Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My wife and I are involved in dog rescue. We have a pontoon and take a lot of dogs to the local lake. We have purchased a variety of these devices to compare them. All the dogs that we care for are of the bully type. We have American Bulldogs & Pit Bulls, etc. So the body type is always big chest and small waist. We have an Outward Hound version that is most similar to this one, so I will compare and contrast them. The OH DFD has a full piece of cloth that has velcro to distribute the pressure underneath if lifting the dog while in it. The EzyDog in comparison has wide straps with wider cloth/padding over both straps that go under the body I think that the Outward Hound probably distributes the weight better, but it also has more potential to cause the dog to overheat also if left on without swimming. Either would cause them to overheat if left on very long without being cooled by water. The Outward Hound version has some additional padding/flotation under the neck strap which helps keep the head higher in the water than the EzyDog. In addition the OH flotation device has a little less flotation in the rear, which lets the rear of the dog sink in a bit more so that the dog is on a slight angle in the water. The EzyDog keeps the dog very straight in the water, which effectively keeps the dogs mouth very near or in the water. You can leave the rear strap a little loose on the EzyDog, and it helps offset this tendency just a bit. What the EzyDog needs is to have a smaller rear part. Instead of a square design from front to back, it should taper back I believe. Either a taper toward the back, or more flotation in the front. The problem with more flotation, is that it is that the EzyDog is already quite thick. It could however be done as an additional flap as on the OH DFD vest. Another thing that the full/square back end causes for dogs with a small waist is that the strap padding will have to get pulled under the strap "guide" that holds the strap in place if it is tightened. If your dog has a tubular body style, then of course this would probably not be an issue. In general the EzyDog is incredibly well made. The material is almost canvas like, the straps are very wide, and the buckles are heavy duty. I would not hesitate to pick up my 80lb bulldog out of the water with it. In contrast, the Outward Hound version didn't even last the first season before I ripped the handle off. The EzyDog costs about 2x the price of the OH vest, and it is easily built to last 2x as long. Heck, this thing might outlast my boat! Your dog will not sink with the EzyDog device on. You will be able to relax and not worry if they are drowning themselves. You will be able to lift your dog up by the handle if necessary and it should last a very long time. The quality of it is outstanding. With a few design tweaks it would be perfect. Finally, I would suggest that if in doubt, go with a smaller size. The EzyDog DFD is quite buoyant. You can stick a small one on a big dog as long as the straps fit, but you can't really do the reverse. Oh yea, adopt a rescue dog ;-) Enjoy!