Ezydog DFD Dog Life Jacket - Adjustable Swimming Safety Vest with Reflective Trim & Durable Grab Handle - 50% More Flotation Material - Large, Red

Today my dog fell out of my boat. I had an unexpected problem trying to get her out of the water, and that was that I had trouble grabbing the grab handle on this vest. I'm used to the way the loop on this one (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081XIKY6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1) sticks up and is easy to grab. The one on the EzyDog vest hardly sticks up at all. I missed twice trying to grab it as my dog swam by, and ended up eventually snagging the leash loop instead. I am going to have to try to sew a stiffened loop that sticks up on this vest which I otherwise love. So one star off because that is going to be a nuisance.On the positive side, the vest floated my dog nice and high, and was comfortable both for her to swim in and to lie down in the boat. When she got tired, the neck loop kept her nose out of the water.

I gave it 5 star cause it really looks like a high quality life jacket. It just won’t work for my male dog, the second step cuts him right in the privates. But looks really good for females!

The life vest fits properly, is constructed of quality materials and works flawlessly.Our dogs wear them for hours while out on the boat, the vests seem very comfortable.The dogs are in and out of the water all day, the vests make them highly visible in the water, and the handle makes it very easy to lift them back into the boat.

Though it has a few small design flaws, this is a solid lifejacket, and EzyDog has amazing customer service.Durability: The jacket we got through Amazon broke - the weakest point is definitely the front strap that goes around the neck/chest of the dog. We used the handle (on back) for lifting our dog out of the water a few times, and, after only one full day of sun and surf, it popped clean off. Everything else seems really solid and well made. I wish the weakest point were located elsewhere - though the dog will still float if this part breaks, it is very easy for it to slip off and/or get tangled around the dog's legs if this occurs. I think that, with some nylon and a sewing machine, you could easily reinforce this area if it becomes an issue for you. I suspect we had a bit of a fluke, since the material and seam quality otherwise seems great, but design-wise, this seems like a bit of a flaw to me. Any dog being "helped" by the handle, or with a leash attached to the back buckle, or even just jumping off a dock/boat into the water is going to put pressure on this point of the design, so it should be sturdier than it is. From the other lifejackets I have seen in person (though we have not tried them in the water), quality seems to be a bit better than Outward Hound, and similar to Ruffwear (though the actual design of Ruffwear's jacket has some benefits, I think). If using for boating or less hyper-active dog, you will probably never encounter these design flaws.Customer Service: As mentioned, they are amazing. We didn't use the jacket until over a month after I actually ordered the thing from Amazon, so couldn't return, but I emailed EzyDog and they shipped out a replacement, no questions asked. With the replacement, they included an apology note, a dog cookie, and a bonus collar accessory for swapping tags if you have multiple collars. It got here in less than three days and was in great condition. We weren't even asked to return the old one, saving shipping cost and hassle. So some definite bonus points here.Size: True to dimensions given, and very easy to adjust. We went with medium, and our dog is pretty slim for 55 lbs - his girth is not quite 30" and, though a little longer than 20", we wanted the jacket to sit more towards the front of his body (keeping his head above water is more important than his butt!). After we adjusted them, there was minimal "slip" after a full day of use (continued adjustment was not required).Bulk: It is a little bulky at first - after we got it wet and had it on the dog for a while, it seemed to form to his body a little more (it is flat when it arrives, and quick to return to that board-like state). Gordon (dog) had no trouble running / swimming / fetching with it on though - it did not seem to slow him down at all.

My wife and I are involved in dog rescue. We have a pontoon and take a lot of dogs to the local lake. We have purchased a variety of these devices to compare them. All the dogs that we care for are of the bully type. We have American Bulldogs & Pit Bulls, etc. So the body type is always big chest and small waist.We have an Outward Hound version that is most similar to this one, so I will compare and contrast them. The OH DFD has a full piece of cloth that has velcro to distribute the pressure underneath if lifting the dog while in it. The EzyDog in comparison has wide straps with wider cloth/padding over both straps that go under the body I think that the Outward Hound probably distributes the weight better, but it also has more potential to cause the dog to overheat also if left on without swimming. Either would cause them to overheat if left on very long without being cooled by water.The Outward Hound version has some additional padding/flotation under the neck strap which helps keep the head higher in the water than the EzyDog. In addition the OH flotation device has a little less flotation in the rear, which lets the rear of the dog sink in a bit more so that the dog is on a slight angle in the water. The EzyDog keeps the dog very straight in the water, which effectively keeps the dogs mouth very near or in the water. You can leave the rear strap a little loose on the EzyDog, and it helps offset this tendency just a bit.What the EzyDog needs is to have a smaller rear part. Instead of a square design from front to back, it should taper back I believe. Either a taper toward the back, or more flotation in the front. The problem with more flotation, is that it is that the EzyDog is already quite thick. It could however be done as an additional flap as on the OH DFD vest.Another thing that the full/square back end causes for dogs with a small waist is that the strap padding will have to get pulled under the strap "guide" that holds the strap in place if it is tightened. If your dog has a tubular body style, then of course this would probably not be an issue.In general the EzyDog is incredibly well made. The material is almost canvas like, the straps are very wide, and the buckles are heavy duty. I would not hesitate to pick up my 80lb bulldog out of the water with it. In contrast, the Outward Hound version didn't even last the first season before I ripped the handle off. The EzyDog costs about 2x the price of the OH vest, and it is easily built to last 2x as long. Heck, this thing might outlast my boat!Your dog will not sink with the EzyDog device on. You will be able to relax and not worry if they are drowning themselves. You will be able to lift your dog up by the handle if necessary and it should last a very long time. The quality of it is outstanding. With a few design tweaks it would be perfect.Finally, I would suggest that if in doubt, go with a smaller size. The EzyDog DFD is quite buoyant. You can stick a small one on a big dog as long as the straps fit, but you can't really do the reverse. Oh yea, adopt a rescue dog ;-)Enjoy!

Definitly the quality of the the product worth the difference of the price.