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Layering a Small Dog for a Southern Winter: What Actually Kept Wally Warm
A Perth renter's honest take on keeping a tiny Cavoodle warm through a cold southern winter, without turning the flat into a pile of rejected jumpers.
Pet Apparel
Cooling vests, UPF shirts, winter coats, raincoats and recovery suits — plus why greyhounds are impossible to fit.
Pet Apparel guides (38)
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The Cooling Vest Experiment: Did It Help Our Dog in a Heatwave?
We put a water-activated cooling vest on Wally during a 41-degree Perth heatwave to see if it was gear or gimmick. Here is the honest, soggy result.
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Overheating in Dog Coats: The Warning Signs Owners Miss
As a vet nurse, I see dogs dressed for warmth who are actually overheating. Here are the subtle signs owners miss, and when to strip the coat off.
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Sun Protection for Dogs: What UPF Clothing Can and Can't Do
A vet nurse's honest look at UPF dog clothing: it shields some dogs well, but it is no substitute for shade, timing, and checking the skin your dog can't cover.
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Coat Training for Dogs: A Week-Long Desensitisation Plan
A certified trainer's step-by-step plan to get a dog calm about a winter coat, starting with the scary zip and velcro and ending with a happy walk.
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Recovery Suits vs Cones: Training a Dog to Leave Both Alone
A trainer's guide to helping a dog accept a recovery suit or cone after surgery, with steps to stop the chewing, rubbing, and midnight escape attempts.
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Winter Dog Coats Tested for Rain: Which Insulated Ones Stay Dry
We soaked, walked and wrung out six insulated winter dog coats to see which actually keep a dog dry in winter rain, and which just look the part.
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Cooling Vests Compared: Evaporative vs Gel vs UV Shirts
We put three cooling approaches side by side, evaporative, gel, and UV shirts, to show which actually takes the edge off an Australian summer.
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Perth's UV Index and Your Dog: When a Sun Shirt Ears Its Keep
A Perth groomer's local take on the city's brutal UV, and the exact days a dog sun shirt stops being optional and starts earning its place in the car.
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Where to Buy Dog Clothes in Perth That Actually Fit (Before You Buy)
A Perth mobile fitter's honest map of where to buy dog clothes locally, and how to avoid the sizes that never fit until you've tried them on first.
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Pet Apparel in Australia: Seasonal Demand Patterns From Industry Data
Industry data shows Australian pet apparel demand swings hard with the seasons, warming coats peaking in winter and cooling gear in summer, with a quiet middle.
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Returns Decoded: Why Most Dog Clothes Come Back (and How Brands Fix It)
Most returned dog clothes fail on fit, not fault, industry patterns show. Here is why they come back and the fixes brands are quietly rolling out.
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Washing Dog Clothes: Care That Keeps Coats Working
Three winters of washing dog coats in a Perth rental taught me what ruins them: heat, softener and cheap powder detergent. Here is the routine that keeps ours working.
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Coats and Older Dogs: When Extra Layers Help
Half the senior dogs I see in winter wear coats they resent, and half the ones who need one go without. Here is how I tell the difference in ten minutes.
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Coats Over Harnesses: Layering Without Bulk or Rub
I re-fit more harnesses than I sell coats through a Melbourne winter. Here is the layering order, the four rub points, and the two-minute movement check I run before every walk.
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Hi-Vis and Reflective Dog Wear: What Shows Up at Night
I tested hi-vis vests, reflective collars, leads and clip-on lights on dark NSW roads with a car driving past at speed. Here is what actually shows up, and what fails.
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Clothed Dogs and Coat Health: A Groomer's Brushing Notes
I shave more felt off dressed dogs than off undressed ones. Here is where the mats hide under straps and the five minute brushing routine that stops them.
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Sizing Charts Across Brands: Why One Dog Needs Three Sizes
I lined up the size charts from a dozen dog coat ranges and the same chest measurement landed in four different sizes. Here is how I read any chart properly now.
