Soak it, wring it, put it on.
It cools by evaporation rather than by being cold. That means it works while it is damp and stops the moment it dries out, which is the one thing worth understanding before you rely on it.
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Colour: Blue
Size: S
Why you'll love it
Wet fabric cools while water leaves it. That works well in dry moving air and barely at all in humid still air, which is worth knowing before you rely on it on a muggy day.
A vest buys margin, it does not make midday safe. On a hot day the answer is still to walk early or late; the vest is for the warm walk you were going to do anyway.
A dry vest is just an extra layer, which is worse than nothing. Take water, and soak it again roughly every half hour in real heat.
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Water changing from liquid to vapour takes energy, and it draws that energy as heat from whatever it is sitting on. A damp vest against a dog's back is therefore continuously pulling warmth away, for as long as there is water in the fabric and air moving over it.
Two things follow. Dry fabric does nothing at all, so a vest that has dried out is just an extra layer and slightly worse than nothing. And humid air slows evaporation considerably, so the vest is least effective on exactly the muggy days that feel worst. On a dry breezy day it works well.
Dogs have very few functional sweat glands and cool almost entirely by panting, which moves air over the wet surfaces of the mouth and airway. That system is efficient in dry air and much less so when it is humid, and it is compromised in flat faced breeds whose airways are already restricted.
It also has a limit. Once the body is producing heat faster than panting can remove it, temperature climbs, and heatstroke can develop quickly from there. A cooling vest adds a second route for heat to leave, which buys margin, but it does not change the underlying limit.
Soak it thoroughly, wring it until it stops dripping, and put it on. Dripping wet is not more effective and simply makes the dog heavy and uncomfortable. Wet it again whenever it starts feeling dry, which on a hot day can be every twenty or thirty minutes, so carry water for the vest as well as for the dog.
It is one measure among several and the least important of them. Walk early or late rather than at midday, test the pavement with the back of your hand for five seconds before setting off, carry water, and take shade breaks. A vest supports all of that; it does not substitute for any of it.
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The details
| Size | Back length | Chest girth |
|---|---|---|
| S | 25 to 33 cm | 38 to 48 cm |
| M | 34 to 42 cm | 48 to 58 cm |
| L | 43 to 52 cm | 58 to 70 cm |
| XL | 53 to 62 cm | 70 to 82 cm |
A cooling vest should sit flat against the back and flanks with good contact, since the cooling depends on the damp fabric touching the dog. A loose fit that stands away from the coat works considerably less well.
Loved by real pet parents
It takes about a minute at the kitchen tap and she is visibly more comfortable on the way round the park. We use the L, her chest is 62 cm so that sits well inside the 55 to 75 range. No freezer packs to remember is the part I like most.
On a dry breezy day it stays cool for a good long while. In muggy still weather it dried out in about twenty minutes and then it is just a damp layer, so take a bottle out with you. The buckle adjusts one handed, which helps when you are redoing it halfway round a field.
We do long drives to see family and she used to arrive flat and grumpy. Wet vest on before we set off and she travels much better. The mesh outer means the car does not end up smelling of wet dog either.
I picked the orange one for visibility and it has been useful beyond the cooling, he is obvious right across a field. The reflective trim is a bonus on a late evening walk in August. His chest is 46 cm and the S fits with a bit of room on the buckle.
It does take the edge off a warm walk and she wears it without complaint. I think some people expect it to make a hot afternoon safe and it plainly does not, we still go out early. Fine for what it is, just do not buy it expecting more.
Washed and soaked more times than I can count and the cool touch lining has not gone stiff or started to smell. The buckle is still tight. We keep it in the boot with a bottle of water so it is there when we need it.
His chest measures 57 cm, which sits inside both the M and the L ranges depending how you read the chart. I went with the M and it is fine but a touch snug at the shoulders when he stretches out. The cooling itself is exactly as described, evaporation and nothing else.
Our old cooling mat had to live in the freezer and was never ready at the moment we wanted it. This one needs the outside tap and nothing else, which means we actually use it. It wrings out easily so it is damp rather than dripping down his legs.
She was in the vest most of a Saturday, rewet at every water point we passed. Far better than sitting under a gazebo with nothing to offer her. Ours is the pink and it has washed repeatedly without the colour going patchy.
Good questions
Only while it is damp. Once dry it is an extra layer trapping heat, which is the opposite of what you want, so take it off or wet it again.
Much less well. Evaporative cooling needs the water to be able to leave the fabric, so a close muggy day gets far less benefit than a warm breezy one. On those days, shade and water beat any vest.
Measure the chest at its widest point behind the front legs and use that, not the dog's weight. Between two sizes, go up, because a tight vest restricts panting.
Whenever it starts to feel dry, which on a hot day may be every twenty to thirty minutes. Once dry it stops cooling entirely, so carry water for the vest as well as for the dog.
Cool tap water is right. Ice cold water on a very hot dog can constrict surface blood vessels and slow heat loss, which is the opposite of what you want.
Yes, and it helps on a journey. It does not make it safe to leave a dog in a parked car, which remains dangerous regardless of what the dog is wearing.