How to Measure Your Dog for a Neoprene Dog Vest

It's really important to get the correct fit for your vest. We want it snug on the dog's chest so that it retains body heat while your dogs in the water, but not so tight that it makes running or swimming difficult.

HOW TO MEASURE -- To measure your dog you are going to need either a seamstress tape or you can use any sort of piece of string, something you can wrap around the dog and then measure it with a tape measure, or you can even use a leash to get the correct measurement and then measure that off with a tape measure.

MEASURE ON A TABLE -- I like to measure the dog standing up on a table. This way I'm standing up, I'm comfortable, and I've got the dog where I can position him correctly. There are two measurements you need when you are sizing your dog for a vest: the chest measurement and then the neck measurement.

NECK MEASUREMENT -- The neck measurement is taken lower on the dog's neck than you would measure for a dog collar. A dog collar sits more toward the middle or higher up on the neck, but the vest doesn't go up that high, so take the measurement lower on the neck -- a little bit above the shoulders.

CHEST MEASUREMENT -- Have your dog stand. The chest measurement is taken from the deepest part of the chest -- typically closer to behind the front legs.

Remember, when you're measuring your dog, the most important size is the chest measurement. It's got to fit the chest tight. Everything else you can cut around, but if you're too small in the chest, you're not gonna be able to put it on your dog. If the neck measurement is off a little bit, you can trim it down to size.