Voyagers K9 Apparel Review for Dachshunds

We recently had the chance to try out a couple dog jackets from Voyagers K9 Apparel.

People started asking me for my reviews so here they are.

Disclaimer: I bought two of these jackets but they sent me the other two at no cost to review.

A Note on the Necessity of Dog Jackets

While a dog’s fur or hair does add a certain amount of insulation against the cold, it’s not always enough to keep them warm and safe,

Dogs of any size with short, click hair, small dogs, and senior dogs are particularly susceptible to cold weather.

Dog jackets are not just to look cute, they have a function.

A jacket can raise your dog’s cold tolerance by 10-20 degrees, depending on the style and material.

Putting a jacket on your dog can be the difference between going on adventures or hiding inside all winter.

They can also help prevent injury and illness like frostbite and hypothermia.

Voyagers K9 Apparel Tummy Warmer Review

Our dog jacket of choice for cool weather like in late spring, early fall, or a chilly summer night, is a light to moderately thick fleece.

The Voyagers K9 Apparel Tummy Warmer for Standard Dachshunds and Miniature Dachshunds is made of an anti-pill, stain resistant Polartec® fleece.

It slips over the head and wraps snugly around the chest with Velcro.

The good:

There are a lot of good things about this fleece jacket for Dachshunds.

I think it looks very stylish.

I like that Voyagers K9 hand makes their dog jackets in the USA (Washington State where we live to be exact) and they are high-quality.

I like that they make jackets specifically to fit each dog breed so their Dachshund and Miniature Dachshund jackets are long enough to cover a Dachshund’s back.

Having a panel that wraps tightly around the ribcage helps to keep debris off my Dachshund’s chest.

It’s nice to be able to remove half the mud and dirt just by taking the jacket off.

We’ve only used the Tummy warmer on a few hikes so far but one of them was 9 miles and a couple have been wet and muddy.

It’s been enough experience for me to feel confident they are comfortable walking and hiking in it and it won’t chafe their armpits or legs.

I like that the Tummy Warmer is intended to be layered under the winter coat (see below) or rain coat (we haven’t tried it yet but hope to) to add additional warmth.

We haven’t tried layering with these jackets yet though.

The Warmer is machine washable and can go in the dryer on a low setting.

The not so good:

While I didn’t find anything “wrong” with the Tummy Warmer from Voyagers K9 Apparel, there are a few things that are not ideal for me.

First, the name implies that the jacket keeps a Dachshund’s tummy warm. However, the panel only covers the chest.

Semantics I know but Dachshunds are low to the ground so their belly is likely to get wet, or drag in the snow, and get cold.

I receive questions and comments all the time from Dachshund owners looking for a dog jacket that will fully cover their dog’s abdomen to keep their belly warm so I wanted to make sure to point that out.

A lot of people say that their Dachshund hates jackets with Velcro because they’re scared of the sound. This jacket would not be a good fit for those dogs.

I prefer my Dachshunds to wear their harness underneath their jackets so I had to snip a hole in the back at the harness D-ring.

The Tummy Warmer doesn’t come with a harness hole and the company told me they don’t like to sew them in – they intend for the jacket to be worn underneath your dog’s harness.

It doesn’t look pretty but the fleece doesn’t fray so cutting a small hole in the back so I could hook the leash to the harness didn’t ruin the jacket.

The front panel on the Tummy Warmer is double thickness (folded over) but the jacket body is single layer.

I’m not sure why the difference but I would prefer the whole jacket either be single layer or double, not both.

The edge of the fleece cut for the body of the jacket is raw.

While I don’t expect it to fray, and there is no indication of it doing so after being worn and washed several times, I was a but surprised that a jacket that costs this much doesn’t have a finished edge.

The final verdict

I really like the Voyagers K9 Tummy Warmer.

I’d definitely buy more and would recommend them to others.

Voyagers K9 Winter Coat Review

I am a fanatic about having the proper gear and clothing for the weather conditions and that goes for my Dachshund’s too.

It’s important to me that my small dogs have a jacket that will keep them warm enough without being overkill, causing them to overheat and be uncomfortable.

In the winter, when the air is cold but we aren’t walking in snow, this means we need a jacket that is significantly warmer than a fleece sweater but without the full-coverage of their serious snow jacket.

The Voyagers K9 Winter Jacket for Miniature Dachshunds and Standard Dachshunds fills this need perfectly.

