Pit bull and Staffordshire terrier coat sizes

The bull breeds share a page because they share a shape and a coat: a wide chest on a muscled frame, a neck that is thick for the height, a short single coat, and skin that gets cold. A 30 lb Staffordshire bull terrier and a 65 lb American Staffordshire are the same dog at two scales, and both are sized here by the neck as much as the chest.

Numbers

• American Staffordshire terrier: 17 to 19 in at the shoulder, 40 to 70 lb (AKC). Staffordshire bull terrier: 14 to 16 in, 24 to 38 lb. The American pit bull terrier is a UKC breed of the same family at 30 to 60 lb.
• Chest on the breed charts: 24 to 28 in (DogChart, pit bull), 24 in pit bull and 26 in Staffordshire (Doggie Style Store), 42 to 50 cm, 16.5 to 20 in Staffordshire bull terrier (TARIGS, low). Neck 14 to 20 in (Doggie Style Store), 45 to 60 cm, 18 to 24 in (TARIGS, Staffordshire). Back 16 to 18 in (DogChart).

Coat makers' charts of measured dogs, scattered, because "pit bull" covers a 30 lb dog and a 70 lb one. A Staffy bull at 23 in and an AmStaff at 29 are both normal. Measure.

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 Staffordshire bull terrier at 23 to 25 in chest and 16 in neck: jacket L (22.8) is under, so XL (26.8); vest M or L. An AmStaff or pit bull at 27 to 29 in with a 19 in neck: jacket 2XL (30.7, neck 19.5); vest L. The neck pushes sizes up on all three: a 20 in neck is past the XL's 17.5 and the 2XL's 19.5, so 3XL. The Heritage Turtleneck in XL (24.4 in chest, 16.5 in neck) is in the table because a small Staffy bull fits it; the rest of the family is past it.

Thin skin, honestly

A bull breed's coat is short, close and single, with no undercoat, and the dog under it is lean. They are cold in weather a Lab ignores and will say so by shivering on the porch. The bare belly and the short coat over the chest are where the cold goes in. That is the case for the lined jacket on this family in winter, and for a knit on the smaller ones: the All-Weather Jacket with its rain-shedding shell and warm lining is the right coat for a pit bull in cold rain, and for a Staffy bull, the Heritage Turtleneck XL under it on the coldest days.

The neck and the leash

Bull breeds carry a thick neck and a lot of pull. Size by the neck column first on every chart; the jacket's zip runs up the chest to the collar and a size whose neck opening is under the dog's will not close at the top. The jacket's harness is built in and the leash clips at the chest; for a dog that walks nicely that is the right place. For one that leans into the leash with its whole chest, which is the breed doing what it was built for, the product page's advice is exact: regular harness under the jacket, leash on that. The jacket is a coat, not a restraint.

The vest

The Quilted Vest does cool drizzle without the lining; the wide belly strap pulls the hem in at a tucked waist, and the collar toggle gives room at a thick neck within each size's range (M is 17 to 19 in, L 20 to 22). Reflective trim for the early walk.

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 neck where a collar sits, with two fingers of room, then the chest at its deepest: how to measure your dog for a coat.

Questions

55 lb pit bull: XL or 2XL?

Chest, then neck. Under 26.8 in with a neck under 17.5, XL; otherwise 2XL. Most 55 lb pit bulls are 2XL on the neck.

Does a Staffy need a sweater?

Many do in winter: short single coat, lean body. The Heritage XL fits a Staffy bull under a 24.4 in chest; bigger dogs get the lined jacket instead.

Will the jacket hold the dog?

No. It is a coat with a harness for polite walks. A strong puller wears its own harness under it.