Finding the perfect dog coat, jacket or knit goes beyond the look and feel, no matter how much you love the print or sparkle. Making sure your new dog attire fits perfectly is just as important. Like for human clothing, it can be tricky to navigate sizing charts without the right instructions and guidance – especially if it’s an afterthought. How many of us take a size risk for the ‘wow’ factor? Probably more of us than we’d like to admit.
So, to ensure you don’t skip the sizing step, we’ve put together some quick tips on measuring up your pooch, despite your love for a particular brand or style. Plus, some handy dog sizing chart considerations and our very own brand-specific size guides from our Winter 2023 range.
How to measure up
Like human clothing, when you’re searching online and in-store you’ll find a whole lot of different sizing charts for various clothing brands – and they don’t always match up when it comes to the categories of small, medium or large, and everything in between. It’s a bit confusing, but you can always fall back to more standardised measurements to ensure you don’t get it wrong. For dogs, it’s the same principles, but for most brands, the standard sizing guidelines look at the same key measurements.
Make sure you stick to the measurements you know
As mentioned above, dog coat brands will have their own sizing guides, and they may slightly differ with some unique measurement suggestions. Below, are some of the selections you may come across and that you will need to think about before purchase (especially if you’re browsing various online stores, including overseas brands):
- Centimetres versus inches: New Zealand vs US measurements. - Kilograms versus pounds: New Zealand vs US measurements. - Breed versus breed: This will sometimes be a point of comparison provided by brand sizing charts or guidelines or be in the form of a handy quick selector tool.
_*We don’t recommend choosing dog clothing based purely on breed – as this will not account for variables specific to your dog._
### The key measurements
Most dog jumper or coat brands will have sizing guides on physical tags or can be searched online, but they all adhere to the same standard measurements. Although, the ‘primary’ measurement below, is most commonly used across brands.
Primary measurement:
Length – Measure your dog from the base of the collar to the base of the tail for length. This will prevent the jumper or coat from only partially covering your dog’s body. This measurement is used as the indicator of size for most dog clothing and should provide the most accurate results.
#### Secondary measurement:
**Girth** – Measure the widest part of your dog’s chest, behind the front legs. _This measurement will account for your dog’s weight to ensure your dog won’t be left feeling constricted when wearing the dog jumper._
**Neck** – Measure around your dog’s neck where the collar would naturally sit. _This will ensure the neck hole of the jumper or coat will be big enough – and comfortable enough – for your dog._
_*Our Winter 2023 range does not feature these secondary measurements, only the first primary measurement._
## Winter 2023 dog sizing charts
Now you’ve got the dog measurement technique top of mind, take a look at some example sizing charts from our latest Winter 2023 range. These sizing charts have each been produced with the primary neck to tail measurement as the key size indicator, but also include breed specifics to help narrow your choice further.
Ruff N Rugged sizing chart
Ruff N Rugged dog coats and jackets feature in all our outdoor ranges. As seen above, the sizing within this range is categorised from extra small to large/extra-large. The incremental difference between the sizes is more flexible than some of the other brand sizing guides, with each size, including five-centimetre wiggle room.
Doggone Gorgeous sizing chart
The Doggone Gorgeous brand spans a couple of categories in our latest coat range. You’ll find knits, warmies, parkas and jackets. As the above dog sizing chart shows, there are size options from extra small to extra-large, with exact single measurements to indicate the appropriate size for your dog.
*Note: DGG sizing has been redefined for 2022. Please check current measurements from this sizing chart before making your purchase.
Wriggley Diggley sizing chart
Made specifically for the needs of sighthound breeds, the Wriggley Diggley sizing is specific to Italian greyhounds, Whippets and Greyhounds.
Finding the right size jacket, jumper or knit doesn’t need to difficult; it just takes a little bit more effort to ensure you’re making an informed selection – especially online. Use the dog size charts and measurement technique above to guide your decision.