Hello All! My 3 year old GSP Has been given a coat for Xmas! It is very nice & is a dark green colour which suits her --Trouble is it has tartan around the legs & sleeves! How can I take her out in this without attracting too much attention to her & to me? Do you really think a coat for this type of dog is necessary?

In a very dark night! ;)

I must admit that I have a towelling coat for my Anna to stop her getting cold after a day's picking up on the shoot. Because we are very low laying she is frequently sitting in a foot of frozen water so when it is over I like to dry her as best as I can and put the coat on her to absorb a bit more of the damp.

Regards, John

But I assume you wouldn't use one on a 'pet' dog in normal conditions John?
Archer

This is true Archer.

In all seriousness, no dog should need a cot in normal circumstances. A friend brought two African Running Dogs back from South Africa and within weeks were playing outside in the snow! Actually, the central heating most homes now have do our dogs far more harm than a run in the fresh air.

Regards, John

A fit and healthy gundog does not need a coat
Archer

Makes me laugh the amount of people in my breed who put coats on them!!  They are working dogs and it gets just as cold in Spain sometimes as it does here and could you see the farmers etc. putting coats on their dogs?  I don't think so.  The amount of breeds on gundog day at shows now where people put coats on them and they are only doing a 5 minute walk to the car.  Mine are all clipped at the moment and I still take them out without a coat.  Maybe I'm cruel but my dogs don't seem bothered :d

Hi! I have a GSP & I don't think their physique merits a coat!! They are very deep chested & I just can't imagine them being bothered to have a coat put on-- leave alone the audacity of having to wear one especially in daylight! They have so much energy in flight that I reckon a coat, especially with sleeves,(tartan ones at that!) would somewhat restrict their activities! I think that after 5 minutes your GSP will be so frustrated that it would rather not go on the walk! The  funniest thing I've ever seen is a standard black poodle in a bright red trouser suit!! It surely did cramp his style! so I guess the answer to your question is NO!

There is actually an article in this weeks Shooting Times about hunting Ptarmigan and Black Grouse in Scandinavia 350 miles North of Stockholm. They actually use red coats on their dogs, although mainly for visibility and also "Tracker collars" which bleep whilst the dog is moving but go silent when the dog goes on point! Of course, the temperature there is well below zero.

Regards, John

Copper has a lovely blue tartan coat and whether he likes it or not he wears it when its freezing :)  I don't know whether he really feels the cold as at this time of the year his coat is quite thick but when I've got the eskimo parka, gloves, hat, boots, scarf and hip flask, I feel its only fair that I try to keep him warm as well :D  And anyway he looks cute.

CG

Well Copper Girl If you  live in Scotland you are excused & I bet in that get up you BOTH look CUTE!

Abby has a bright red coat which she wears walking to the park then it comes off while she is running about and as she comes to watch rugby with me on a Sunday morning she wears it as we are standing around for a couple of hours.
Mary

Although my two have coats I don't put them on, although the little one detests her paws touching any form of mud or water she bounds about in freezing weather quite fine despite her sparse coat, the elderly one hates coats so we don't force him to wear them.

Personally the only breeds which really need coats for general walking are those prone to feeling the cold, I would of thought the GSP fell into this category, I wouldn't of thought many of the Gundog breeds would require a coat for walking around in.

If we feel the cold,then so do they.If we have to put 4 layers of clothing on just to step out the front door then they should get a coat also to keep the chill out!

I dont agree with the fashion concience folk who dress their pooches up in diamonte jumpers etc. etc. just so they look good!

Dog coats should serve a purpose such as keeping them warm when it's cold out,they should not be ridiculed or the owners made to feel like idiots for wanting to keep their dogs warm.

Dogs already have their coats on Rose. They have on need of anything else.

Regards, John

Dogs in the wild have the choice to keep active or find shelter when it's cold.  If we keep them out in cold conditions, then we should compensate for the lack of natural coat when they don't grow one because they spend most of their time in out centrally heated houses.

My cavaliers have coats but for the opposite reasons to keeping warm they are only used if it is hot & being reflective they help to keep the dogs cool, in the wild wolves & wild dogs do not go into the light & hunt only when it is cool. They don't need coats when it is cold  as they coats are at their very best in the cold weather with a thick undercoat protecting them from the cold

A healthy dog given the correct exercise will keep very warm - mine come back from walks panting and need to cool down, even when there's hard frost.
:)

John but some dogs coats arent thick enough to shield them from the cold :(
Wolves have obviously acclimatized to the colder weather,they dont have central heating or unnatural light to throw them off.

If it's cold out then i will put a coat on my dogs,but i usually have to take them off after they have been running around for a while,same as me :)

I don't think any of our dogs need coats, evn the short hared breeds except for the elderly ones perhaps, but many folk do put them on their dogs to help kleep them dry and clean for when they get back into the car or house.  Having a breed with a natural thick double coat even my oldies don't wear coats, but my freind in obedience has been known to put one on just to keep the dog clean.

