Dogs shed heat mainly by panting, and on a still, humid day panting stops keeping up long before the walk does. A damp mesh vest works with that rather than against it: water held in the fabric evaporates against the coat and carries warmth away as it goes, which buys a dog some margin on the walk back from the beach or halfway up a hill in July.

The fabric is an open mesh, so air moves through it — a solid coat would trap heat and make matters worse. Soak it, wring it out until it is damp rather than dripping, then put it on, and re-wet it whenever it dries, because a dry cooling vest is only a layer. Reflective trim runs across it for early mornings and dusk, and a D-ring lets you clip a lead to the vest instead of threading a harness over the top.

• Open mesh that breathes rather than trapping heat
• Wet-and-wring evaporative cooling
• Reflective trim for low light
• Built-in D-ring for lead attachment
• Sizes to suit small through to large dogs
• Weighs between 151g and 320g depending on size

Two things worth knowing. A cooling vest slows heat building up, it does not treat a dog already in trouble — shade, water and stopping are what do that. And it only works while damp, so on a long day out you need to carry water for the vest as well as for the dog.

Who it's for: Dogs who walk, hike or swim through British summers, thick-coated breeds especially, and anyone whose dog flags before they do in warm weather.