Cold Winters (boots? coat?)

[Sara & Trix]

Hello!

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba (in Canada) and it gets very cold here.  Already this weekend, we will hit the -30 mark with the windchill.  This is Trix's first winter and we've only had a little snow so far, but she goes nuts in it!  Having lived here my whole life, I'm used to the cold and anticipate walking her twice a day on the days she dosen't go to daycare.  

I've never had a dog before, so I guess I'm just afraid of missing any signs that she is getting too cold and then have her suffer (frozen paws or ears are my biggest concern).

My preference would be to not have to put a coat or boots on Trix.  I've crocheted her a simple black sweater if need be (but I prefer my doodle naked). 

Do dogs show signs when they are too cold? 

She's a very lean 30lbs and her coat was just cut to about 1 inch (in case that matters!)

Thanks!

 

  

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I have never lived anywhere close to as cold as you describe, and if I play my cards right in life, I never will and neither will my doodles. I have always thought that they probably tolerate the cold better than we do because their body temp is warmer than ours, but paws are still tender whether its cold or heat we are talking about. I have seen blistered, peeling paws from walking on hot pavement and it aint pretty. I think there is no harm in assuming they are cold and helping them deal with it just as when it's 115 degrees outside, I assume that I need to take extra precautions too. Either way, it's extreme to what they are used to. It is hard to tell if they are cold I would think, as what would they do? Do they shiver? Over heated is easy to spot. Or maybe I am just more in tune to it because it is such an issue where we live.

The felt boots sound perfect!

[Stella]

We live in Muskoka, Ontario and it gets pretty cold here too in the winter!  I have two doods and they cope with the cold weather very differently.  My F1, who is more labbish loves the cold weather and asks to go out so he can lie int he snow.  He doesn't seem to feel the cold at all.  We do have boots for him as, like others, we have problem with the snow balling up between his paw pads, and he often ends up cutting one of his webs running around in the snow.  My multi-gen has a more poodly coat and gets cold quickly.  To my horror (!!) I had to buy him a coat in addition to his boots.  He would just stand outside shivering and looking miserable otherwise.  We have to keep his coat relatively short because the snow sticks to his fur and he gets giant snowballs attached to him. 

 

There are some really nice functional dog coats out there, rather than the 'fashion' dog clothing - try a company like Ruffwear.

 

 

This was the first time we put the coat and boots on him - hence the 'less than impressed' expression on his face!!  He is used to them now, and appreciates the warmth!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

He looks very dapper indeed!!! And less than impressed too. :)

[Sara & Trix]

Those are some seriouse snow balls!!  I'm happy we only have few inches of snow so far this year, but I know that will change sooner than later.  Trix seems to have been handling the cold well in the past couple of days and she's already loving her boots.  She knows it means we're going for a walk and playing fetch! 

[Jess and Pippin]

We live in Vancouver BC, so don't get the extreme cold of the prairies (I grew up in Alberta, so remember the cold well!!).  Pippin doesn't seem to mind our "cold".  Had him out the other day, he found a pond, and I had a soaking wet dood in +5 weather.  He submerged himself and would have stayed there if I had let him.  I plan to keep his coat longer for the winter (it is about 4 inches right now and I'm thinking of trimming it back an inch or so).  The only thing I put on Pippin is a raincoat when it is pouring rain outside and that is only for my convenience (the wetter the better as far as Pippin is concerned) as there is less drying off to do when I'm trying to get everyone out the door for work/school.  We did have some snow a couple of weeks ago and Pippin just loved it.  Zoomies everywhere!  We do get some snow over the winter every year, so we are hoping for a bit more.  The only other caution I would add is make sure you clean your dog's feet well when you come in because the salt used for the sidewalks can be very irritating for their pads.