a dog cooling bed or mat.
Sizing And Care Of Cooling Vest
The Ruffwear Cooling Vest comes in 6 sizes, helping you to find the size that would best fit your dog. You should measure your dog around their girth for proper fit, which is the widest part of your dogs chest.
Laying in the shade will help your dog with the heat, but sometimes that isn’t enough to keep them cool.
- Extra Extra Small – 13″ to 17″ girth
- Extra Small – 17″ to 22″ girth
- Small – 22″ to 27″ girth
- Medium – 27″ to 32″ girth
- Large – 32″ to 36″ girth
- Extra Large – 36″ to 42″ girth
The good news for large dog owners is that the price is the same for whichever size you need. That isn’t usually the case on most things for large dogs.
Washing Instructions
- Secure fasteners
- Wash in cold water, gentle cycle
- Use mild detergent
- Hang to dry
- Do not bleach, iron or dry clean
If you don’t leave it outside to air dry after use, it will start to smell musty and you will need to wash the vest.
Summary
For me, summer is my favorite time of the year with the exception of how hard the heat is for my dog. I still like to be able to go outside with him and walk him every day, but he quickly gets overheated in the summer. That is why I was very happy to find a dog cooling vest that allows him to still enjoy the outdoors even when it is hot.
You should see from this Ruffwear Swamp Cooler Review that you might see some shortcomings with this product, but I believe that providing your dog with any type of relief is better than not having any solution for keeping your dog comfortable and cooler in the summer.
As long as the snags don’t affect the performance of the dog cooling vest, I do believe that it is still a valuable solution to help your dog beat the summer heat.
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