Raincoat/Sweater

[Alex]

What are the thoughts on having a raincoat or sweater for a puppy?  I have always been of the mindset that if the dog has long hair then it does not need a rain coat or sweater, but would love to get some insights.

Alex

[Jen and Annie]

When Annie was smaller, it actually seemed like she was REALLY HOT all the time.  Because doodles are cross bred from two waterdogs, they have a topcoat that's pretty water resistant.  The first time I took Annie to the beach, I was astounded at how quickly she dried off compared to my friends dog, an australian shepherd.  Literally, when we left the beach and walked back to the car - Annie was dry all over except for her face, in a matter of 5 minutes.  When we give her a bath, she takes a bit longer to dry off, but I am literally moving the water through all of her hair to make sure she's fully wet during bath time. 

I personally don't think that they need it.  We put a sweater on Annie once when it was 30 degrees outside, but she started panting, so we took it off.  I really don't think they need it unless they are going to be exposed to very cold weather for many many hours or days.  We are going camping in a few weeks, and we will probably bring one - but I doubt Annie will need it... 

[BG and Gavin]

Unless your temperature is extremely cold or your doodle's coat is cut extremely short I do not thing they need it.  Some may do it for "show" but I don't think its at all necessary.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree completely. I've never put a coat on any of my dogs. I could see possibly using a waterproof "poncho" type covering if it was really pouring and you wanted to keep the dog dry, but otherwise, I don't think dogs need coats.

[Stella]

My F1 would never need to wear a coat. He has a very labbish coat and never seems to get cold. He also dries really quickly after he gets wet. My multigen has a much more poodly coat and often gets cold outside in the winter (I am in Canada). He will stand and shiver, he also gets soaked to the skin and stays wet for hours. We have a coat for him for the days when it goes below -15C.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

minus 15C!  That's 5 degrees fahrenheit.  I will not complain about LI weather and the four inches of snow we got this morning! 

[Donna K & Quincy]

I have a rain suit for Quincy, we get a lot of wet weather and it takes him so long to dry, it keeps him from getting muddy and needing a bath all the time. It saves me work, he doesn't mind it and he only wears it when it is really messy out. I don't think he needs it to keep warm he has quite a thick coat of his own but he also doesn't seem to get too warm in it.

[Diana Erhart]

Charlie is an ALD with a woolish coat. So he is pretty water resistant. But I do have a fleece lined waterproof coat that I put on him when it is either raining very hard or snowing very hard. Once his hair does get wet it takes him a very long time to dry. I don't know if he gets cold or not but when he comes home from spending the day at day care and it has been cold and wet outside he does like to get under a blanket and sleep.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I think it depends on the extremes of your weather and your doodle's coat type. I have a raincoat and sweaters for Tara for cold days and when her hair is shorter. She does not have an undercoat and does seem to get cold especially if she is outside and not moving much in the colder weather.  When her hair is longer I don't use the sweaters but do still use the raincoat more for me than her as it prevents a soaking wet dog from entering the house when we return from our walks! LOL  One problem I have found with either is that when Tara's coat starts growing out the outerwear really adds to the matting problems...something to keep in mind if you decide to try it.

[Lynette Main]

I used to put a coat on my old husky mix but that was just to keep the snow off of him. All my Doodles have really long hair and love the snow. I'm needing boots that go up to their bellies,since I have two cream Doodles and a black. This thawing is for the birds not for Doodles...