As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you.

When we first got French Bulldogs, I knew keeping them cool during the summer was going to be important.

Frenchies and heat aren’t exactly known for being best friends.

Thankfully, we live in Oregon, so we don’t deal with months and months of extreme heat. But we definitely get some hot days during the summer, and owning two little potatoes who aren’t particularly well designed for hot weather means I’ve become much more aware of the temperature than I ever was before.

Our first summer with Zeus, though?

My cooling strategy was pretty sophisticated:

Keep him in the house.

That was basically it.

Our First Attempt at Keeping a Frenchie Cool

We got Zeus late enough in the summer that there weren’t many really hot days left.

I knew I didn’t want him outside for long when it was hot, so I bought him a cooling mat and called it a day.

Honestly, it worked fine for what we needed at the time.

The next summer we had Electra, and we basically did the same thing.

Cooling mat.

Air-conditioned house.

Don’t take the Frenchies outside when it’s ridiculously hot.

Done.

We were also working during the day, so there wasn’t much reason to invest in a bunch of cooling gear. The dogs were inside during the hottest part of the day anyway.

But this year our routine changed.

Then I Started Taking Them to Work

I’ve been taking Zeus and Electra to work with me more often, which means I’m also walking them throughout the day.

Suddenly, having another cooling option made a lot more sense.

I still wasn’t looking for something that would magically make it safe to take my Frenchies on a long walk in the heat.

That does not exist.

I just wanted something that could help keep them cooler when we needed to be outside for a short period of time.

That’s when I came across the Spark Paws cooling vest on Amazon.

My initial thought was basically:

Hmmmm. I’ll give it a go.

Finding Things That Fit Frenchie Potato Bodies

One reason Spark Paws caught my attention was that while the brand makes products for plenty of breeds, they seem to pay particular attention to sizing for Frenchies.

And if you’ve ever tried to buy clothes for a French Bulldog, you understand why this matters.

Their bodies make absolutely no sense.

Big chest.

Thick neck.

Short body.

Tiny waist.

Basically a potato on four legs.

Something that fits around their chest can be approximately seven feet too long, while something that’s the correct length looks like you’re trying to squeeze your dog into shapewear.

So finding something that actually fits a Frenchie reasonably well is already a point in its favor.

How the Cooling Vest Works

The cooling vest is actually really simple to use.

You get it wet and then put it in the freezer for about five minutes.

Not long enough to turn it into a Frenchie-sized block of ice.

Just enough to get it nice and cold.

Then you strap it onto your little potato and you’re ready to go.

The whole process takes less than ten minutes.

That’s been one of my favorite things about it because I can easily take the vest to work with me.

If I want to walk Zeus or Electra around campus, I can get the vest wet in the bathroom, toss it into the freezer for a few minutes, put it on them and head outside.

No elaborate preparation required.

But Does a Cooling Vest Actually Work?

This was obviously the part I cared about.

Spark Paws says the cooling effect can last up to 60 minutes depending on the weather and activity level.

From what I’ve seen so far, that seems pretty realistic, although I’m sure the actual time depends on how hot it is outside.

I took both dogs for about a 15-minute walk while the temperature was somewhere around 75–80 degrees.

When we came back, the vests were still very cool when I took them off.

Based on that experience, I could absolutely see getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 45–60 minutes of cooling from them under the right conditions.

But here’s the important part:

I would never use a cooling vest as an excuse to keep my Frenchies outside longer in hot weather.

For me, it’s an extra layer of protection.

That’s it.

Even with the cooling vests on, I’m still limiting their walk time when it’s warm outside. For my dogs, once we’re getting above roughly 70 degrees during the summer, I’m paying much closer attention to how long they’re outside, how hard they’re breathing and how they’re acting. That’s my own comfort level with Zeus and Electra—not some magical temperature where every Frenchie suddenly becomes unsafe.

And more importantly, the vest doesn’t suddenly turn a French Bulldog into a Labrador.

They’re still Frenchies.

They still have their adorable smashed little faces.

And I’m still not screwing around with heat.

The Surprisingly Great Part: They’re Not Dripping Everywhere

I expected these things to be messy.

You’re literally soaking a dog vest in water and then putting it on your dog.

I assumed I’d have dripping water everywhere.

But that hasn’t really been an issue.

Once they’re prepared, they’re cold and damp without leaving a trail of water everywhere we go.

That makes them much more practical for taking to work.

I don’t particularly want to explain to everyone why there’s a puddle following my French Bulldog through the building.

They’re also washable, which is important because anything attached to Zeus and Electra eventually needs to be washed.

And they come in different patterns, so obviously I care about that too.

If I’m going to strap a cooling vest onto my potato, my potato might as well look good.

Apparently We’re Building a Frenchie Summer Survival Kit

The cooling vests weren’t the only thing we added this year.

We also got Zeus and Electra their pool.

If you’ve read that story, you already know the pool became slightly less of a peaceful cooling oasis and slightly more of a tiny backyard WWE arena.

But technically, yes.

It cools them down.

We also bought another cooling cot.

They destroyed it.

Of course they did.

At this point, any product marketed as durable in our house has to pass a completely separate certification process:

The Zeus Test.

Next summer, I want to try one of the cooling mats that’s supposedly indestructible.

Supposedly.

We’ll see what Zeus has to say about that.

If it survives him, I’ll happily report back.

So, Is a Cooling Vest Worth It for a French Bulldog?

For us, yes.

I don’t think every Frenchie owner necessarily needs to run out and buy one.

If your dog spends hot days inside in the air conditioning and only goes outside for quick bathroom trips, you may never need it. We got through our first couple of summers perfectly fine with cooling mats, short trips outside and keeping the dogs indoors when it was hot.

Our cooling vests became useful because our routine changed.

Now that Zeus and Electra come to work with me more and I’m walking them throughout the day, I like having another way to help keep them cool.

They’re easy to prepare.

They’re easy to take with me.

They don’t drip everywhere.

They fit their weird little Frenchie bodies.

And based on our experience so far, they stay cool long enough for the short walks we’re comfortable taking in warmer weather.

Would I put one on Zeus and take him for a 45-minute walk on an 85-degree afternoon because the vest supposedly lasts an hour?

Absolutely not.

But for a short summer walk when I want a little extra help keeping them comfortable?

I’m glad we have them.

Like most things I’ve learned since getting Frenchies, there’s no magical product that replaces common sense.

But if common sense can come with a cute cooling vest?

I’ll take it.

Shop Zeus & Electra’s Summer Cooling Favorites

I’ve started putting together a list of the summer cooling products we’ve actually used and liked with Zeus and Electra.

That distinction matters to me.

I’m not interested in filling a list with 47 random “Frenchie cooling products” I’ve never touched just because Amazon sells them.

If it’s on our favorites list, it’s something we’ve actually used with the dogs and found useful—or something I’ve specifically mentioned on Frenchie Snouts because it’s part of our real experience.

I’ll keep updating the list as we find new things that work.

And yes, if I eventually find this supposedly indestructible cooling mat and it survives Zeus, it has absolutely earned its place on the list.

Shop Zeus & Electra’s Summer Cooling Favorites on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.