Miniature schnauzer and Westie coat and sweater sizes

These two share a page because the tape cannot tell them apart. A miniature schnauzer stands a couple of inches taller, a Westie is a couple of inches longer in the body, and both end up with a 16 to 21 in chest, a neck in the low teens, and a wiry double coat that handles cold dry weather on its own and handles rain badly. The sizes are the same; the only difference worth a sentence is the back.

The numbers

The charts disagree with each other by an inch or two on both breeds, which is normal; they are coat makers' lists of measured dogs. Groomed short (a schnauzer's clipped back, a Westie's hand-strip), the dog tapes at the low end; in full coat, the high end.

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.

Read it as: jacket M for most, L for a big male in coat; vest S, or M when the neck reads over 14 in; Heritage Turtleneck M on the small end and L on the rest, because the neck on both breeds is thicker than the chest predicts. The Fireside Cable-Knit stops at a 16.5 in chest, so it fits only the smallest of either breed, and the trench is for toys. Neither is listed above for that reason.

Wiry coat, and what it is bad at

A wiry double coat sheds light rain and keeps wind off; it is one of the better coats for a cold dry walk and neither breed needs a sweater for that. What it does not do is dry. Soaked through on a long wet walk, the undercoat holds water against the skin for hours, and a white Westie comes home grey from the knees down. The one piece that earns its place is a rain shell, and that is the All-Weather Jacket: rain-shedding outer, warm lining, zip up the chest, harness built in. On a terrier the built-in harness has a second use: the leash pulls on the chest instead of the collar, which matters on a dog bred to lunge at squirrels.

The honest limit: the jacket is cut short in the back to free the hind legs. On a Westie, which is longer than it is tall, the hem stops well short of the tail; on a schnauzer, closer. The dirt that gets on the back legs is still going to get there.

The vest for in-between days

For cold drizzle, the Quilted Vest is lighter than the jacket, padded, with a high fold-down collar and a wide belly strap. Size S covers a 16 to 21 in chest with a 12 to 14 in neck, which is most of both breeds; a schnauzer with a thick neck or a Westie over 20 lb moves to M. The strap is why it suits a coat that changes length between grooms.

Knits

Not needed outdoors on a full coat. For a clipped schnauzer on a cold floor, or an old Westie, the Heritage Turtleneck in M (17.3 in chest, 12.6 in neck) or L (20.9 in, 14.2 in). It pulls over the head; go up if the neck is near the row's number. Both breeds have beards, and a turtleneck collar sits under the beard, not over it, which keeps it dry.

Shipping and returns

Free US shipping; orders ship in 1 to 2 business days and usually arrive 4 to 9 business days after that; 60 days to return the wrong size (Shipping & Returns). The measuring guide is short, and on these breeds the chest is measured over the coat as it lies.

Questions

Schnauzer, 17 lb: jacket M or L?

Measure the chest. 18.9 in is the M limit; most 17 lb schnauzers tape 17 to 19. Under 18.9, M; over, L.

Does the Westie's coat get flattened?

Under the jacket, on the back, for a walk. A hand-stripped coat springs back; a clipped one has nothing to flatten.

Any use for the trench?

No. It is cut for toy breeds up to 16 lb with a neck under 11.4 in, and both breeds are past that on neck.