Safety vests for dogs

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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I looked at REI and Cabelas this weekend for a safety vest for my pups. I've got three that go walking with me, the regular one is a porky 105, the other one is at least 100 and the other one is about 90. The 105 and 90 pups need to lose weight, like me, but I often take the 105 lb pup. He is a gigantic lab, and if someone can't see the both of us walking, they need their eyes checked. In court, "I didn't see him" won't hold water. Anyway, I'd like it to not get that far. At REI I found a flashing light that I affixed to my pups retractable leash. I am going to buy a reflective vest and see if my father can turn it into an adjustable vest for my dogs. I was surprised that I didn't see any reflective vests at Cabelas, not even a hunter orange vest. Everything was camo or PFD for dogs. Petsmart didn't have any either. Any ideas on alternatives or where to go? I need it because I walk a mile every night with the 105 lb dog and want to start going on night hikes through the neighborhood. I live in a rural area and people fly through those country roads at top speeds. I'm too fat to dive with a 105 lb dog into a cornfield.
 
Duluth Trading Co. has several dog vests. I believe all have reflective material on them. The one I bought does and they come in a # of sizes. Well built too.--KV
 
I bought a hunting dog collar at a feed store for around $10, it is made from nylon/plastic material (waterproof) in the color ORANGE and has REFLECTIVE tape on it that can be seen at night when a light is shined on it. I bought it 2 1/2 years ago and it still reflects light very good. You could probably attach the REI flashing light to the dog collar for added visibility.
 
There are quite a few makers of working dog harnesses and vests and most have some sort of reflective tape attached. My Jake uses a "Poo-Boss" vest with service dog patches sewn on. It has pockets and one is a poop bag dispenser. It also has reflective tape and lead attachment provisions.
http://www.pooboss.com/gallery/
 
For quite some time my sister owned a husky that lived in a bright orange vest. The idea being that even the blind old farmers wouldn't think a wolf was wearing one, but they might take a pot-shot at a blurry grey thing. Another option might be to look and see if there is someone in your area that makes custom dog jackets, they might be able to do something up for you.
 
Buy some reflective 3m scotchlite tape and sew it on yourself to whatever vest or collar your dog is using. It might be easier just to buy a cheap DOT approved man's safety vest and unsew the reflective material and sew that to the dog's vest. Amazon sells very cheap reflective safety vests that should have about 4 to 5 feet of reflective tape on them you could use.
 
I don't have first hand experience of this particular product, but going by other stuff I have from them [most notably the Raincoat and outstanding Winter Jacket], I'd say look at Hurtta kit. I've flagged their stuff up so many times here over the years I'm probably running the risk of being accused of shilling for them. Still, I know of know better, and I'm a tenacious at drilling down to stuff like this.

This item looks very simple so it is difficult to extrapolate from their other stuff. That said, I think I have sufficient cause to believe it will be a bloody good one.

http://www.hurtta.com/EN/Products/Reflector products/Micro vest/
 
You might want to check out the pet LED products from Nite Ize. I have their Spotlit LED Carabiner light that you can set on glow or flashing modes and attach to a collar. I also have the Night Dawg Collar Cover that wraps around a collar or leash and has the glow or flashing modes. The Night Dawg is the one I would recommend the most but Nite Ize has about 8 different pet night visibility products.

On hikes my big Pyrenees wears a Kelty Chuck Wagon dog pack that has the 3m reflective tape on it, not that he needs any help standing out.

As far as safety vests go the best designed one I have seen is the Ruffwear Track Jacket. It is blaze orange with reflective tape and attachment points for their Beacon LED light similar to the Nite Ize Carabiner Light. I don't have this vest but I have had Ruffwear dog packs before and they are well designed and constructed.
 
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i finally found one at Petco in York PA. It's a little too small for my pup, but if he loses some weight, which is the plan, on these walks, then we'll be good to go.
 
I have an 18 lb cat. The vet says loosing that much weight is a lost cause especially if there are other cats with food involved.

Glad you found what you were looking for.
 
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