Has anyone tried the all in one coats for a Goldie everywhere we go she gets mud all over her so wondered if this would help and if so can u recommend a good fitting one

I bought one from a friend as it was too large for her dog and my Golden has worn it a couple of times but as he is a very active dog and loves to swim and romp in mud it just meant I ended up washing the coat as well as the dog :-) It might be okay for wet road walks but I did actually feel quite silly walking along with him wearing it. He could run and jump wearing it and it didn't seem to restrict his movement at all although the legs did ride up a bit at times.

If you have a dog that is quite steady on it's walks then it would probalby work well at keeping the majority of the wet and mud off. What it was great for was to keep him from being able to get at a wound following an operation, the all-in-ones along with a blow up collar made it much harder for him to be able to reach where he shouldn't but I did have to keep taking it off to make sure he didn't get too warm. He far prefers to be cool - chooses to sleep on a tiled floor rather than a dog bed and swims in the sea right through the winter.

The label says it's a Dog's CLothes coat and it's 70cm.

If I might just say I'd be very careful about coating a dog with an already thick coat.  Remember we can shed layers when we get too warm - they can't.   Yes I have 3 coats of varying thickness and waterproof-ness (is that English?) for my Whippet, but not for my Basset(s).

I know the weather is dire almost everywhere and I don't envy you with a Goldie and mud, but I'd also be very unlikely to use a coat on this breed.   Just have a bucket or two of warm water for the feet and legs, and a 'mud room' where he can stay to dry off - and then you brush out the dry coat?

If you must, you'll find, probably, a coat that fits on Ebay?   You can buy almost anything on there!!!

>  where he can stay to dry off

:) I have an Aussie who can take hours to dry off and if I kept her in a 'mud room' when wet, she would stay there all day, every day :) :) :) I don't like the idea of a coat for her - as Harley says, the coat would also need washing continually and would be far too hot for her. So, we just have to put up with muddy rooms during this weather and stop her going upstairs or into our 'best' rooms. Fortunately I am not house proud and so can resist any need for continual floor mopping and wall wiping etc etc :)

Harley takes all day to dry off too - luckily he walks straight into the shower after a winter walk - outside tap is turned off during the winter to stop it from freezing so the hose is out of use during cold spells and it's quite hard to hang on to him and use the hose effectively :-)

Spin has to be taken to the shower but he dries far quicker than H. Today's walk was absolutely filthy - both dogs had a great time and Harley was in his element leaping in and out of boggy puddles and Spin had no choice but to run through them as they were too large and too plentiful to leap over. So looking forward to the drier, sunnier weather if it ever arrives.

I use a coat on Harley at winter agility training to help keep his muscles warm - fast bouts of exercise followed by waiting around in freezing temperatures wouldn't be good for him so I pop a coat on him between runs but it's not heavily padded and it's the only time I use one.

I'd always said no to using a coat for my terrier but as he is now older and has arthritis in his front legs I decided to get him a one to keep his shoulder area dry. The cold isn't such an issue but I noticed that if he got cold and wet then he seemed a bit stiff afterwards. Looked at all sorts but some seemed so heavy and hard and I wanted him to have something really lightweight. Ended up with an Equafleece and it's been amazing for him. There are all different styles to suit whatever you feel is right - I ended up with a tankie style ( had to get a zip put in though because his legs didn't bend enough to get it on !). Anyway, it's so light, breathable and waterproof that it's just great. I'm actually amazed how much mud it picks up that would usually be on his tummy !. Every couple of days I quickly hand wash it, spin it and put it on the radiator - it dries in minutes. Also machine washable and comes out nearly dry.

I have had mud happy Goldens for years and just put up with all the washing off and drying involved and have never bothered with a coat except on an old dog in deep snow and a freezing wind. I'm not house proud and any carpet is sort of mud coloured to start off with.

One of the best things is to have a hook by the outside tap to hang a lead onto leaving me both hands free to deal with dog washing. Only took me about eight years to think that one out. :-)

> luckily he walks straight into the shower after a winter walk

Tara gets a shower sometimes, but if I'm not quick enough throwing the towel over her, she shakes up the walls and the floor is filthy anyway - so the shower-room then needs a clean too ..... you can't win :) :) I envy people with small dogs who can just pick them up and dump them in a bath :) :)

> One of the best things is to have a hook by the outside tap

What a good idea :) I stopped hosing Tara off outside as I would end up holding a back foot as she rapidly departed ...... :)

I wouldn't put a coat on my retrievers (golden and flatcoat) out and about but I use these

http://www.countrymun.com/towelling-rug-dog-coat.html

to dry them off and keep the mud from going up the walls!  All I have to do is clean their paws and legs, I know it can be particularly bad coming home with a muddy golden, I think they must be related to hippo's :)

They look a good idea, but how long do you leave these on for ? I'd be worried Tara would get too hot.

