I can see why some elect not to put a vest on their best friend. There are lots of factors to consider. I like the protection from some minor and unnecessary scratches. I use the Cuga on my three year old Viszla and will definitely check into the Cabelas Ripstop for my 10 week old Vizsla puppy. We bust through some tough cover, mainly cattails, which are hard on dogs. The leaves can cause the worst of "paper cuts". The stem that protrudes out of the cattail cob put a nice puncture in the chest of Ellie her first season as she bound through the cattails. The high visibility is icing on the cake. Using different colors on Ellie and her sister last fall made it easy to distinguish. A little insulation when it gets cold in December/January. Seeing all the pheasants this spring and early summer sure does have me itching for October.