Size guide

Two minutes with a tape measure beats any sizing chart. Here's what to measure, and what to do with the number.

We do not publish one site-wide S/M/L chart, because it would be wrong for most of the range. Our products come from different makers and their sizing does not agree — one maker's Large is another's Medium. Every product page carries that item's real dimensions instead.

So the reliable method is the same one a good pet shop would use: measure your animal once, write it down, and check it against the item you are actually looking at.

For a bed

Measure them lying down, in the position they actually sleep in, from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail. Then add about six inches. That allowance is what stops a bed that technically fits from feeling like a shelf.

• Sprawlers need the length. A dog that sleeps stretched out will hang off a donut bed no matter what the label says.
• Curlers need the width more than the length, and often go a size down happily.
• Two dogs of the same weight can need different beds. Weight tells you how much of them there is, not what shape they are when asleep.
• If they share, measure the pair as they actually lie — usually less than two separate beds, but wider.

For a harness

Two measurements. Chest girth is the important one: the widest part of the ribcage, just behind the front legs, with the tape snug but not tight. Neck girth is taken lower than a collar sits — around the base of the neck where it meets the shoulders, not up under the jaw.

If a measurement falls between two sizes, size up and use the adjusters. A harness that is slightly large can be brought in; one that is slightly small cannot be let out.

For a collar

Measure around the neck where the collar will sit, then check the fit with two fingers: you should be able to slide two flat fingers between the collar and the neck. One finger is too tight, four is how a collar comes off over the head.

Puppies and kittens outgrow collars quickly. Check the two-finger fit every couple of weeks rather than waiting for it to look tight.

For a carrier

Height is the measurement people forget. An animal has to be able to stand up and turn around, so measure from the floor to the top of the head while standing, not while sitting. Length is nose to base of tail, as with a bed.

Getting the measurement right

• Use a soft tape. A builder's tape will not follow the body, and string against a ruler is fine if that is what you have.
• Measure over the coat, not under it. A thick winter coat is part of the animal as far as a harness is concerned.
• Stand them up for girths and lie them down for lengths. A sitting dog measures shorter than it is.
• Do it twice. Pets move, and the second number is usually the honest one.

Common questions