Are you an in between size? Do you find a pair of Marks & Spencer jeans in size 12 the perfect fit, yet when you pop into Zara for a pair of jeans you need a 14 - when it comes to sizing ladies clothes are all over the place and dog clothes are no exception. With SO many dog attire companies available now, it’s not wise to assume that a medium in one brand will be a medium in another.
I am very aware that whippets are getting bigger, heavier and longer and we keep up with these trends and are constantly tweaking the range, but I thought it might be worth having a chat about:
5 reasons why our clothes won’t fit your dog.
1 - Your dog isn’t a sighthound
It sounds obvious but maybe you’ve seen that lovely photo on Instagram of a Dalmatian sporting one of our fleece jumpers so you naturally think “hooray they do them for Dalmations now which means they will fit my Vizsla” - not always! it's likely that person carefully measured the dog, asked for advice and took a chance that it might not fit.
I know it’s confusing but our clothes are tailored to fit the sighthound shape and whilst some dogs have similar shapes, in general they aren’t a good fit for other breeds. So, if in doubt measure and get in touch!
2 - You like a loose fitting fleece
Our fleece jumpers are designed to be a close fit, as is demonstrated in most of our images AND they are not designed to come all the way along the back to the top of the tail they are designed to fall short around 10cms, as can be seen in the photo of Scout below. This is done for a reason - so that we don't have to make different shapes for girls and boys! They are snug to get on and off - but once your dog has got the knack it’s worth it. If the fleece is baggy not only will it let drafts in, it might rub on the top of your dogs legs and your boy might get it wet when going to the loo!
3 - Your dog is an in-between size
I’m an in-between size. I’m really a size 13, which means that size 12’s are tight and 14’s are loose! It’s very frustrating! And it’s no different for dogs. Your dog might measure perfect for a medium but be a large in length - but a standard large won’t be a good fit - it will be baggy all over, big around the neck and shoulders and on coats the strap will be far to big on the belly. So, going by length alone is not a good gauge of how our coats and jumpers will fit.
Our sizing is probably on the small side - mainly because our shape and sizes came from Bruno’s size and he was a little 12kg boy. BUT most of the jumpers, tees, petshirts and gilets are made from stretchy fabric so have some give in them.
All the dogs in this photo are wearing our medium size from left, George - yes he was on higher ground - in the Dorset, Bertie and Scout in the Surrey and Shadow in the Norwich. Note how they are not baggy at the front and the bottom of the coat sits just above the top of the leg. If they had been wearing large this would be sitting below the top of the leg and would restrict movement.
4 - Your dog is not yet fully grown
Buying clothes for your puppy is much like buying for babies - they grow out of them very quickly but still need the right size at the time! So, if you have a puppy you will work your way through the sizes within the first 10 months. You could buy a bigger size and hope that they will grow into it quickly, but the down side of this plan is that when your whippet is young you really need them to get used to wearing a jumper and coat otherwise you might be in for a struggle later! If their first jumper is baggy and uncomfortable they won’t like it or get any benefit from wearing it, so you are better to go for the closest size first and accept that you will have to replace it within a few months. You might find this post helpful where I delve into this very topic in more detail.
5 - Your dog is a cross breed
If your sighthound is crossed with a bigger breed - say you have a bull lurcher, it is likely that our clothes won’t be the best fit as they are designed for dogs with slim heads and necks and many cross breeds have bigger heads and necks. My advice here is to choose one of our scooped neck designs - Norfolk or Norwich coats and maybe request a Nimbus neck on a fleece - this is half the length and will be easier to get over bigger heads.
So, there you have it - we primarily design clothes for whippets, which scale down to Italian Greyhounds and up to Greyhounds. I don’t claim to be an expert in Iggy or greyhound sizing, in fact there are other companies out there doing clothes for these breeds so very much better than we do. But whippets I do know, having shared my life with them for over 15 years. They are our main focus and will always be.
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Debbie
