The Aviator Sherpa-Lined Coat for Dogs & Cats

A shearling-style flight jacket, cut for a small dog

Tan brushed suede-look body, cream sherpa collar, cuffs and hem, brown leather-look piping running down the panels, and a full-length front zip with a ring pull you can work in gloves. It is the aviator jacket, shrunk.

It was made for the dogs that actually feel the cold — thin-coated sighthounds and low-slung breeds — and the sherpa runs right through the lining, not just around the edges.

The details worth knowing

• Adjustable neck strap with a metal pin buckle and keeper, above the zip. It closes the gap at the throat where warmth escapes. The neck strap is the only adjustment — the body is not adjustable.
• Full-length front zip, so the coat goes on without dragging it over the head.
• Sherpa-ringed leg openings and an open belly, so nothing rubs and toileting is not a production.
• A D-ring on the back for clipping a lead on a short walk. Please read the note below before you rely on it.

About that D-ring — honestly

The ring is stitched to the coat fabric. We have no load rating for it and this coat is not a harness. For anything more than a gentle amble — a dog that pulls, lunges, or walks near traffic — use a proper collar or harness underneath and clip to that. The ring is a convenience, not a restraint.

Sizing — and why a coat is harder than a collar

The manufacturer sizes this by weight alone, and we do not have chest or back measurements for it. For a garment, weight is a weak guide. A 6 kg Italian Greyhound is deep-chested and short-backed; a 6 kg Dachshund is the opposite shape entirely. Both are photographed wearing this coat, and both may need a different size from the one their weight suggests.

If your dog is deep-chested, long-backed, or barrel-ribbed for its weight, size up. A coat that is slightly roomy still works; one that is tight across the chest will not be worn twice.

We would rather tell you this than sell you a return.

Cats too — with one honest limit

The manufacturer markets this for cats as well as dogs, and photographs a British Shorthair wearing it.

A typical adult cat weighs 4–6 kg, which is our size M. Bigger cats — a British Shorthair or Maine Coon male, say — sit in L at 6–8 kg. So most cats are covered.

But there is no size below M. A small or slight cat under about 4 kg — many young cats, and plenty of petite adult females — has nothing here that will fit properly. Weigh your cat before you order.

One more thing: cats are longer and narrower than dogs of the same weight, so allow for that in the same way as the note above.

Materials, described honestly

It is not leather, and we are not going to call it leather. It is a suede-look fabric with leather-look trims, and it looks the part without the hide.

The lining is sherpa. The manufacturer describes it as giving "warmth like that of wool" — which is a comparison, not an ingredient. There is no wool in it as far as we have been told.

Care

General guidance — no care instructions were supplied with this product.

• Brush mud off dry, then wipe the suede-look face with a barely damp cloth.
• Hand wash cool if it really needs it, and reshape while damp.
• Do not tumble dry, bleach or iron. Heat will flatten the sherpa permanently.
• Dry flat and away from radiators.

In the box

• One coat. Lead, collar and harness are not included.