How do people decide if there dog needs a coat on or not, is it just ones with sort coats or is it just personel preference.  My GR wears a coat after swimming as I made it with towelling on the inside and it just helps her to dry quicker but what do you all do in this cold snowy weather, she isn't one with a thick coat and she's 7months old.  I'm just curious

I have two gundogs and a terrier type mongrel.  Mine don't wear anything outside but I have a Weatherbeeta Thermo Cell Dog Coats that they sometimes wear indoors after a wash, after a wet weather walk, or in the car after a swim.  These coats are brilliant and really wick the moisture away from the skin

Mine have natural wire coats designed for the outdoors and they don't feel the cold overmuch.  However, IF they were to do a lot of standing around in the cold after heavy exercise I'd possibly consider putting a rug on them but in normal life they simply don't need it, they cool down gradually after exercise as we walk home.  If a dog has joint problems or is recovering from surgery or generally a bit under the weather then it's another good way to keep them warm and much cheaper than putting the heating on!

I'd say it's a question of need and benefit rather than preference.  I think some coats look very smart but if there's no need or no benefit then why bother.

As you have a growing dog it's worth a look on ebay to save some money :)

Simple -if they shiver when outside they need a coat. :) I've found that to be true of all my toydogs. Never used coats for anything bigger. My toys (Papillons) have single coats so can get wet to the skin, unlike my bigger breeds that all have double coats (Malinois, one old Golden and two old Mali x Golden).

I've had both very heavy coated breeds and very short haired breeds, the long ones did have rain coats, purely for my convenience when walking in heavy rain, just to cut down on the drying and piles of towels. The shorties, it depends on the walk, if we're going into the fields with the ball, then no coat, if its a stroll, then I would use a coat if it was very cold like today.

If they're cold they get a coat, if they have very bad arthritis then they get a coat if it's very cold, especially if it's raining.  Even Saffi gets a coat in this weather as although she's a lab, she has very bad arthritis so if I can keep her joints warm it really helps.

> Simple -if they shiver when outside they need a coat.

yep, my pugs and my doberman both shiver and cry, my doberman has to have her food increased by about a third over winter too or she will rapidly lose condition.

My whippet is a chilly mortal at the best of times so in the really cold winter he wears 2 coats and a neck warmer.  Anything less and he really shivers and cries.  If he gets caught out the rain the cry becomes almost a scream.  The papillon doesn´t appear to feel the cold too much despite this being his first winter in England (having lived in Spain for 6 years) but I bought him a little coat with a belly/chest band to keep his underneath dry.  This is much more for my benefit than his but if he does show signs of being cold the coat also has a very warm, thick, detachable lining.

With a short coated breed you have to be more careful as they do get cold easily, if we are doing a lot of lead work or the weather is very cold/wet Lola (my beagle) has a variety of coats to wear as she really feels the cold and makes it very clear that she would rather not bother going ouot in the rain, she tries to stay in the porch and failing that hides behind me for the duration.  Pop a coat on and she wags the whole way round.  Recently I have been putting coats on the springer as she does not have a double coat and she is a typical adolescent skinny mini!

My Cavaliers tend to wear their fleecy coats if they are at a show or trial where they are sitting in a crate in the car or in a poorly heated hall for a long time. If they are out on walks, they are generally running around and that keeps them warm. They do tend to wear raincoats if it's wet though, as they don't like the drops on their backs. :-) The American cocker seems happy without a coat.

My Frenchie girls wear coats - one is a little pup with baby fur and the other has VERY short fur and really feels the cold. My boy Frenchie on the other hand, has never needed a coat as he has thick fur!

My lurcher wears a coat although to be honest he doesnt seem to feel the cold but as he is skinny (still a little underweight from rescue) we put one on him. My miniature poodle wears one when its cold as he shivers and is miserable - especially when hes had a clip and has short fur!! when its wet it also helps to stop them getting damp and bringing home that wet dog smell. Coats are easier to chuck in the washing machine than dogs are :-)

> My whippet is a chilly mortal at the best of times

You also have to remember that sighthounds are made to lose heat, the deep relatively narrow ribcage is designed to let the lungs and internal organs cool down quicker when the dog is running, so they will need coats more than 'normal' breeds.

> sighthounds are made to lose heat, the deep relatively narrow ribcage is designed to let the lungs and internal organs cool down quicker when the dog is running

I love all the extra information one gets by hanging out on CD.  Thank you - I'd never thought of of it this way before :)

My ridgebacks have nice thick Hurtta winter coats, but when do I use them?
I use towelling coats inside after swimmings/wet walks.
I use the Hurtta coats on long slow walks, if they are running and playing and very active, the coats come off then come back on when they start to cool down, but only in very cold weather say below 2 deg.
one of mine is more cold sensitive due to hypothyroidism and by that less active too so she wears a coat more often than the two fast and furious younger ones.

Quick update:  We have no snow (yet) here.  I took both dogs for their usual walk on the beach this morning.  The whippet was nice and warm all wrapped up, the poor little papillon only had a shower coat on - NO warmth in it - and for the first time in his life he was shivering badly.  I carried him part-way home.  The cosy lining is now velcroed into his coat in readiness for tomorrow.  Poor little love, I´ve never seen him so cold before.

We have lots of snow now and she seems to love it although we haven't been out for a walk as I would have spent more time on my bum lol so the back garden has been her play ground with us throwing snow at her which seem to keep her happy.  I've kept myself busy making her a new drying coat and put toweling on the inside to help her dry, as a lot of you have said it stops the wet dog smell and its easier to put the coat in the washer than the dog lol