This is my first winter with my first short-coated breed and I do wonder, do they really need coats/jumpers?  My boy is a big lump of a dog and is carrying maybe a tad too much podge to see him through the colder months(just like me!!lol) and when we are out, he is constantly puffing and panting so I don't think he feels the cold?  I just wouldn't like him to be chilled when out.  What do you guys do?

PS  Also, I've seen a gorg fleecey jumper thingy that would be perfect for his chrimbo but.....am I going to be an owner that dresses her dog???Argh!

I don't like seeing dogs wearing coats :) (unless they are elderly/ill ). Surely dogs shouldn't need them and should naturally have a coat thick enough to survive most weather ?? :) :) :)

I do think that some dogs benefit from some extra help once they get back home.  I have gundogs, and a terrier type hairy wee mongrel, all of whom like nothing better than a complete soaking, a mud bath, and some poo perfume every winter walk.

They get washed when we get home, dried, and put to bed for an hour or two to warm up and dry off properly.  However, we rarely have the heating on during the day and they sometimes need some additional drying or warming.  I bought 3 smart 'wicking' coats for just this purpose and it does seem to help.  I have these Weatherbeeta Thermo Cell ones and can recommend them

If my dogs were expected to stand around for hours in the wind and rain I might look at extra 'outside' protection but otherwise I don't think they need it, particularly during exercise.  As for some of the dressing up outfits - not with a bargepole!!

Some very thin coated breeds like IGs, whippets, Cresteds etc might benefit from a coat in the winter. Most dogs, short or long hair, would be keeping warm through movement. I have a small coated breed and they only wear their coats if we're at a rally trial and they are spending time in the car staying still.

Ok, holding my hands up at being a complete sap, but my Staffies do have coats, and love having them on when it's cold, Daisy in particular hates going out without hers when it's cold. I also like the convenience of being able to whip their coats off when we come indoors and not have to stand drying them, apart from their under carriage.

hi hope u dont mind me butting in but im at a lose with this. I also dont want to be an owner that dresses her dog up BUT every gryhound or lurcher i see lately has a coat on ??? And mine does not, i do put a jumper on her in the house sometimes as i also have no heating on in the day but i dont put one on her when out on a walk. But all other lurcher owners look at me when we are out as if to say 'look at her and her poor dog with no coat on' !! Its just i have put a cot on her before and within seconds of her running it fell of in the mud and i nearly sank in it trying to retreve it haha and once i left her inside PINK jumper on her when we went walking by accident and when we got down the road realised i had a matching pink hat on *cringe* i felt so silly haha SOOOO im at a loss, does a greyhound need an outside coat on, or does  mine in particular as we dont walk far it is mostly off lead running :)

DAB, I, too have gundogs who love finding that particular boggy swamp which smells like I imagine dead things to smell like.  They throw themselves in with wild abandon and drink from it and dive for stones at the bottom.  But a clean bath!!!! NO WAY! They sit in the bath with the shower on warm, crying like babies.  Obviously the warmth and sweet scents is just cruelty to spaniels!!lol. Or what about when the smash the ice so they can go for a swim and come out with their nips glowing in the dark, it's that cold!!  I can't even look without feeling the cold.

But my boy is a Bullmastiff and although he is in full coat and it's really thick and waterproof, I worry that he 'feels' the chill in the air.  He doesn't seem to but like Lurcher owner pointed out, other owners have coats on their similar coated dogs and I think I must be awful.  He doesn't like the heat and will go and lie at the front door beside the catflap when the heating is on at night.  (The spaniels are all in a pile under the big radiator where the bed lies seeing who can get closest without burning!!)

Our whippet NEEDS his coat when it´s cold.  He just cries and almost screams if he´s out and gets too cold.  He has virtually no coat (fur), probably because the house is so warm.  He also feels the cold badly at night when the heating goes off.

My papillon only wears a coat when it´s chucking it down with rain and that´s purely to prevent him getting soaked because it takes ages for him to dry (even with a dryer) and then he does get cold.

My dog has a high-viz vest. I'll put it on him even in daylight if it's raining (or any sort of precipitation) as it helps keeps the worst of the wet off him, thus making it easier to dry him when back home. I don't worry about him getting cold though :)

> I going to be an owner that dresses her dog

What's wrong with that? Buster will be wearing musical reindeer antlers on Christmas day :-D

> Buster will be wearing musical reindeer antlers on Christmas day

hehe well at xmas its got to be done :) and lacey also has some ears to put on, although not musical :( and i may not take her out for a walk with them on haha :)

> every gryhound or lurcher i see lately has a coat on

There are a couple of reasons for that, firstly greyhounds and whippets have very fine coats but also unlike a round bodied dog they are designed to lose heat. Those big deep narrow ribcages are designed to cool their internal organs down when running so yes they do get cold if not running flat out and of course they can't be running all the time. It depends what sort of coat your lurcher has and what shape she is whether she needs a coat or not. A coat made specifically for a hound should not move to the side or fall off when they are running :-)

My silken windhound has a good coat on her, but she takes after her whippet ancestors and really feels the cold, she insists on wearing her coat if it's particularly wet and windy outside and I'm happy to oblige as it makes it so much easier to dry her when we get home.

