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Our Favorite Wet Weather Dog Gear // Tips for Keeping Your Pup Clean

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area means that winter and spring are often quite rainy! And since this has been our first rainy season with our dog, Spruce (whom we adopted from Oakland Animal Services last June), we’ve had to learn all about how to take care of our 60 lb toddler while keeping our house and car clean!

So since we’ve found a handful of products that we (and Spruce!) love, I thought I’d share them with you, along with some of the cutest rainy day photos from Spruce’s recent playdate with his dog friend, Ozzy!

Read on for 3 of our favorite products and wet weather must haves!

Kurgo North Country Waterproof Dog Coat

The North Country Coat was our first wet weather purchase when we started to have to walk Spruce in the rain, and it’s worked out incredibly well! Because pitbulls like Spruce have really short hair they can get cold easily, so when it’s both wet and cold outside we like to make sure that he stays warm and dry!

This jacket has a heavy duty outer layer that’s waterproof and can withstand all kinds of weather, and a softer inner layer that keeps him warm. I love the little collar that pops up to keep his neck dry as well (kind of makes him look like a doggy vampire)!

The other morning I went to let him out to the front yard, and he actually stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed that it was raining. He literally waited until I put his coat on before he would venture out! That’s a good enough endorsement for me! 🙂

FYI- If you’re planning on being out for a long time in heavy rain, the Portsmouth Foul Weather Jacket is another good option! It’s heavy duty fabric can handle a downpour and all kinds of nasty weather.

You can see (above) how well the jacket stays in place and still covers him even when Spruce and his pal, Ozzy, romped around in all the mud and puddles on their little playdate! 🙂

My other favorite features of the foul weather jacket are the zipper on the top so that you can attach a leash to the harness (hiding underneath the jacket) and the light strip on the end of the jacket that you can turn on if it’s dark or stormy out to make him more visible.

Kurgo Heather Hammock

Now, I have no idea what took us so long to get rid of the towel on the back seat approach to transporting our dog, but I am so happy that we finally have something that works and looks so much better than what we’ve been using!

The first few photos below are what we’ve been doing for the past 8 months when we have to take Spruce somewhere in the car: throw an old towel on the back seats. As you can see, it never stays in place and gets dirty really fast!

Now this (below) is what our new Heather Hammock looks like in the back seat! So much better! It actually stays in place with straps around all 4 headrests and really fits our Subaru perfectly (meaning it actually covers the entire seat right up to the edge).

It also works well with our Direct to Seat Belt Tether that you can see in the bottom right photo, which attaches to Spruce’s Journey Air Dog Harness and keeps him from jumping up into the front seat (because he feels like he needs to be literally on top of us 100% of the time; seriously!). A few years ago I was rear-ended (and my car was nearly totaled) by someone who was distracted by his dog jumping into the front seat, so this part is really important to me!

I love the fact that you can also use it as a half hammock (there’s a partial zipper in the middle) so that you can accommodate a person in the back seat, or so your dog can use the foot space to jump up into the backseat, which Spruce always does!

Below are some details of the flaps that cover the seatbelt buckles so you don’t have dirt fall into the seat (amazing!), and the adjustable straps around the headrests so you can make the hammock tighter or looser as you desire.

Spruce seems to enjoy the feel of the hammock and we love that the fabric stays in place, is thick enough to stand up to these talons (haha), and can easily be wiped off when dirty (though it’s machine washable if needed!), as opposed to the towel that we used to have to wash constantly.

Kurgo Mud Dog Travel Shower

Now this is my favorite little invention! We hike in the woods every day with Spruce, so even on dry days his paws get quite dirty just from running around on the trails. The Mud Dog Travel Shower has been the quickest and simplest way to clean off his paws (or give him a full bath!), and the best part is that it’s so small and portable that you can bring it with you in the car or on adventures as well!

The creative design allows you to just twist the nozzle on to any standard plastic bottle and just shower away! I like to use a larger plastic bottle for full on dog showers, and a smaller more portable one to just clean off his paws. Such an easy and creative solution!

I hope that you found this post helpful and that you’ll be better equipped to handle your pup during the wet weather seasons!

Can’t get enough of Spruce? I don’t blame you, he’s the cutest! 🙂 Check out these adorable photos of Spruce on his first backpacking trip. He had the hardest time figuring out how to use his doggy sleeping bag!

Disclaimer: I did receive compensation, as well as some of these products from Kurgo in exchange for my review. However, we (my husband, Spruce, and I) have been a fan of and used Kurgo products long before this, and all opinions are my own.

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i'm sarah (she/her) , your new quirky, color-loving friend!

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