Our Story

The raincoat we couldn't buy

Cookie is a golden retriever. Not a giant breed, not an odd shape: about as ordinary as a big dog gets. Finding Cookie a raincoat should have been easy. It wasn't.

The biggest size didn't fit

We ordered an XXXL from one of the biggest online pet stores. It still wouldn't close around Cookie's chest.

Most were just capes

A vest or a cape that sat on the back and slid around with every step. The belly and legs, where a big dog actually gets wet, stayed bare.

The fabric was the cheapest kind

Stiff, crinkly and uncomfortable. Whether it kept the water out was down to luck.

Custom didn't fix it

So we had one made by a small online shop. It cost far more, the fabric was the same ordinary stuff, and the design still didn't make sense for a dog that moves.

Out of options, and a little out of patience, we cut holes in a trash bag and put it on Cookie. It shouldn't have worked. It did. It was soft, it was light, and it actually kept the rain off Cookie's back and belly.

From a trash bag to the Puddle Jumper

The trash bag told us what a big dog's raincoat should be. Turning that into something we'd sell took the rest of the work.

1. 01
   Start from what worked. Soft, light, and it covered the belly, not just the back. The trash bag set the brief. The legs were the part we had to add.
2. 02
   Find a real fabric. We skipped the usual pet-gear fabrics and went straight to the ones made for people's own rain gear: waterproof, soft and breathable, without the stiff crinkle.
3. 03
   Draft our own pattern. Cut for a big dog's chest, shoulders and legs, not scaled up from a small dog's coat.
4. 04
   Test it on Cookie. Sample, walk, adjust, repeat, in real rain, until it moved with Cookie instead of against.

The result was the Puddle Jumper: full body, all four legs, rated 20,000 mm waterproof. Our first product.

What the trash bag taught us

The raincoat wasn't a one-off. Look closely at most dog gear and you find the same story.

• One generic design, every size. It gets scaled from a chihuahua to a Great Dane, so it never quite fits the dogs at either end.
• Made for volume. Built to sell in large numbers, not to be lived with twice a day.
• Rarely changed. Once it ships, it stays the same, whatever the reviews say.
• Few real dogs involved. Very little of it is shaped by actual dogs, or by the people who walk them.

What we make now

Weather gear cut for medium and large dogs is our signature. Our walking gear works for every dog.

Our signature · big dogsRain gearFull-body raincoats, and a matching one for you. Our signature · big dogsWinter gearFleece and a snowsuit for cold walks. Every dogWalking and runningHip Pack, Sling, Pack'n Carry, Runner Belt and Bungee Leash. Hot daysCoolingPalsCooling gear for dogs and their people. Special daysBandanas and bow tiesSized to show up on a big dog. Better togetherMatching setsYour gear and your dog's, in one box.

You asked, we changed it

A lot of our design notes come from customers. A few changes to the Hip Pack that started with you:

• You askedFor an easier way to reach poop bags. We added a poop bag opening.
• You askedFor a bigger water bottle pocket. We made it bigger.
• You askedFor more colors. We added them.

New products start the same way. After you order, we ask what you'd like us to make next, and we build from those answers.

How we decide

1. We size by measurements, not breed. Two dogs of the same breed can be two sizes apart, so our size guide asks for back length and chest, and tells you when a dog is outside our range.
2. We tell you what our gear won't do. A dog that lunges hard can still throw a runner off balance, and we say so on the Runner Belt page. Not every dog needs a coat, and we'll tell you if yours doesn't.
3. We make it fit the person, too. The Hip Pack strap fits waists from 22" to 51", and the extender is free.

Who we are