Benny looks like a shapely shag pile rug. And, in his Red, White and Blue Turtleneck Sweater, he looks like a “very smart” shag pile rug. People have commented on this!

Buying Benoit a jumper was one of the first items on my “to do” list when he arrived.

Dog dishes, extendable leads, flea treatments, shampoos were on there too of course, but kinda boring. So I fixed my shopping urge by looking forward to purchasing a groovy little coat to keep away the Melbourne chills.
After buying all the “necessities”, I sauntered down to the local “groovy” Pet Store with my fresh new pooch and popped him up on the counter for a fitting and a consult.

Purpose?
The most walking that Benny would do was down the street for a coffee and the paper. During his off lead-time in the park, I figured he wouldn’t need a coat while tearing it up with the boys on the turf. So something that was cosy, well fitting, and would work with his coat colouring would cut it for the moment. I also wanted something easy wash and relatively cheap, so I opted for the acrylic version as opposed to the Merino wool version that was also available but about five times the cost.

Size?
You measure a dog for a coat by the length between his neck and bum. Benny’s just a tad bigger than my primary school ruler at 32 cm long which makes him almost 12 inches long; a “Small” in most brands.

Style?
Benoit was recently described by a fellow dog walker as “sensitive yet a little manly”. I thought the turtleneck gave him the look of a rough-living poet, a la Dylan Thomas. Red, white and blue just happen to be my favourite colours.

Result?
Very dashing to look at, cheap and pretty comfy once I’d cut the two little elasticized straps that you could hook around his hind legs. The jumper still fits snugly to his body but leaves room for his privates.

If I do buy him another coat however, I’d like to get him one that was less “invasive” and clipped on as easily as his lead. Fitting a sweater on over his head and front paws is a bit of a drag and I don’t think he enjoys it all that much.

That said, he’s a relaxed little fella and “plays dead” while I dress him which is handy. If I had a dog that was more nippy and fussy I’m not sure how they’d handle the whole skivvy thing. As a child of the 70’s I empathise. I really do.

He does look natty though, don’t you think? And I don’t get the guilt’s while I’m sitting there sipping on a hot choccie on the café pavement while he’s waiting for me to take him somewhere where there’s more dog butts to sniff. Which is worth it for me.

RATING:
BUY IT: wagwear
COST: $15.95 Aus - $13.70 US