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Beach Days With Dogs: Sand, Salt, Sun and Blue-Green Algae
A Perth dog groomer's practical guide to Australian dog beaches, from signage and hot sand to blue-green algae and the gear worth packing.
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Bushwalking With a Dog in Australia: Heat, Snakes and Gear Worth Carrying
What a Perth groomer carries on the Kalamunda trails with a whippet, and the local hazards that decide what goes in the pack.
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Camping With Dogs: The Gear That Earns Its Space in the Car
After a dozen WA camping trips with a whippet, here is the short list of gear that actually earned its space in the car, and the tub full of stuff that never left it.
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Coat, Jumper or Pyjamas? What to Actually Buy for Winter
A Perth pet fitter explains the difference between a winter coat, a knit jumper and pyjamas, and how to choose between them without wasting money.
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Do Dogs Actually Need Clothes? An Honest Answer
A groomer who fits dog coats for a living answers the question honestly: most dogs do not need clothes, some genuinely benefit, and a fair number simply hate them.
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Do Dogs Get Cold in Australian Winters? An Honest Answer
A mobile pet fitter in Perth on which dogs genuinely feel an Australian winter, which don't, and how to tell the difference before you buy anything.
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Dog Life Jackets: What They Do, What They Don't, and How to Fit One
A Perth pet fitter's honest guide to what a dog flotation vest actually does, which dogs genuinely need one, and how to fit it properly.
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Dressing a Greyhound: Why Nothing Fits and What to Look For
Why standard dog coats slide off a greyhound, what to look for instead, and the four things I check before fitting any retired racer.
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Hairless Cats and Why Noodle Owns More Jumpers Than I Do
Noodle is a hairless cat who owns more jumpers than I do and wears almost none of them. Here is what hairless cats actually need, and how to introduce clothing without losing the argument.
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How to Get a Cat to Wear Clothes (Most of Them Won't)
A mobile pet fitter's honest answer on getting a cat into clothing, the weeks-long method that actually works, and why your cat is probably right to refuse.
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How to Get a Dog Used to Wearing Clothes (Without a Fight)
A step-by-step way to teach a dog to accept a coat without a fight, what stress signals to watch for, and how to wash the gear so it actually lasts.
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How to Measure a Dog for Clothes (and Why Every Brand Runs Different)
Three measurements, ninety seconds, and a soft tape. Why every brand's size chart differs and how to stop guessing.
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Keeping a Dog Cool Through an Australian Summer: What Actually Works
What I learned from one bad February afternoon with a whippet, and the four things that actually keep a dog cool in an Australian summer.
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Raincoats, Gumboots and the Art of Walking a Dog in Winter Rain
What a Perth groomer looks for in a raincoat, why waterproof and water resistant are not the same thing, and the drying mistake that causes most skin problems.
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Recovery Suits: A Kinder Alternative to the Cone?
A Perth pet fitter on when a recovery suit genuinely beats an Elizabethan collar, when it absolutely does not, and why the decision belongs to your vet.
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Sunburn, UV and Why Australian Dogs Need More Than Shade
Australia has the highest UV in the world and it burns dogs too. Which dogs are at risk, and what a sun shirt actually does.
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The Five-Second Pavement Test: How Water-Activated Cooling Vests Work
The five-second pavement test, what a water-activated cooling vest actually does, and the car habit I wish more people would break.
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The Wet Dog Problem: Drying Coats, Towels and Gumboots
What years of drying whippets on riverbanks taught me about towels, drying coats, gumboots and the damage a damp coat can do on the drive home.
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What UPF Means on a Dog Shirt (and Why Most Listings Won't Say)
What UPF means on a pet shirt, why most listings won't tell you theirs, and how to check a fabric yourself in ten seconds.
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Why Dog Clothes Don't Fit: The Five Problems I See Every Week
After a few hundred fitting appointments in the back of my ute, these are the five reasons a dog coat ends up in the reject pile, and what to do about each one.