How to find the proper size when shopping Dog Clothes
How to find the proper size when shopping Dog Clothes
Nowadays owners love to dress up their dogs in the hottest gear around, some gear is designed to assist in warming their bodies while other dog clothes out there are designed to make your lovely pet stand out from the rest of the crowd. With so many brands out there that exist today the question that remains is how do we know that what we’re buying is appropriately sized for my specific breed or dog type.
Many brands each have their own sizing guidelines also known as sizing specifications or measurements, while we’re all trying to appease our shoppers in finding the right sizes, it’s also important to note that their are a wide variety of fabrics that exist out there such as dog yoga clothes, and T-shirts or Hoodies made of either stretchy fabrics or cotton-polyester fabrics blended with Lycra that provided added stretch and conform to their bodies more effortlessly. It’s also important to take into account whether the garment you’re looking to buy provides adjustable jaw-strings or straps that provide a stretch to say a garment with materials that aren’t designed to stretch such as dog coats composed of polar fleece materials and so on.
The first step before deciding to buy any purchase is to know your dog. While there are many breeds out there that determine their shape, there are also dogs that are wider in girth such as obese animals that while it’s advertised consumers can buy such garments based off of breed, that’s not necessarily true. Measuring your dog is quite simple however for dogs that are constantly growing and at their pace of growth makes it like trying to hit a moving target as they may grow out of it sooner or slowly. The first step is to measure their length and that typically means taking a tape measure or ruler and measuring the length from the back of their neck to the tail area. After you’ve measured their length than measure the girth around their bodies from the middle of their spinal area and around the thickest girth around their belly area. After that’s completed it’s also important to measure the girth around their legs. Once you have these measurements you’re set and it’s time to head out to the store or shop online and read either the back of the packaging or dimensions listed online to find the right gear, but don’t check out too quickly, there’s more that should certainly be taken into effect before you reach the finish line.
If your dog is still growing it’s always wise to think ahead and ponder, do I really want to buy something with a length up until the tail line? or should I try buying something one size up? That’s a very reasonable question and something you might want to think about. Rule of thumb is that you’ll always want to leave a space of about 2 fingers to ensure the dog clothes you’re about to buy isn’t too snug and you might want to buy something that might cover the tail a bit but that you’ll receive a prolonged usage out of. Or you might say to yourself my dog’s dimensions are a tad abnormal, perhaps you might want to then think about buying a Dog Jacket that features expandable options and jaw-strings or perhaps you might want to consider buying something one size up. In many cases it’s highly advisable to look for a fabric that is stretchier or looser that’ll give your dog that much desired room they need.
Last, it’s extremely important that you look for a retailer especially when shopping online that provides Free Returns (And pays for the return shipping) in the event it doesn’t fit properly. We do offer that and we understand that not every garment is meant for every dog. While there’s not really any ‘Try before you buy’ solutions that exist out there, if a retailer is providing you this option it’s great when you have nothing to lose!
- Jun 18, 2020
- Pet Life Admin