Jodi - your taking 8 years to think of putting a hook by your outside tap made me laugh.  It took me almost as long to think of this excellent idea too!

We now have two hooks in the wall by the outside tap/hose and also hooks outside the kitchen door.  So simple, so obvious and so helpful!  I loop one dog onto one hook leaving hands free for washing and hosing and a towel rub.  Meanwhile the other dog is looped onto another hook a short distance away and then we swap them over.  They wait quietly and patiently, bless them, knowing that there is no escape!  It saves an awful lot of hassle and means that dogs can come into the kitchen in a very orderly fashion one by one to have their final paw wipe with the towel.  After all this they are still a bit damp, but basically clean enough to come in and dry off on their mats/beds.

Have never tried coats - I tend to agree with those that say I could just end up having to wash the coats all the time as well as the dogs, but I'm sure it works for some.

Do wish we had a 'like' button on here as the last few posters would all have all got liked. They did make me chuckle.

The dog doesn't seem to mind being hosed off now, resigned to it I think, despite her age (8months). She knows she gets to have a play with the towels afterwards, well she thinks it's play. I use two smaller towels, so whilst one is being grabbed by the pup, I have a quick rub with the other before that is grabbed. :-)

If she is very muddy and I've had to give her a really good hose down, I use a Dog Dry Bag and zip her in for a short time. It's made of microfibre and absorbs the wet pretty well. As she is usually a bit chilly after an all over hose down, being zipped into the bag for 20 minutes or so doesn't seem to over heat her and she is a dog that feels the heat and generally lies on the kitchen floor tiles. Link below.

http://dogcozy.com/how-to-use-it

If we have been out in the car, they are usually dry when we get home, so the coats come off. If walking round the local fields/moors I leave them for probably an hour or so and their body heat dries them. They never seem to overheat. I don't use them in warm weather obviously.

I have used them on all my retrievers for 10-12 years and couldn't manage without them now. They are in the rivers or sea summer or winter.When the girls are wet on a cold day, they push each other out of the way to be the first to get one on! :)  My family rib me about using them and say 'the girls have got their dressing gowns on' but I have the last laugh with my nice dry dogs :)

I have two dogs that go out as Hungarian Wire Haired Vizsla and come back as Weimaraners!  The mud here is grey sticky clay.  My hairy mongrel just looks like Stig of the Dump...

I hose off the mud when I get back, followed by a bucket of warm water with hibiscrub.  In the winter, if the house is cold or the dogs are wet through to the skin on their backs, I put them in a thermo cell wicking coat to help them dry.  The dogs go to bed for an hour or so after their walk and are usually dryish when they come out.  Even if damp, they are at least clean so can mooch abound the house without worry.

I'd never bother trying to keep a dog clean on wet muddy walks.  I'd be on a hiding to nothing and I sincerely doubt my dogs would enjoy the walk much which would rather defeat the object

I agree, my girls would hate to have coats on when out and about, it is different for small or fine, short coated breeds. My friend's whippet shivers without her coat on cold wet days. I think unless old or unwell it shouldn't be necessary for most dogs to wear a coat.

You hit the nail on the head lol they must be related to hippos lol I take a Goldie out and bring a chocolate lab back

Surely a double coated dog should not get wet through.

If mine are bathed they can take a day or so to dry, but even with the worst soaking a shake a towelling off and 20 minutes and they are bone dry.

The spayed butches on the other hand take a bit longer for some reason, spaying has consistently made them less waterproof than when entire.

I bought some fleece and got an old towel went onto YouTube and found a pattern for a dog coat, I sewers the towel on the inside and now when she's been swimming I put the coat on and before long she's dry, it helps to stop me drowning to when she shakes afterwards lol

> Surely a double coated dog should not get wet through

Hmm - Tara does if she is bathed/hosed off. She is speyed and has a thick coat which doesn't get wet underneath if she is out in the rain etc, but does if she is immersed. I've no experience of an unneutered double coat (Bramble has a short, double coat which dries much quicker than Tara - but he rarely gets very wet).

Yes,a double coated dog is actually quite difficult to wet right through, when you bath them but not when they wallow :) Goldens have for some reason very absorbent undercarriages and chests which can take an age to dry properly. I have always found my flatcoats much easier to dry than goldens. In fact flatcoat hair is easier to manage all round! :)

I knew I shouldn't have another golden! Trouble is having them around for 30 years or so, much as I love flatcoats, I can't resist that golden smile :)

Ah now mine are generally clean freaks and not fond of water, avoid puddles if at all possible :)

I used to walk a friends Golden with mien and had to be so careful as she'd lie down in any puddle we were close enough for her to get too!!!

As for the river, if she got in you could wait an hour before she would come out.


I used to walk a friends Golden with mien and had to be so careful as she'd lie down in any puddle we were close enough for her to get too!!!

Typical goldie behaviour- the dirtier the better! At the moment up on the moor there are many peaty pools some are quite clean, others really gunky, no prizes for guessing........ :)