coats, sweaters, booties?

[Puppy Madness]

Does anyone put this stuff on their pups during the winter? I can never tell if Noah needs these or not. He pretty much has a water repellent coat and he loves to sleep next to the window because it's cooler. My other dog, a maltipoo, couldn't walk more than a minute in the snow without freezing up and lifting his paws, so he wears his booties and always has a sweater or coat on if it's under 30 degrees. I guess if he was really cold, he would shiver, right?

[Sandy]

It is SO cold here (wind chill -28C) and I was worried about walking Toby. I bundled up and took him out, planning on turning back if he displayed signs of being cold. Quite the contrary! He pranced along, taking time to roll in the snow and come up completely white and practically smiling now and then! So, I guess you just have to watch you dog for signs of it's being cold, but for Toby, apparently it's not an issue. :)

[Chris & Boys]

It has been about -20 F to -5 F air temp all week in Mpls. Fozzy has been firn except for his feet. So, if you give him any clothing - I would make it booties!

[bonnie Sullivan]

I bought expensive booties at REI for Louie when we had all the snow over Christmas, and they just kept falling off, probably because he has so much hair. Turns out he didn't seem to need them anyway, but I made sure I got all the snow and ice off his paws. He has a huge wool/fleece coat, and he doesn't appear to ever be cold. Also, don't forget that dogs have an internal temp of about 101, so they are a lot warmer to begin with.

[Park Mom]

I asked our great vet about this. She said none necessary for Bumble, who has a good thick wavy fleece coat. The one thing I do for her, as we live in a city, is that I put this stuff called Mushers on her paw pads, which is like a chapstick. It protects the paws from salt on the sidewalks, as well as just the cold concrete. I also don't let her walk on the occasional metal panels that are around the sidewalks here when it gets under 20-30 F. I also wipe down her paws at least once a day just to get any residual salt or dirt off.

She's had some good walks of 30 minutes or so in 10 degree weather, with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. She loves to get out and walk the town!

[Betsy Wilkes]

Has anyone heard of a dog getting it's tongue stuck to metal? It is quite cold here (-20 C) And my Maggie likes to lick the door jam which is aluminum. I am worried that one of these times she might stick. Yikes! Wonder if there is anything I can put on the metal...any suggestions?
I took Maggie out last week when it was -31 and we both lasted about 5 minutes...I am training her to go on the treadmill and am having a lot of success. Wish I could walk on it with her, but she is too big now (5 months). I guess we need two of them now! lol!