Does my dog need a coat? What the size chart tells you

A coat sizing chart helps you choose a size. It cannot tell you whether your dog needs a coat. If your question concerns your dog’s health or response to cold weather, ask your vet.

When choosing a coat, start with the measurements that maker uses. A back-length match may still need chest and neck checks. A chest-based size leaves a different question open: how much of the back will the coat cover?

What each maker uses to choose a coat size

The coats chart page brings together the different sizing approaches. Write the product name alongside your measurements so you can return to the right chart. The same letter size can mean different things on different coats.

• Hurtta Monsoon Coat II: choose by back length first, then check the published chest and neckline adjustment ranges. The size number represents back length in centimetres. The 40XS and 45XS variants have narrower chest cuts than their standard counterparts.
• Kurgo Loft Dog Jacket: fit the chest, then check the neck. Kurgo says back coverage will vary. Where chest ranges overlap, its guidance is to choose the size in which the chest sits most centrally.
• Ruffwear jackets and coats: choose by chest girth, measured around the widest part of the chest just behind the front legs.
• Weatherbeeta coats: choose by back length, measured from the base of the neck to the base of the tail. The guidance used here explains that measuring method but does not include a numerical size chart.

Worked example: a 35 cm back and 52 cm chest

Suppose a dog has a 35 cm back length and 52 cm chest girth. These hypothetical measurements help narrow down the sizes. For some coats, though, you still need a neck measurement before choosing.

Hurtta Monsoon Coat II: size 35 is a candidate

Hurtta’s size 35 lists a back range of 32–37 cm and chest adjustment of 40–60 cm. Both example measurements fall within those ranges.

Now check the neckline adjustment of 25–45 cm. Until you measure the dog’s neck, that part of the choice remains unresolved. A 35 cm back matching the size 35 label is only the starting point.

Kurgo Loft Dog Jacket: Small matches the chest

Kurgo’s Small chest range is 48–69 cm, which includes the example dog’s 52 cm chest. Its neck entry is 41 cm.

That makes Small a chest-based candidate. The example gives no neck measurement, and the chart’s single neck figure does not establish an adjustment range. Check the dog’s neck and resolve any uncertainty with Kurgo before choosing.

The 35 cm back measurement does not settle those chest and neck checks. Kurgo says back coverage varies, so choosing a larger jacket solely for extra coverage would leave its primary sizing requirements unanswered.

Ruffwear jackets and coats: XS matches the chest

Ruffwear’s XS chest range is 43–56 cm, which includes 52 cm. Under its chest-based sizing system, that points to XS. It does not tell you how far a particular coat will extend along the back.

The same measurements therefore point towards Hurtta 35, Kurgo Small and Ruffwear XS. Hurtta and Kurgo still need neck checks. Each label comes from its own chart, which is why transferring a size from one maker to another can lead you astray.

What to do when measurements fall between sizes

Check the chosen coat’s rule before deciding to go up or down.

• Weatherbeeta: take the next size up when back length falls between sizes.
• Ruffwear: take the larger size for a growing puppy between two sizes. The guidance covered here is specific to puppies; it does not establish a rule for every adult dog.
• Kurgo Loft: compare the overlapping chest ranges, choose where the chest sits most centrally, then check the neck.
• Hurtta Monsoon Coat II: check the back, chest and neckline entries together. A back-length match leaves the choice unresolved if another required measurement falls outside its range.

If none of the candidates accommodates all the required measurements, ask the maker about the exact coat and sizes you are considering. Include your dog’s measurements and identify which one you cannot match.

Record the measurements that settle the choice

Use the maker’s stated measuring points. For Weatherbeeta’s back measurement, these are the base of the neck and the base of the tail. For Ruffwear’s chest measurement, find the widest part just behind the front legs. A fixed finger-width distance behind the legs does not replace that landmark.

For Hurtta and Kurgo, follow the chosen maker’s measuring instructions and record the neck measurement alongside the primary sizing measurement. When reading the chart, distinguish an adjustment range from a single figure.

Those records let you check which published sizes include your dog’s measurements. Keep that decision separate from whether your dog needs a coat.

FurPick checked the four maker sources used here on 5 October 2026. See our method for chart sources and sizing limitations.