> This is my first winter with my first short-coated breed and I do wonder, do they really need coats/jumpers?

What breed is he? I don't think large round bodied dogs need coats - unless as another poster said they are going to be standing around in the wet for a long time.

And err perhaps cut down his food? No excuse for a podgy dog :-)

Edited to say I just remembered he's a bully! No self respecting bullmastiff would be seen out with a coat on, dinnae be daft :-) :-)

I kitted my first dog out with an Equafleece jumper after we spent all day on a gundog training day in February in the Peak district--we had everything from sun to ice and high winds that day and even the dogs wanted to go home by the end of it. He hated it and tried to bite it off, resulting in some fancy looking lace effects on the legs.

Fast forward three years, we have three dogs who all adore their fleeces and line up to get dressed when we come back home. We have no heating on where I work and so they've been wearing them inside this week, but they aren't complaining.

Now my brother and his partner have a Maltese and he gets dressed in all kinds of mad outfits--that definitely crosses the line for me.

I have never bought a dog a coat before.......before anyone says anything! but last week I bought one for my almost 14 yr old.  waterproof and fleecey lined & light, it is really good. from countrymun.

I have been thinking of getting Lucas a coat this winter as 'his' coat is so thin, 50% thiner than his cousin. Not sure if any self respecting BH wants to be seen wearing one, but as I put on the layers to head out into the gales I do wonder if he gets cold. It seems ridiculous to think of a pack hound in a coat, but living indoors & not running around as much he did, am I humanising it thinking he gets cold?

Well I bet he has a happy Christmas day walk in it, tadog. The only 'coat' I've ever regretted buying for them are the ones to make coats lie flat and shine before a show--they've been folded away in a drawer because they hate them.

Jay15, Clova, (she) is already wearing her christmas presant!  she just loves her coat. it is good to feel how warm she is in it. she isnt a woose, she is just an elderly lady. we all feel the cold more as we get older and if the coat keeps her enjoying her walk then i am a happy bunny.

she just loves her coat

Always best to let the dog decide :). If they hate it, we can always give it away. Happy Christmas Clova!

> she is just an elderly lady. we all feel the cold more as we get older and if the coat keeps her enjoying her walk then i am a happy bunny.

That seems perfectly sensible :-)  I agree Jay, let the dogs decide.

My dogs all have equafleece jumpers.These were purchased mainly because it is extremely cold at agility shows in the winter months,and I want my dogs to keep warm to prevent injury to their muscles before they compete.
I only use them on very cold days for walks when at home,or if it is raining as they are excellent at repelling the rain.I am often amazed at how dry my dogs are after being out in a heavy shower.
Likewise if we get caught out in the rain and they haven't had their fleeces on when I get home I pop them on for about 15 mins and the dogs dry out much quicker than if towel dried.
My dogs all seem to like wearing their coats and can see no harm in people using them but personally I wouldn't put them in fashion coats but each to their own !

Keeping muscles warm before competing is a great use too.

Now at this point I should confess to having bought some pretty colourful fleece pjs for my old lurcher girl... for purely practical reasons of course :-) :-)

I used to think no dogs needed fake coats until I noticed my toydogs shaking with cold.The very first time I remember vividly I was waiting at a bus stop for a few minutes with my first Cavalier and he was frozen.  I think if they shake and shiver without a coat but stop with one on, then case closed. :) It's different if they are running free off lead and can regulate their exercise to keep warm -but in snow it keeps single coated breeds dryer and therefore warmer.

Goldmali - I totally agree.  I get lots of people in the park asking me about coat & I always say that if the dog shivers, it means it's cold.  So if the dog has to stay still (eg; training, waiting for agility, in the car), or is too old/unwell to run around, or shivers & is plainly cold then I think a coat is a good idea.  It does really depend on the individual dog though.  My gundog (Vizsla) feels the cold greatly - and loves wearing a snuggly coat.  Her mother also feels the cold a great deal.  However, her brother and sister (the latter lives with the mother so is exposed to the same temperatures) have never been seen to shiver & so never have a coat on.

By the way - I think by far & away the best coats are made by Chillydogs of canada - the Great White North coat is very cosy indeed, beautifully made & washes very well.  They also make a long & lean design for lurchers/whippets/greyhounds.  They aren't cheap - but have been better value for me than cheaper coats - here's a link  http://www.chillydogs.ca/ (I think there may be a UK supplier soon - but I just bought mine direct from Canada).  The Equafleece ones are also top quality.

Mine all have equafleeces and they are all BCs but they are only used the same as japmum when we are at agility training or if they are hanging around in the van.  One of mine is smooth coated and he does have a waterproof cos if he is wet he does get cold and shivers so we just stop him getting wet.

At Chaumsong, Hahahahaha!!  I thought I was being daft!!! Thanks for pointing it out!!

(I have, of course, made a personalised card for our butcher and he is wearing a santa hat, and I've posted on the breed forum, photos of him in reindeer antlers but a serious winter coat?  Dinnae be daft!!!)(Oh, and he had a skeleton outfit for halloween!!LOL)any excuse!

> I've posted on the breed forum, photos of him in reindeer antlers

Can we see it too please :-) :-)

yes we neeeeeeed to see :-)