Coral velvet is a short, dense fleece, and what it buys you is warmth without bulk. A heavily padded winter coat is far too much for a mild damp afternoon or for a dog who simply feels the cold indoors, and most dogs will not settle in one. A four-leg fleece suit is the right weight for both jobs, soft enough that a dog will lie down in it rather than stand about waiting to be undressed.

The four-leg cut is the reason to choose it over a tabard. It covers the belly and the inside of the thighs, the two places a thin-coated or clipped dog actually loses heat, and it keeps mud off legs that would otherwise need towelling at the back door. Sizing is published as back length, chest and neck for every size, which is what you should be buying on rather than a breed name or a weight.

• S: back 20cm, chest 32cm, neck 23cm
• M: back 25cm, chest 37cm, neck 26cm
• L: back 30cm, chest 42cm, neck 29cm
• XL: back 35cm, chest 47cm, neck 32cm
• 2XL: back 40cm, chest 52cm, neck 35cm
• Coral velvet fleece, four-leg cut, pink

The manufacturer's chart has an error in it. It lists XXS twice, and the second of those rows, a 16cm back, is plainly meant to read XS. The chart also runs all the way up to 9XL, but the only sizes actually made in this pink are S to 2XL, so if your dog needs a 45cm back or longer, this is not the coat and we would rather say so now.

Who it's for: clipped poodles and doodles, small crosses who feel the cold in the house, and dogs who come home muddy to the elbow after every field.