hi all. I was walking my whippet earlier on, when i was stopped by someone accusing me of neglect. she was quite rude and adament i was a terrible person, i went straight back home and cried, so the poor dog has only had a 5 min walk.
my whippet is 11 months old - so not fully grown yet, and she was wearing a coat. i had a 'hoodie' on her - the hood not up, reason for hoodie is that she has outgrown 2 wax coats already so am using these as they're cheap and cheerful. is this neglect? she always wears it happily. this has really knocked me for six as i honestly thought i was offering her a little protection in this awful cold, wet weather. am i wrong for putting it on her? or am i just over-reacting at a nosy and vile persons poison?
claire

you havent explained what her accusation of neglect was?

sorry if wasn't clear..... she said and i quote 'no dog should be forced to look that stupid, silly little girls like u (i'm 25) shouldnt have dogs.' dogs aren't accessories, (which i no) and that the RSPCA would have a field day with you.'
was i wrong to offer a little protection for her??

then she was an idiot

Oh, take no notice :-)

thanks, i just wanted to make sure. my dogs are my world. and granted she looks very cute (well i think so) its practical and offers a little protection. against her tiny body and thin skin.  thanks for putting my mind at rest,
claire

This idiot obviously hasn't a clue about dogs then!!  My Staffy and Staffy X both wear "coats" in the winter and if it's tipping it with rain.  Both your breed and mine have no undercoat so DO feel the cold and coats are necessary.  It's not as if you've dressed yours up in pink fluffy jacket, shorts and boots!!  Best to ignore this type of rudeness.

This is fuelled by the latest RSPCA campaign to stop dogs wearing clothing, I don't think they mean the millions of fine coated dogs (liek yours) that refuse to go out without a coat on though :-)

Whippets have no coat, (well they do, but you know what I mean :-) ) so we need to help them keep warm, I've never seen a Greyhound or Whippet without some sort of protection in cold weather.

The woman obviously knows nowt about dogs! She has obviously got you confused with all the wee dogs wearing handbangs and boots. :-D

Oh really, I haven't seen that (the RSPCA) til now Tigs (money to good use huh!?? ;))

Claire,
As everyone has said 'Water off a ducks back' sweetpea, don't let the awld bagage get you down ;)
My Mum has whippets they have wax jackets but when too muddy or missing in action then they too have been known to sport some horrendous 'The Aunt you hate Christmas present Jumpers' ;)

Chin up.

Ignore, some dogs require some protection and although I would rather not see such coats covered in gemstones I see nothing wrong in using something cheap and easy to obtain. If your dog needs additional protection you would be wrong not to give it. ignore the silly woman. Mind you, did once see someone with a group of 3 Swedish Vallhunds on a chill autumn day wearing fluffy coats and that did seem a step too far.

its just one of those cheapy ones. i have no probs in buying the expensive ones - when she not growing - am not made of money!!
roxy is a great dog (although i have just scolded her for stealing yet another toilet roll and shredding it... nope our roxy dont do toys... lol)
i buy no means make he a little toy o pop her in my handbag (she'd go ape 1st!)
its just so horrible to see her shaking when out in the garden after a wee.. so i pop a coat on her and she's fab. she got 4 of them as it needs washin after EVErY walk... damn puddles!!
will mentally put 2 fingers up next time anything is said.
me and my well dressed pooch will walk with our heads held high now.
cheers!!
claire

She sounds so sour a lemon would sweeten her up :-D

Some people really have nothing better to do in their lives so don't let it get to you.  My 2 pugs can feel the cold and I have knitted them a couple of little 'dinosaur' coats.  Sure it's self-indulgent on my behalf but they are made of real wool (and with lots of love) and so much warmer and better fitting than anything I could buy.

Lets face it we don't always buy clothes for ourselves that are only practical, we go for style and fashion as well.  Why shouldn't our dogs look smart? As long as what they're wearing is worn for their comfort and protection then I don't see a problem with it.

That video is a bit odd- the narrator says that greyhounds and bulldogs are hairless! Short coated maybe but definitely not hairless... Imagine what he would think if he saw a chinese crested... Skinless probably!

With regards to the OP... Don't worry, whoever it was was just a numpty who wanted to boss somebody around. If you had been male and had a bull breed in a coat I doubt they would have said anything (I've been bullied in the street many a time by angry men who think they can intimidate a young female). Dressing dogs up in ballerina outfits and the like does annoy me but it's more than reasonable to stick a jacket on a whippet- especially in this climate!

roxy is a great dog (although i have just scolded her for stealing yet another toilet roll and shredding it... nope our roxy dont do toys... lol)
i buy no means make he a little toy o pop her in my handbag

was meant to read....
i buy no means make her a little toy or pop her in my handbag

She sounds so sour a lemon would sweeten her up

haha i love that!!! made me lmao so cheers!!!!

What a stupid person, my friend has a young whippet & I treated her to a lovely warm whippet coat & also a"raincoat". Both are lined with fleece & didn't cost the earth. My friend had been looking all over the place for a"nice"coat for Indi , even in the USA but couldn't find one that would keep her warm enough & not over heat her. The ones I have bought are made by a rescue support group & who put all the profits into helping the smaller dog(as in size of the rescue & not the dog)& other animal rescue.

