Review on 🌬️ Stay Cool and Protected With RUFFWEAR Jet Stream Vest: Ultimate Summer Gear by Melissa Richards

I bought this for our 50lb chocolate lab who loves to play in the garden. I bought a medium and it suits him well. Before I get to the cons, I just want to say IT WORKS. We live in Michigan and the summers here can get quite hot and humid. Combine this with a chocolate colored double coat and our dog can spend a maximum of five minutes in the sun before he begins to pant and become uncomfortable. With a cooling vest, he could play fetch outside in over 75°C for 15-20 minutes (he takes it very seriously). Without the vest he would have lasted less than 10 minutes. BUT. I simply cannot recommend this product. Maybe I didn't read the reviews carefully enough, or I didn't get it right, but after less than a dozen uses, this product just doesn't live up to expectations. The nature of the material/fabric is such that you can't put it in the dryer (or at least the care instructions say you can't) as I'm afraid it will shrink. While this isn't a bad thing per se, the problem is that the material is made to hold water. So when you wash it, you have to dry it and it takes a long time to dry, which promotes bacterial growth and a very bad smell. I've already washed it twice with two different detergents and both times it smelled clean (first) and then after drying lying flat or first use (he used it a couple of times between washes) it smells awful. Also, this fabric just wants to hold stains. As I mentioned, two different detergents plus a stain remover couldn't remove some of the dirt that happens to dogs, you know, when used as intended. You can see it a little in the first photo, sorry my phone's camera is not very good. Finally, as you can see in the second photo, the spandex bodice is already peeling away from the seam. We have had the item for 2 weeks now.