Canine Life Jackets

[Jaide]

On the topic of life jackets, I am pretty much adamant we have life jackets on board our boat for our dogs, in the case of emergency and for safety sakes. My husband however, thinks it's all rather shall we say, ridiculous.

Dogs can swim is his argument. This is my argument...

Imagine being on a very busy lake, my dogs are both black...hard to see right? Well life jackets are meant to be visible..that's a plus. Now, imagine being on the ocean and the boat takes on water and we have to abandon ship, or one of my precious dogs falls overboard...life jackets would save me and my husband and my dogs...that's another plus.

My point? My husband thinks I am being ridiculous in my unrelenting desire to have what he calls "doggie" life jackets on board our boat. So he challenged me to place a post here to see what you all think.

So, here it is. Now, tell me what you think...

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

My dog likes her life jacket. It keeps her warm out on the ocean on cool days. Plus because of her size i don't think she would make it to shore. God help it if Punky got lost at sea. My wife would divorce me.

 

[Jaide]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

My dog likes her life jacket. It keeps her warm out on the ocean on cool days. Plus because of her size i don't think she would make it to shore. God help it if Punky got lost at sea. My wife would divorce me.

That's one for Jaide...none for...well I'll leave his name out of it

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

You have got to watch out for the pets...what good is a pet vest, stored under the seat, if your dog goes 'overboard'?

I 'lost' Toby off of my jet ski one time...out in the Gulf of Mexico. My GPS...and his orange vest...saved the day!

 

[Jaide]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

OK, to add to the details (my husband is enforcing this fair play addendum)

Our dogs are:

1) a black lab/great Dane mix who weighs about ninety pounds and loves to swim -he has the necessary webbed toes and all...

2) a border collie/Australian shepherd mix weighing in at just under forty pounds..she is not all that fond of long swims and does not have webbed toes.

 

[Jaide]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

You have got to watch out for the pets...what good is a pet vest, stored under the seat, if your dog goes 'overboard'?

I 'lost' Toby off of my jet ski one time...out in the Gulf of Mexico. My GPS...and his orange vest...saved the day!

Good point...of course for me...I'd be jumping in after them if the situation was really that dire! And on the ocean...my dogs would always have the jackets on.

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

we have jackets for any one on board 2 or 4 legs.
other wise we dont leave the dock.
my catahoula is a swamp dog and swims like a fish. i am working on training him to rescue and he can tow me 200 yards to the shore or boat.

my wifes english bull dog is another story. he swims like two rocks tied to a third. if he is near the water he gets a life jacket.
we have two of one brand that work ok and then one that is a lot better it had buckles snaps and a neoprene lining that goes completely around the chest that helps retain their core heat so they stay warmer. it is on the boat and i cant get to them to get the brand name.

in a pinch we have used the old orange plane jane people jackets and gotten along fine and in fact they work better for her bull dog because of his short neck they keep his head up out of the water better.

that said i had a good freind loose a $2500 lab ten years a go. he winged a goose and before he could stop chet,his lab, he had took to the water to try and retrive. he got to far out fighting the crippled goose and we didnt have a boat. buy the time he started back he was to cold and tired to make it.
dogs can drown.

 

[Jaide]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

OMG...that's awful!

I would be absolutely devastated if I had to watch one of my dogs die

OK unnamed husband...I hope you are reading these!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

I have them for both of my labs and they are great swimmers but get tired.

I saw a bulldog jump in the water one day and just sink due to body mass so I grabbed him.

 

[OldePharte]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

We also require a life jacket on our dog when we go on the boat for many of the same reasons as mentioned above.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

In my boat, humans wear PFD's when we are running down the lake with the outboard (take them off for fishing). Dogs wear them at all times (they can't exactly slip them on and off as quickly as I can.

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

Accidents and ill-fate can happen to good swimmer dogs, just like they can
happen to good swimmer people. Swimming dogs can get cramps, they can
encounter branches or logs, and many obstacles.

My dog wears a life jacket, well, at least 95% of the time on board and when
play swimming. He is a very good swimmer.

I had occasion to save a dog from drowning due to exhaustion swimming.
A black lab swimming in small circles, and heading further from shore. The
owner's friend apparently threw a stick way out in early spring, and it was
waterlogged from the winter.
The dog swam out after it, the stick sank in the water, and the dog relentlessly
kept swimming for it. It took all that I had to pull him up and into
my jon boat. The owner was thankful, and so was I.

Not all stories have happy endings, but a pfd helps, even for dogs.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

I vote yes ,I want one for both my puppies !! John

 

[mthieme]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

Well, the last dog I had was when I was 6. She was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever...and did she ever! Everything that floated up the Creek she brought to shore. This of course was loooonnngg before someone thought of doggie vests. That particular dog definitely did not need a vest. I can remember the family taking off on a day of sailing and she would jump off the bulkhead and follow us for a mile or so before getting the idea she had to stay behind.

 

[dave11]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

We have two dogs. When they are on the boat, they are wearing their doggie PFDs.

 

[slasmith1]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

My wifes pug (notice not mine) is like one of our kids maybe even a little more spoiled. If I protect my kids and everyone else on board (all of them can usually swim) why would I choose not to protect someone as important to my family as Buddy.

EDIT: p.s. my wife made me post this.

 

[ksubigbuck]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

Yeah, mthieme...Chessies are one type of dog that definitely don't need a pfd. I plan on taking my black lab fishing with me a bunch this summer. He doesn't need one either. He is my waterfowling dog and will bust ice and fight current on the river like nobody's business to get to the bird. He is an excellent and fast swimmer with lots of stamina and loves the water. But, he will wear a pfd when we are motoring down the lake simply because I don't want him to jump/fall out of the boat and get knocked unconscious. If that happened without a pfd he would probably just sink. Also because my wife won't let him go without one, haha.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

Tasha, has to get a new one this year, she has lost her girlish figure.

 

[Frankhanhart]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

Droopy, English Cocker spaniel, swims like a dream, but when the going gets rough we put on the jackets, hers too . She did drop overboard twice, once through stupidness (first time on a boat) second time trying to catch a duck which came paddling by. Now she is much more surefooted, but as I said when the waves get high she gets her jacket on. Pretty nice handle too. She also gets it on when we go snorkeling.....relentless follower

 

[xxturbowesxx]

Re: Canine Life Jackets

I put My ski jacket on my Golden Retreiver when shes in the boat. Sounds weird but it fits her just fine. When we are beached and playing in the water its a must because she would swim in the water until she gets exhausted.