Pet Dog Life Jacket

Will update review after more uses if anything changes. So far...
Update 1, made a trip to the lake during high winds to try it out. Actually held up very well and did support him very well compared to without. Does not hinder movement, he turns jumps and lays down without seeming uncomfortable or having any red spots from rubbing. 3 stars to 4 stars, I'm impressed!
Pros:
Bright and unique colors, not the standard yellow or red.
LOVE the 2 handles, specifically that they face different directions. Makes pick up comfortable and it's so easy getting him back in the kayak or on the paddle board.
Leash attachment seems heavy duty and stitched in well. I don't have a puller but seems like it would hold up to an eager dog.
Fabric washs off well, sand and mud have not been an issue.
Not bulky or awkward fitting like many we have tried
Every adjustment point has Velcro to secure extra straps so there is nothing dangling

Doggie life jackets run the range from absolute crap to human-worthy support. Outward Hound is definitely the latter. I have a standard poodle who weighs about 55 pounds - long body, long legs, deep chest and small waist - so he can be tricky to fit. The large Dawson Buoyant life jacket fit him perfect, with enough adjustability to fit both his chest and waist. The color is perfect because I can see it from far away, and so can boaters. My dog can swim, but sometimes I need to haul him out of the water into my kayak, and it is impossible without a handle, so this life jacket makes it easy to get him into the boat. It also acts as peace of mind if I fall in the water and can't help him, because it helps him stay afloat even when he isn't paddling.

I purchased this jacket for my 70lb lab/golden mix for a 2 day rafting trip on the Colorado River. He's a very strong swimmer, but I was worried about strong currents and fatigue. I ordered a size L which was easy to put on him using the straps and buckles, but was too small to attach using the belly velcro.

It kept him afloat and safe and I wasn't worried about him drowning (even with some fast-moving river currents) but I do not recommend this product for the following reasons:

-The two connector straps around the dog's belly is just velcro/fabric and buckles. There is no flotation material there. This puts incredible strain on the dog's belly if you need to pick it up by the handles (which is common for lifting out of the water such as into a boat/raft)

I viewed dozens of flotation jackets for dogs. Researched each one. This Outward Hound Granby Splash jacket seemed to be a decent quality jacket for a reasonable price.
However... poor design of the buckle's strap cinches cause the belt tension to loosen simply from the dog moving or walking. I may need to stitch the strap into place so it cannot be adjusted.

We love these. We bought the medium for our 38lb golden mix, large for our 63lb dane/boxer mix, and the XL for our 88lb monster collie.

Literally THE only downside we've found is that the neck strap tends to loosen with use and I have to tighten it again before the next use to ensure it fits snug around their chests and doesn't slip down their back. That's why I docked 1 star. The support cushion for the front of the neck also always flips around on my dane mix so it's facing outwards, but it doesn't seem to really affect anything so who cares.

The dane mix got in unexpectedly early into our pool days without her life jacket and sank to the bottom immediately like she was wearing concrete shoes. We were in the pool next to her so her head was only underwater for a second. We immediately picked up life jackets for everyone after that incident. She's still a little nervous about going in where she can't touch, but she has come in with her life jacket on and it has kept her 100% above water.

The collie is an experienced swimmer and this just gave her a little extra support so she wouldn't get tired as quickly.
The golden mix has swam only a little and was pretty bad at it and nervous about doing it, but this gave him the confidence to swim and he's improved leaps and bounds!

The handles are great and we've used them a fair bit to help give the dogs a boost in and out of the pool and in & out of the doggy pool boats we bought them. No complaints there. We've been using them all summer and they show zero signs of wear. The buckles are easy and it's easy to get them in/out of their jackets. We wrote their names on the front handle so it's easy for us to determine which belongs to which dog. We usually dry them out after use by strapping them into our deck railing for a few hours before going into our deck box for storage. They fit well, they're very adjustable, and I would buy them again if I needed more!