A 25 lb Frenchie is too big for this vest

“Sizing recommendations for a typical 25 lb Frenchie?” An owner asked that on a forum. It is the right question to ask before you buy anything with a bow on it.

For this vest the answer is short. A typical 25 lb Frenchie is too big for it.

The largest size is the XXL. It is rated for dogs from 7 to 10 kg, which is 15.4 to 22 lb. A 25 lb Frenchie weighs 11.3 kg. That is over the top of the range.

So who is it for? A small Frenchie. A puppy who will pass through the L and the XL, or an adult who stays under 10 kg. If that is your dog, keep reading. If it is not, you just saved yourself a return.

Three sizes, and each has a chest number and a weight range

We carry the L, the XL and the XXL. The chest number is how big the vest is around his chest. The weight range is the dog it was cut for.

We give the weight in both kilograms and pounds, so nobody has to convert at the door. We do not carry a size for a puppy under 4 kg.

Use both numbers. If the tape says one size and the scale says the next one up, order the bigger. A reading between two chest numbers goes to the closer one. Exactly halfway, at 47.5 or 54 cm, take the larger.

Say he is exactly 7 kg. That is the top of the XL and the bottom of the XXL, so take the XXL. If the bigger is the XXL and the scale says more than 10 kg, this is not your vest.

A puppy will not stay in one size. He goes through the L and the XL, and he outgrows the XXL if he is heading for 12 kg. If that is your puppy, this is a puppy vest. Plan on it.

Measure behind his front legs, read that number in the table, then weigh him

You need a soft tape, the kind from a sewing box. Two people make this easier: one holds a treat, one holds the tape.

Have him stand on all four legs, not sitting. Wrap it around the widest part of his chest, just behind the front legs. Keep it flat and snug, not tight. Write the number down. Measuring in inches? Every chest number in the table is given in inches too.

Take that number to the table as it is. Nothing gets added to it. Each size is cut for a chest of one number, 45, 50 or 58 cm, and your reading goes to the size it sits closest to.

Say the tape reads 47 cm. That is 2 cm from 45 and 3 cm from 50, so it is the L. At 47.5 cm it tips over to the XL. Here is how the readings land.

The last row matters. A broad Frenchie can measure more than the XXL allows, and then the answer is another harness, not a tighter strap. Anything above 58 cm on the tape is past the end of this range. The small end works the same way. The L is cut for about 45 cm, so under 45 means another harness, or time to grow.

Room for two fingers is something you check with the vest on him. That comes in the fit check below.

Do not measure his neck for this one. The size table has no neck number, so you do not need it.

Now the weight. Pick him up and step on the bathroom scale. Write the number down. Put him down and step on it again, alone. The difference is his weight. Say it reads 68 kg with him and 63 kg without. He weighs 5 kg, and that is the L.

Then compare the two. A Frenchie’s chest is wide for his weight, which is why the tape counts as much as the scale. Weight tells you who the vest was cut for. The tape tells you whether it goes around him.

Getting a puppy next week and nothing yet to put a tape around? Then wait. Order this vest when he is in your hands and you have a number. A vest bought by guess is a vest that goes back.

One ring, on his back, and what that does on a walk

The leash clips to one metal D-ring. It sits on his back, right under the bow. It is the only leash point on the vest. Clip the leash to the ring, never to the bow, and check that the clip is closed before you leave the house.

Here is what that means on a walk. When he leans into the leash, the pull comes from the middle of his back. It goes straight back. It does not turn him toward you.

Picture the corner of the street. A dog appears across the road and he leans in. On a back ring the pull comes from behind him, so he stays pointed at the dog. On a chest ring his front end swings round toward you.

That is why owners of dogs that haul look for a front ring. A front ring steers him. It does not teach him to stop.

The collar column is there for a reason. Owners of thick-necked Frenchies write about necks “almost the same width as their heads,” where a loose collar “slides right off.” That is one reason they move to a harness at all.

Not every dog needs a front ring. If he walks beside you on a loose leash, one ring on the back is plenty. If he hauls, look at the Front Clip Harness for French Bulldogs, which has the ring on the chest.

Do not lift him by the ring or the bow. If you have to carry him, put both hands under his chest.

The bow, the mesh and the ring: what you see when you walk behind him

You walk behind him, so what you see is his back.

Two plaid straps make a V. Between them lies a white mesh panel, a honeycomb of small round holes.

At the bottom of the V sits the bow. It is wider than the V above it. A band of fabric gathers the middle of the bow, and the D-ring hangs from that band.

The leash comes in the same plaid as the vest. It ends in a metal clip. Every color is photographed with its leash beside it.

That is the whole design. One bow, one mesh panel, one ring, one leash. Nothing on it is there to be a second leash point or a handle.

There are five colors: burgundy, navy, deep purple, sky blue, and yellow and white. Burgundy is red plaid fading toward pink and white. Navy carries tan and white lines. Deep purple has black and lilac lines. Sky blue is pale, with thin tan lines. Yellow has cream between its yellow lines.

In our photos, the purple sits on a black French Bulldog, the navy on a fawn one, and the burgundy on a blue-gray one. Look at those before you choose. Seen from behind, what you notice is the plaid of the straps and the bow, so the coat under it matters.

Check the fit indoors, after the first walk, the third and the tenth

Indoors first. Put the vest on and let him walk around the room. Keep the first walks short and quiet, so the vest is the only new thing. Slide two fingers flat under the straps. They should go in without a fight, and they should not fall out either.

Watch how it sits. The bow should stay in the middle of his back. An owner described a harness that “tends to pull and twist to the side a lot.” If the vest keeps sliding to one side, look at the size first.

After the first walk, take it off and look. Part the fur behind his front legs. Flat fur is normal. Red or bare skin means something is rubbing. Stop using the vest and ask your vet.

Then lift one front leg and look at the hollow behind the elbow. Nothing should press into it.

After the third walk, do the two-finger check again. Do it once more after the tenth. A puppy grows and a coat changes, and a vest that fit on day one can be snug later. If the fingers no longer fit, order the next size.

Look at the band the ring hangs from too. If threads are pulling loose there, stop walking him on it.

Some dogs plant themselves in a new harness. One owner wrote that her dog “was just stubbornly sitting and wouldn’t move.” It is a dog that has never felt this on his back.

Here is the order we would follow. Put the vest on in the hall and give him a treat. Take it off before he starts to fuss. Do that over a few days, without the leash. Then clip the leash on and walk him around the room. Then the yard. The front door comes last.

If he freezes at the door, go back one step. He is telling you where the new thing stops being fine.

Skip this vest if he weighs over 10 kg, under 4 kg, or hauls

Three cases, each with a number.

If he is between 4 and 10 kg and walks beside you, this vest is cut for him. Measure him flat and snug, then look up that number in the table as it is.