Chill out! Which cool coat is best for your dog.

It's the middle of August, and you and your dog have been stuck inside waiting out the 95˚+ heat wave that you thought would break in late June. The dog is getting destructive indoors, but you know he'll melt in the first 10 minutes of a walk if you head out of the AC. It doesn't help that he has a dark coat. Let me introduce you to a little secret used in the dog agility world called the cool coat. There are several different varieties of cool coats that promise to do one thing or another to keep your dog cool. I have the benefit of fitting multiple dogs each weekend and field testing each type while vending at these agility trials. Everyone has their preference, but I'm going to lay out the difference between each one.

K9 Kool Coat by Saratoga Horseworks

This lightweight, breathable coat is easily the most popular among the agility competitors. This is due to simplicity in design and low price point. Available between $31-$34, the K9 Kool Coat is a white mesh coat designed to be soaked in water and placed on your dog. The white coat reflects the sun off of the dog's back while the moisture helps to cool the dog. The front closes with a plastic "quick release" buckle and the belly band is marginally adjustable with velcro on both ends.

Pros: Low price point and gets the job done
Cons: Difficult to fit on some larger-chested breeds (Bulldogs, some Corgis)

Chilly Buddy Dog Cooling Coat

The Chilly Buddy Dog Cooling Coat is my personal favorite if you don't mind spending a few extra bucks. This coat retails between $42-63, with the most popular sizes being in the $45-52 range. What I like about this coat is that it is highly adjustable, lightweight and flexible. The outer layer is made out of a lightweight, reflective aluminet mesh and lined with an absorbent cotton mesh. It's designed to be used wet (over 80˚) or dry (below 80˚) and has an adjustable velcro chest and girth. The sun is reflected away from the dog and when used wet, the lining pulls the heat away from the dog. The cut away shoulder allows an active dog to run and jump without restriction. For an extra $10, it can be customized to fit your dog based on your measurements.

Pros: Great for hard-to-fit and active dogs
Cons: You should probably avoid trailblazing with this as the mesh could snag and pull on sticker bushes

Cool Vest™

The Cool Vest serves a slightly different purpose, in my opinion, than the coats mentioned above. To begin, it's not a coat but a vest. It is designed to fit the front half of the dog, covering their vital organs such as the lungs and heart. The vest needs to be soaked in water until the lining turns a dark blue. It can then be wrung out and placed on the dog without getting the dog significantly wet. This is perfect for a dog who is coming in from outside and seems a little hot. I don't recommend using it while exercising since it doesn't have the breathable properties of the other two coats. But it is perfect for using it in the shade or inside and will remain cool for up to an hour. Retails between $50-63. Velcro enclosures.

Pros: Great for show dogs and long-haired breeds that matte when wet
Cons: A little hard to fit on some breeds that are narrow between the front legs

If you have any questions about any of our cooling coats, please comment here, email us, or call 610-380-2036 and I'll be happy to help you choose the right coat for your dog.

Customer service.

We hear it over and over again. What ever happened to customer service? Sadly, I feel this transcends the B2C transaction. Maybe it trickles down from the top? In late December, I received an online order for a dog lead. When I checked my inventory, I realized the color was sold out. No problem. The manufacturer was local, so I would place an order and have it by the end of the week. I notified the customer and they were fine with waiting.

A week went by and the order never arrived. I called the manufacturer and the owner answered. I asked about the order only to find out they were holding the order, without notifying me, because two other color leads (not the one I needed) were on back order. Wouldn't you call your customer if you were going to hold back a shipment? You would think. Meanwhile, my customer was still patiently waiting. I asked if he could go ahead and ship the rest of the order and send out the two leads separately when they arrived. He balked at that because of shipping costs. So I told him to send them USPS since it cost less than UPS. He continued to push back. This was all over $6.95 S/H, that I felt he should have comped for since he held the whole thing up! Fed up, I finally told him to just take the two back ordered leads off the order and send the rest of it today. He cheerfully agreed and that was that.

Now look at this from a business perspective. He lost a $25 order over $6.95. Does that make sense? No. Even worse, this is not the first time I've had trouble getting inventory from him. This became the nail in the coffin and I decided this would be my last order.

The package arrived a few days later. Via USPS. I paid $6.95 S/H for UPS. The Click-To-Ship label with the amount of the shipping was blacked out...by hand. I know it cost less. The moral of the story? Look at the bigger picture. Keeping customers happy will keep them coming back.