I've never had a dog that needed clothing before.
Finally made the plunge last weekend. It just got too darn wet and cold.
Before rain coat:
BRR!
After rain coat:
Miss 'Pi is sporting the Foul Weather Coat manufactured by Outward Hound (size small). It seems to fit her all right, but I think she'd like something a little thicker, maybe with fleece lining.
Now I'm regretting not joining in on that Land's End Squall Jacket sale that was posted earlier this season!
Other suggestions of available brands and sizes of coats, please? Bonus points if you can post your Basenji modeling their clothes (esp. since I have a hard time imagining how these things fit, so I haven't been keen on buying things online that we can't try on).
I like that Equafleece one that Malaika was wearing, which looks great and could be worn underneath this rain jacket. But they appear to be a UK-based company.
I saw something similar at a local pet boutique (didn't catch the brand), but they wanted $44 for the one in her size. Yikes. Makes me regret not knowing how to knit. 
I was actually JUST getting ready to post the sweaters I've made for this season. I sew them out of fleece & just completed my first 2 knit sweaters. I haven't tried using waterproof fabric yet.
Knitting is actually not very difficult. I taught myself online, bought a pattern online (you can actually find tons of them for free), and found a local yarn shop to go to for help on tricky parts of the pattern. The most difficult part for me was not learning the stitches, it was learning how to read and execute the pattern. You could start at ravelry.com.
Oooh, do you make them for general sale, or for your own lucky B's?
Looking forward to seeing your creations!
For myself, it's not so much lacking confidence in my ability to learn, but in time investment. I know knitting's supposed to be one of those things you can do while doing other things… but unfortunately, not for me. My hands are always already occupied...
I can make some for sale if you'd like. E-mail me at carriesquires at gmail dot com. I'll send you pictures of what I've made, and we can discuss what you want.
Curlytails i like Pi's coat, the colour is so her,lol
They do suit Red don't they.
Have had a look on the equafleece site and they do ship internationaly, price between ?5.00 and ?10.00, they are very efficient and post quickly. I should know as i kept ordering the wrong size and had to send it back twice.
Eventualy we got her a size 20" and some people may consider it a bit large but i like a bit of extra material to properly cover her back. The polo neck is great and just slips over her head.
It says they are 100% water resistant and so far she has been dry when out in the rain.
I swear by Equafleece. All of my dogs have umpteen variations on styles and colours. We are good friends of the owner and supply them with 4 days worth of Basenji shortbread to see them through Crufts
I also have a purple coloured Outward Hound jacket which look super cool.
The Lands End jackets were very light-weight, lighter than I expected, just a windbreaker-weight with some flannel-weight underneath. Fine for cool Florida, but will need a sweater under it when it's cold, so don't feel bad that you missed it!
I love her jacket, just put a fleece or sweater under it and she will be very warm.
Knitted coats are ideal for wearing under fleece coats when the weather's really cold.
I was actually hoping for a nice forest green to match her collar, which I think suits her nicely. Red is nice as well, just doesn't match the collar very well. Luckily she doesn't know that. 
I'll poke around to see if anyone else carries Equafleece – otherwise, I may just have to bite the bullet and do the online thing. I do like the high collar though, something that not all one-size-fits-all dog coats have. I still feel funny about paying that much for a tiny little dog coat, considering my own winter jacket was $29.99 off the clearance rack at Target. Haha. But then again, I can add extra layers, while Bowpi just shivers.
Carrie, I'll drop you an e-mail later. Thanks!
Here is a link to a really great coat from a company here in the Pacific Northwest. Their coats are very high quality and feature a lycra type lining that actually keeps your dog warm in cool temperatures and cool in warm temperatures. I always see her vendor booth and would love to have one of the coats, they run about $100 though and I personally have not been able to purchase one yet. I know many folks who have and absolutely LOVE them.
See if Montana Dogwear still makes coats..they notch the back edge for the basenji tail!
Hey, I see a Basenji named Avanti modeling a small, straight-backed coat from Zentek:
http://www.zentekclothing.com/products/Straight-Back-Coat-%252d-Small-Dogs.html
I apparently had clicked on the Montana Dogware site at one point, but this must've been before I had tried anything on Bowpi. I didn't realize they do tail notches! That's so perfect, as that was one of the "quirks" in sizing her at some pet boutiques – most generic size charts don't account for a curly tail that loops over the back, heh.
http://www.montanadogware.com/tailnotch.html
Hound Togs was another that I had stumbled on earlier, which I thought was neat because they make "Snug Snoods" for dogs that just need a little extra something around their head. Maybe more appropriate for Whippets and Greyhounds, not Basenjis.
One more fun one, from someone who custom makes coats mainly for Whippets but can also make them for other breeds:
http://www.geocities.com/warmwhippets/
Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/warmwhippets
I decided on an order with Montana Dogware. They got me with the Basenji tail notch, which is not something I had seen anywhere else. I guess I'm easy to please. :rolleyes: But it fits really nicely!
Yup, things are still pretty green around here, nothing like I imagine snowy Montana to be. But it can get cold, and Bowpi appreciates her coat nonetheless.
I decided on an order with Montana Dogware. They got me with the Basenji tail notch, which is not something I had seen anywhere else. I guess I'm easy to please. :rolleyes: But it fits really nicely!
Yup, things are still pretty green around here, nothing like I imagine snowy Montana to be. But it can get cold, and Bowpi appreciates her coat nonetheless.
What size did you get?
Montana Dogware also makes nice coats for dogs. They have many Basenjis pictured on their site ("Photo Gallery," "Medium Dogs"), including a Basenji who was owned by a friend of ours (and is pictured in Maxx's Memorial Blog)…Chico.
Bowpi looks very snug in her new coat
What size did you get?
I got her an XXXS Tail Notch-sized coat. She's about 22 pounds (I don't know where to measure her length/height and all that).
Okay, I used to be shocked by dog coat prices, but now I feel like a nice, custom-made coat is worth paying for every now and then. Wow, how having a thin-skinned Basenji changes things!
I found an old thread on this forum from a couple users recommending Wild Hare Creations, so we ended up ordering a collar as well as a double-layered reversible coat.
She makes them with a tail notch as well! In the picture below, Bowpi had just finished streaking around the park and so the coat is a little out of place. But it fits very nicely, especially with the wrap-around belt design.
I think she likes coats with turtlenecks the best.
And yes, she still wears her Montana Dogware jacket.