My dals have short, smooth single coats (no insulating undercoat) and they don't bother about the cold; it's wet they don't like! The way to judge whether or not your dog is cold is to feel its ears - if they're warm, so is the rest of the dog!
:)

It'll be very useful when she's ill or elderly and arthritic. If she's a fit, healthy dog then she really has no need of one. Save it for later!
:)

The only coats I use for my dogs are the ones to help them dry out a bit quicker-i wouldn't feel the need to put them in one just to try and keep them warm-often they too are in need of a cool-down, even in frosty weather!

I wouldnt normally put either of my CKCS in coats as they have enough of thier own !! BUT...my bitch, Tilly has lost quite abit of fir due to havng pups so she has to wear one of she will be rather chilly

same here cath .... i bought one of mine a fleece as she has lost a lot of coat since having the puppies...but when we are out she soon warms up once she gets playing..i only use it in the evening to stop her sitting 2 inches from the radiator as she feels the cold at the moment

I`ve got a 10yr & bit old mongrel, she`s got very short coat & ahe`s always felt the cold, always the first to get in front of the fire but I`ve never considered a coat for her as she just comes in when she`s had enough. Well we`ve been freezing over here the last wk & I am now going to buy her a coat as she`s been shivering! I`ll not put it on when she goes out in the day cos she digs for moles but in the house, cos she lives in the old house & its old, cold & drafty :)
But no way for my Labs they`d be mortified if I put any of them in artificial one!!!! :D :D
Christine, Spain.

i love coats,all of my Border collies have rain coats & flynn also has a fleece for after swimmimng. do they need them? probaley not,but they look VERY cool,IMO!

I did buy a coat for my schnauzer.  It's smart - reminds me of a racing horse jacket. However, it remains unworn.   I put it on him and he looked like I had just placed a slab of concrete on his back - his belly was almost touching the floor.  He subsequently did his statue impression and I couldn't move him.  So I gave up but cold weather doesn't seem to affect him.  However, if anyone knows of a doggy umbrella that you can attach to the collar - I am convinced that that would interest him. 

My hound wears an all in one (complete with hood :D) when its wet and muddy....Only to protect the coat that I spend 6 hours grooming   She loves the coldest of weather, esp. snow - she is a real messy pup! 
Sarah

Jack has a barber type jacket, mainly so that he can keep on working if its raining, and it also stops the mud lines from his tail going all over him (if you have a spaniel with a tail youll understand :) ), our GSPs, viszla and weims all have coats to wear in their kennels, to keep them warm and to prevent weight loss as they all live in outside kennels, when they are working/training/exercising they dont wear the coats. Bruno the rotti has a coat but his is a deep coat that is longer than he is so that the coat covers his hips and back legs on cold days as he has hip dysplasia. All the dogs wear their coats for a reason and none seem to mind wearing them although Melyn did object to her brother Archie wearing his coat and managed to pull it through the kennel mesh and eat it :)

tanya

I have two coat wearers out of my three.

Rocky the wire haired yeti type staffie cross does not and will not wear a coat. Doestn need one, never has.

Dilly-dog is a rough coated lurcher.... only his coat is absorbent, one run through long grass (he is a mini lurcher) and he is soacked to the skin, so he wears a coat.

Abby is a tatty old saluki x, coming up for 10 years old, so she gets a coat if its raining or cold and we are doing an on lead street wakl..... if we are going off lead she doesnt wear a coat.

Em

My little ones come running when i get their coats out,they even lift their paws up to make it easier to get them on :) If they didnt like them or tried to get them off then i wouldnt make them wear them.They dont have their jumpers on in the house.

Gundogsrbest can you please explain how putting coats on your dogs helps with their weight :) ?

I would imagine that a dog whose wearing a coat burns less calories simply keeping warm, therefore maintains a good weight.  I got laughed at for putting a New Zealand (waterproof) rug on my Welsh Mountain pony when he was in a field with no shelter - he came out of the winter the same shape he was when it started - the other ponies in the field were struggling to keep weight on, and their owners were spending a fortune in hay and hard feed......

Horses are rugged up in the winter to prevent weight loss, (rug keeps horse warm so calories etc dont go towards keeping horse warm but go towards body weight /condition), as my boss has horses and this year being the dogs first year in the new kennel block which is outdoors (the old kennels were pens in converted stables) he decided to get them all coats as they havent been out in the winter before, they also have thick straw beds and a few have blankets the coats are there for when they are standing around to maintain body heat and therefore weight. (a bit round the houses i know digger has said it in a less confusing way than mine :D )

tanya

I have coats for both my shih-tzus but when the little one sees hers she runs everywhere to avoid having hers put on. When it is on she is quite happy. She doesn't have very thick fur and she does feel the cold. The bigger one has a thick coat but she still has hers on as it would look to others as if I don't care about her as much (which is not the case) Because they are so near to the ground, it does keep the underside of them a bit drier.

All of ours have one each, but only the old boy wears his when it is raining, just to keep him dryer as he is getting that bit older.  Also we will start putting one the girl who already has artheritus in the hips :( just to stop them getting wet and to reduce risk of making things worse!

They all do have towleing ones for after baths also, to keep the caot flat while drying!!! :D

I wouldn't dare put a coat on any of my dogs. They'd just get wet when the dogs go for a swim - in the freezing, icey water! Though Chloe does stand in front of me asking for a towel when we get home :D She likes a little dry before grabbing the towel and 'killing' it.