The good:

Again, the dog jacket is very stylish and I like that it’s made with great care in the USA.

The Winter Coat also has a panel that wraps around the chest, which helps keep it warm and keep water and debris off.

It’s windproof and waterproof.

I love the thick fleece snood that keeps their neck warm. I can also pull it up to cover their ears if they get too cold.

The jacket is literally made for a Dachshund’s body so it fits close and covers the entire back.

The fleece panel across the front is designed so it doesn’t restrict natural movement of your dog’s legs and shoulders when they walk.

The back waterproof panel has reflective piping around it for visibility in low light and after dark.

The jacket can go in the washer and dryer.

The not so good:

There isn’t much that isn’t good about the Voyagers K9 Winter Coat in my opinion.

However, someone did ask me, “[Is] there any issues with the lack of front chest covering?”

This is touted as a winter coat.

While the panel that covers the front of the chest is designed to not interfere with your dog’s natural gait, that also means it doesn’t extend down over the front of your dog’s legs.

For this reason, I’m unlikely to use the Voyagers winter coat in snow.

Since a Dachshund’s chest sometimes plows, or drags in, snow, I could foresee snow getting shoved up between the chest panel and a dog’s body.

Also, since the legs are exposed (both front and back) it won’t help keep those muscles and tendons warm.

There is no harness hole in this jacket and I personally would never put it underneath my Dachshund’s harness.

However, this jacket is so nice that I don’t want to cut my own harness hole in it like I did with the Warmer.

If you’re like me, you will have to pay an additional $20 to have a harness hole, or D-ring for the leash, added to it, which significantly increases the cost of the jacket.

As with so many dog jackets, this one has Velcro so is not a good fit if your Dachshund is scared of the sound it makes.

The final verdict

I really like the the Winter Coat from Voyagers K9 Apparel for my Dachshunds.

It’s our new go-go winter (sans snow) dog jacket.

Voyagers K9 Apparel Reviews From Other People

There are literally thousands of reviews of Voyagers K9 Apparel from other people on their Facebook page, website, and Etsy store (they sell their coats there too).

The reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

Of course, there are some poor reviews and complaints but they are few and far between.

Below are notes about the most common negative reviews that I read.

Overall, the average review rating for Voyagers K9 Apparel is 4.5/5 stars or greater.

As noted above, the body of the Tummy Warmer is single-layer fleece. A few reviewers said things like, “Not as good of fabric as expected”, “So flimsy”, and “Thin for the price.”

Also as noted above, the body of the Tummy Warmer is simply a cut-out piece of fabric. A few reviewers noticed this and lamented about the “unfinished hem” or the lack of stitching around the edges of the material.

I couldn’t find one negative thing mentioned about the Winter Coat.

A few people commented that their customer service was “sarcastic”, “short”, and they felt the staff needed customer service training.

Honestly, I came away from my first customer experience with them thinking something similar but I’ve had several other positive experiences after that.

And their jackets are good quality, and fit Dachshunds so well, I would definitely order again.

I will leave you with a review from a member of our Dachshund Club:

“The Voyagers K9 winter coat is a dream because it fits my Dachshund’s body like a glove and is also easy to put on.

The Winter Coat keeps Kilo warm when he’s outdoors during cold winter months.

He also wears the Tummy Warmer under his winter coat when we head to extra cold places.

I love the functional aspect of this coat but it also doesn’t hurt that he looks extremely stylish in it (people stop me all the time to ask where his coat is from)!” – Stefania D

Choosing the Right Size

Please don’t try to guess the right size coat for your Dachshund by their weight. The weight is irrelevant compared to their dimensions.

Use a cloth measuring tape to take your dog’s specific measurements to compare to the size chart.

In addition to selecting the appropriate size coat, I also had to enter the specific measurements so the folks at Voyagers K9 Apparel could double check that I made the right choice.

Summit and Gretel wear the size medium for Miniature Dachshunds in both of the jackets above.

For reference, Summit’s measurements are neck 10.5 inches, chest 15 1/2 inches, and back length 14 inches (from shoulder blades to base of tail).

Gretel has the same neck measurement but her chest is 16 1/4 inches and her back is 13 inches.

If your Dachshund won’t fit a standard size, not to worry because you can request a custom-made one be made to fit your dog perfectly for an additional $25.

If you have any questions I didn’t answer here, please leave them below or message me through Facebook or Instagram.