It's A Two Dog Night

Cinder and Wiley

Everyone gets old, an unfortunate fact of life, it's one thing that doesn't discriminate it happens to the best of us.  However, imagine if for every year you lived you aged exponentially, as if you've lived for 7 or 10 years.  That's just what the experts say happens to 'man's best friend' and it's happening right now to two of my best friends, Wiley and Cinder, our family's dogs.  It is a common thought that 1 human year is equal to 7 dog years.  I've found from a bit of internet research that the comparison of a 1 to 7 year ratio is no longer very accurate.  This is due to the realization that dogs reach adulthood within the first couple of years. I've found a new formula on the internet that canine experts feel is a bit more accurate.  Of course this is subjective as it is derived by judgement and experience as no one has been able to get any dogs to show them the secret dog conversion chart on such things.  However, the formula that I've been able to find is: 10.5 dog years per human year for the first 2 years, then 4 dog years per human year for each year after.

This calculation places our canine family members Cinder and Wiley at 55 years and 67 years old respectively.  Now, that doesn't seem so old when you look at the numbers, but consider the stress and strain that dogs put on their bodies; chasing a Frisbee, catching tennis balls, roaming the yard for just the right scent to roll in, keeping the sofa warm for the humans who never seem to appreciate the effort, not to mention spending each day tirelessly mooching near the dinner table waiting for a small morsel of food to fall... all of that is quite a lot of work as you can imagine takes its toll.  With only 16 hours of sleep a day, there's no wonder our dogs feel the effects of aging on their bodies!

Along with all the usual wear and tear that a 67 year old can expect our friend Wiley has also had more than his share of injuries and illnesses along the way.  Without making myself cry from all the money I've spent at the vet for surgery and procedures to save this old friend we'll just say that if he was a cat he'd be nearing life number 9.  So, it's no surprise that in his old age he is now facing some uncomfortable days.  Living with terrible arthritis, especially when the cold New England winter comes around, makes for a fairly unhappy dog.  So, just like any other older member of the family it's important to me to try to ease his pain if I am able.  So last winter when I started to realize that Cinder had more white fur on her face than she does black and when Wiley started to refuse to go out when it was snowing, raining or too cold that perhaps I can  help them be more comfortable.  I figured I can at least keep them warm and dry which might just help their aching arthritic hips feel a bit better in the cold weather.

I realize that I can easily just go buy the dog a coat, but you all know... that's just not my style!  So I started with Wiley and by taking a few measurements.  He's is a bit of a tall lab, a bit taller than breed standard, so I wanted this to be specific to him and make sure I cover his hips to keep them dry.  I measured where I felt necessary and drew a sketch of what I thought would be a logical starting point.  Once I had an idea of the shape that I'd try to create I then transferred that to paper and made myself a template.

A Quick Template

 From there it was fairly simple, just a quick quilt of a nylon wind-breaker type fabric with a polar fleece lining.

Nylon outer shell joined with polar fleece lining

Joined the two layers with some simple quilting.. used tailor's chalk as a guide..

I then joined the neck, this will slip over the dogs head.  I finished the edge with double fold quilt style binding using a contrasting color of fleece.

Added some Velcro closures.  This was measured to fit Wiley specifically as he's got a very deep chest.  I'm thinking for future projects like this I may rework the closure to fit any large dog.

One finished doggie coat.

A funny bit about my special friend Wiley is that his face does tend to show a lot of emotion and I may be imagining it but he seemed a bit unhappy wearing his coat.  If I didn't know better I'd even say he was embarrassed.  He will wear it, especially in colder or wet weather but I always wonder if he could talk if he'd give me the old.. "But Mom, my friends might see!!!" when I put it on him.  In contrast, his sister Cinder LOVES it and when we put it on her she parades around the house wagging and showing off, but that fits her silly personality perfectly!!  I bought fabric specifically for her and this winter will be making her one of her own!!

Wiley sporting his new coat and matching collar!

This being a prototype of sorts I will be updating the template a bit to cover more of his shoulders, but it does fit his length and chest well.

Cinder parading around in her brother's coat, wagging her tail like crazy!