Labrador retriever rain jacket and coat sizes

A Labrador's coat is one of the best in the dog world: short, dense, with an undercoat and an oily finish that lets a Lab swim in December and shake it off. A Lab does not need a sweater and will not thank you for one. The useful piece is a shell that keeps a wet walk off the dog's back and out of the car, and a Lab is big enough that only the top of our chart fits.

Numbers

AKC standard: 21.5 to 24.5 in at the shoulder, 55 to 80 lb (females 55 to 70, males 65 to 80). Breed charts: chest 30 to 34 in (DogChart), 26 in (Doggie Style Store, which reads low for the breed), 85 to 95 cm, 33 to 37 in (TARIGS); neck 18 to 24 in (Doggie Style Store), 50 to 55 cm, 20 to 22 in (TARIGS); back 18 to 20 in (DogChart), 55 to 60 cm, 22 to 24 in (TARIGS). Coat makers' charts of measured dogs, and Labs vary more than most breeds: a slim field-bred female and a heavy show-bred male are 10 in apart around the chest. Measure.

Our sizes

Piece	Fits	Size for a 29 to 36 in chest	Notes
All-Weather Jacket	Yes	2XL to 4XL	Size by chest; between sizes go up. Back length is short for the chest on purpose.
Heritage Turtleneck	No	-	The XL is 24.4 in around the chest; bigger dogs are past the chart.
Fireside Cable-Knit	No	-	Not this breed: the XL stops at 16.5 in around the chest.
Quilted Vest	Yes	L to XL	Pick the size whose chest range holds the measurement; the strap and collar toggle adjust within it.
Trench Coat	No	-	Cut for toy breeds: up to 16 lb with a neck to 11.4 in.

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 field-type female at 29 in: jacket XL (26.8) is too small, so 2XL (30.7); vest L. A typical male at 33: jacket 3XL (34.3), vest XL. A heavy male at 36: jacket 4XL (38.2), vest XL at its 37 in limit. The 4XL's neck is 22.8 in and a Lab neck of 20 to 22 fits inside it. Beyond 38 in around, which a very heavy Lab can be, there is no size. The knits end at 24.4 in and are not Lab sizes.

A Lab in a lined jacket

The All-Weather Jacket is a rain-shedding shell over a warm lining. On a Lab the lining is more than the dog needs except in cold rain and sleet, when it is exactly right; for a mild wet walk, the Quilted Vest L or XL does the same job for the back without the warmth and with a belly strap that takes up a seasonal inch. Both go on without anything over the head: the jacket zips up the chest, the vest fastens underneath.

The back on a 3XL jacket is 19.5 in, on a 4XL 20.9; a Lab's back is 20 to 24, so the hem sits ahead of the tail. The hind legs and the otter tail come home wet. The back and sides, which are what soak a car seat, do not.

The leash

The jacket's harness is built in and the leash clips to the chest. For a Lab that walks at your side, that is one less thing to put on. For a 75 lb Lab that pulls toward every dog and every pond, the product page's line applies in full: strong pullers wear their regular harness under the jacket and the leash goes on that. Nobody's rain jacket is a training tool.

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 (Shipping & Returns). Measure at the deepest point of the chest, just behind the front legs: how to measure your dog for a coat. On a Lab the number is bigger than the weight suggests.

Questions

70 lb Lab: 3XL or 4XL?

Chest, not weight. Under 34.3 in, 3XL; over, 4XL. Most 70 lb Labs are 3XL, a barrel-chested one is not.

Does a Lab ever need a sweater?

A healthy adult, no. The knits stop at a 24.4 in chest in any case.

Is the jacket worth it for a swimmer?

If the dog is going in the water, take the jacket off first; a lined shell soaked through is heavy and slow to dry. It is for the walk, not the swim.