Whippets like Greyhounds & other breeds with fine coats feel the cold & need protection. The RSPCA want to remember what they are given money to do & go back to basics instead of seeking free publicity

What a stupid person, my friend has a young whippet & I treated her to a lovely warm whippet coat & also a"raincoat". Both are lined with fleece & didn't cost the earth.

i bought a few like these from poundstretchers but they only had small sizes and she outgew them soooooooooooo quick!! - only last a few wks and cant get sizes to fit her now. but they're  practical and she looks vey gorgeous -even if i do say so myself!! lol

There was a bit in Our Dogs today from the RSPCA re dogs in coats, apparently it was a media generated story blown out of all proportion. I expect the story about dogs in designer clothes must have prompted the abuse.

Don't take any notice of nutters you meet in the street, in this weather your dog should have a coat or something to assist with keeping her warm.

> i bought a few like these from poundstretchers but they only had small sizes and she outgew them soooooooooooo quick!! - only last a few wks and cant get sizes to fit her now. but they're  practical and she looks vey gorgeous -even if i do say so myself!! lol

I got Indi's from here she's almost full grown

got Indi's from here she's almost full grown

hi, have found a few on ebay for pennies. as long as she's warm then i'm a happy chappy. if i didn't look after her properly, my other half would kill me. he loves her more than he loves me!!! thanks all for your messsages - just what i needed

claire

Hi Claire, I used to put a bandana on my St Bernard (handy for mopping up slobber!!), and one day I got a right rollocking off an elderly lady telling me how disgusting it was to dress a dog up?! Some people have no dog experience and yet think they're qualified to preach to others.  Just ignore them - they obviously have nothing better to do!
x 

Take no notice as I was saying goodbye to my daughter and her children this evening.A family were walking thier greyhound obvoiusley retired as it had a front leg amputated,and he had his jacket on,i think nothing of it as grey hounds and whippets to me always have thier coats on,so if she was an intelligent being which she obviosely wasn't.She would have known this ,my dachie wears a wax coat in cold weather.We came into this world naked so does this mean we shouldn't wear clothes as we wouldn't be able to do what we were put on this earth for.

I have a feeling that the day the RSPCA released the satement regarding dogs wearing ??clothes they released another one saying that dogs with fine coats should be kept warm with a coat.  I wish i could remember  where I saw it.  When whippets are growing you do go through coats because of wanting to keep them warm so i think what you are doing is very sensible.  I will  send you information of  the name of a company who make coats, these two ladies are both whippets owners and breeders  so know all about whippets needing their necks and bums covered up. 

My Pointer hates the cold we have just bought him a grey hound coat warm bum and neck, he likes his ears tucked in too.... Some Gundog.

How ridiculous, try not to take it too heart. Whippets need coats in this weather, and why shouldn't she wear a hoodie, cheap or not! Now if you dressed her all the time or had booties or tried to put her in a handbag (that would be a funny sight!) I wouldn't be thrilled, but it's basically none of her business how you keep your dog warm on a cold day!

Oh well that woman wouldnt like me as I put coats on all 9 of mine in an effort to keep their coats somewhat white when I walk them over the boggy forest, ignore the silly woman! :-)

Must take you ages to get out the house :-)

It takes about an extra 10 minutes longer than normal, they all line up to have their coats on then dash about like lunatics until I've got my coat on, collected the leads and opened the car door, organised chaos you might say lol ;-)

I will  send you information of  the name of a company who make coats, these two ladies are both whippets owners and breeders  so know all about whippets needing their necks and bums covered up.

thanks will have a look in a while when all is quiet. was out earlier with my partner and our other dog and walked past her, and surprise surprise no comment was made!!! she does enjoy it on, it does'nt halt her speed when out - she still flies!!
thanks everyone for your comments. well appreciated. and roxy still looks very dapper as well as snug!!

Hi, I too was approached when out with my Puglet last week. She has a brown Fleece which does up under her tummy and round her chest. It doesn't come down her legs like t-shirt and doesn't have a hood on it. This person told me i was breaking the Law. I told them quite kindly that actually I had read the same article in a newspaper and seen it on the news that the RSPCA were saying that the clothes that come down there legs are restrictive and that the hoods cover there eyes andthat Miley's coat wasn't either of those.
You just then get the comment that dogs shouldn't be in clothes!..............This coming from someone dressed in a hat,scarf warm coat and ugg boots in temperatures of 0 degrees! eeediot.   :(

Hi, i have a boston terrier that wears a wax proof coat in the rain and a fleece coat in this cold weather, as he has a thinner coat than  the border terrier who on the breeders recommendation  wears nothing but he has a his own good protective coat. I spoke to my vets regarding the boston wearing a coat and she told me to go ahead.
Take no notice i think a coat for the cold weather is being a good owner.
lesleyanne 

ignor them you know yourself that your dog is cared for you dont need to proove yourself to some ignorant person

My westie Lucy has arthritis.  I was told categorically by the vet that I should NOT take her out in cold weater without a coat.  I feel bad if I sneak her out for a quick walk without it to tell you the truth!

Snowflake

I know what I would have said to her! I own rough tough Newfies, but also Yorkies...there is no way I would take them out without some warmth! Pepe is especailly slight and very precious(well, he is a man dog!) at the moment due to the cold weather and we don't have central heating! he wears a cheapo t-shirt thingy all the time! At least you care enough to keep the doggie warm!

My cocker wears a coat when its cold dont take any notice. Both wear a Hi Vis when walking in so we can see them Cocker & Border Collie. My Cocker shivers as he has a fine coat (show type) so he has either a doggie T shirt on or a mac.

Some people watch a tv programme and there experts, tell the old biddie to push off and do her crusading elsewhere.

A thin coated dog like a whippet needs a coat in -3!!