I wondered if anyone here could help. A friend is having problems trying to find a waterproof warm coat for her 1 year old Boston terrier. Everything she buys is either too tight in the chest, or too large around the neck. He has a couple of equafleeces I recommended that keep him warm in the house (he feels the cold quite badly) but as the neck area is so large he sometimes takes it off when he is going through a crazy 5 minutes (when he is home alone) then gets cold.

He is the kind of size that a coat in pets at home in small is too small, yet the next size up being medium is far too big.

Any help would be appreciated :)

> he sometimes takes it off when he is going through a crazy 5 minutes (when he is home alone)

I know this might not be the advice you are looking for but I'd suggest your friend exercise caution about leaving a dog unsupervised in a coat.  I'm also not sure how your friend can tell her dog is cold if she isn't there to check.  Far better to leave the dog with a pile of fleeces and blankets and perhaps create a covered den (using a crate) to keep him warm in her absence.  Also spend some time monitoring temperatures in her house to be sure that there isn't a huge variation in temperature during the day or night and look at other options such as insulation, heat reflective panels etc

Re the coat - do you have an Agricultural store nearby, something like Countrywide Farmers, Mole Valley Farmers or Scats perhaps?  These places are happy to let dogs in and generally have a pretty good range of different coats to try.  The other really good place for every coat under the sun is Crufts in March.  If your friend can take accurate measurements then many of the sellers at Crufts will have the knowledge to help her find something that will fit - most sellers are also online so they are happy to exchange or refund if it doesn't fit.  I appreciate that it would mean a long wait but as a last resort...

He isn't left in a coat, he is left in an equafleece jumper. The coat is wanted for walks, but sizing for jumpers and coats have the same problem. There is heating provided, and underfloor heating is being fitted next month. He likes his comforts. She is one of the most caring owners I know. She also has a webcam she can view at work between me taking him for walks. I appreciate the pointers in your second paragraph, but the first was rather presumptuous. Something brought up quite recently by a new member. And one of the reasons I rarely post on this forum after being here 7 or 8 years.

Appreciate the advice offered anyhow.

I don't believe I presumed anything as you did say he is home alone, and can take his fleece off.  My comments are really not about whether your friend cares for her dog but rather more about whether she understands the risks involved.  It's not my intention to scare but I think most manufacturers of coats, fleeces, jumpers etc also advise that dogs shouldn't be left unsupervised in their clothing and I do think that as a health message it is worth mentioning :)

Equafleece are waterproof even though they are fleece.
They also do a full body waterproof suit which could fit over a fleece.
It might be worth giving them a ring with his measurements as I think they occasionally make them to fit individual dogs.

Fair enough, I apologise for my response, I possibly took it the wrong way. Losing my dog not so long ago is making me go through a range if emotions, but that isnt your fault :) But I disagree about him being left in a jumper - I'm of the opinion if we worried about every little thing our dogs and kids would never do anything. Working with dogs for a number of years I hear of many different types of accidents, but something happening while wearing a jumper has never been heard of before. Besides, if anything were to happen she'd just call me and I'd be there in a shot.

Yeah, I've said to her they're waterproof, but I'm not sure why he only wears them in the house. May be because they aren't snug around the neck and she worries he may get cold out. I'll speak to her about contacting them. Thanks.