Boxer coat and jacket sizes

Of the big dogs on this site, the boxer is the one that is genuinely cold. The coat is short, tight and single, there is no undercoat, and the body under it is lean muscle with little fat. Boxers shiver, stand with their backs hunched in cold rain, and are the large breed for which the jacket's lining is not a problem but the point.

Numbers

AKC standard: 21.5 to 25 in at the shoulder, 50 to 80 lb (females 50 to 65, males 65 to 80). Breed charts: chest 24 in (Doggie Style Store, low for the breed), 85 to 95 cm, 33 to 37 in (TARIGS, high); neck 16 to 22 in (Doggie Style Store), 45 to 55 cm, 18 to 22 in (TARIGS); back 50 to 60 cm, 20 to 24 in (TARIGS). Between those, most boxers tape 27 to 34 in at the deepest point of the chest. Coat makers' charts of measured dogs; on a boxer there is no coat to inflate them, so the tape is clean.

Our sizes

Worked out from the size charts on the product pages for the measurement range above. Your dog's own tape measurement is what decides it.

A female at 27 or 28 in: jacket 2XL (30.7; the XL at 26.8 is under), vest L. A male at 32 to 34: jacket 3XL (34.3), vest XL. The neck decides at the margins: a boxer neck of 21 or 22 in is past the 3XL's 21.1 in opening, and a 4XL (22.8 in neck) is then the size even if the chest says 3XL. The knits stop at 24.4 in and are not boxer sizes.

The shape

A boxer is deep through the chest and tucked at the waist, and a shell sized to the chest floats at the hem. The Quilted Vest's wide belly strap pulls that in, which on this shape is the most useful thing a strap can do, and the vest is the piece for cool drizzle. The All-Weather Jacket is cut short at the back to free the hind legs and sits ahead of the tail; on a square-built boxer that is most of the back. It zips up the chest, so nothing passes the face.

The face

Boxers are brachycephalic: a short muzzle and a wide skull. The two rules for flat-faced dogs apply. Nothing tight at the throat, ever, because the airway is already working harder than a long-nosed dog's; and nothing that has to be dragged over the head. The jacket's neck opening on the 3XL is 21.1 in and on the 4XL 22.8; choose the size whose neck number is above the dog's with room, and the collar sits loose. The leash clips to the harness built into the jacket's chest, so the pull never lands on the throat; for a boxer that bounces at the end of the leash, which is most boxers under five, the product page's advice: regular harness under the jacket.

Cold, and heat

A boxer feels cold at the same time as it overheats in warmth, because a short muzzle cools the dog badly. The jacket's lining is right for cold rain, sleet and a winter walk; it is wrong on a mild day, when the vest does the rain and lets the dog breathe. A boxer panting in a jacket is a boxer whose jacket should come off, that minute.

Shipping and returns

Free US shipping; ships in 1 to 2 business days and usually arrives 4 to 9 business days after that; 60 days to return a size the neck disagreed with (Shipping & Returns). Measure the chest at its deepest just behind the front legs, and the neck where a collar sits with two fingers of room: how to measure your dog for a coat.

Questions

65 lb boxer: 2XL or 3XL jacket?

Chest. Under 30.7 in, 2XL; under 34.3, 3XL. Then check the neck against 19.5 and 21.1 in and go up if it is over.

Does a boxer need a sweater?

Yes, by temperament, and no, by size: the knits stop at a 24.4 in chest. The lined jacket is the boxer's winter piece.

Will the collar bother the breathing?

Not in a size with room at the neck. The leash on the chest harness, never on the throat, is the thing that matters.