Hi all,

Just wondering how many of you have coats for your dogs?  I don't mean the 'dressing up' type but waterproof/dog blanket types.

I have two GSDs and wonder if I should get them waterproofs to help protect against arthritis etc.

Thanks - June

I have to say that mine don't.  Two of them even went swimming at the weekend, had a run round the field and then home.  One's nearly 8 and the others nearly 6 and they were fine.

I don't know it just makes me laugh sometimes when I see breeds of dogs that were meant to work in all kinds of weather wearing coats.  I know that for some dogs though they are of benefit.

Really it should be how you feel and how you want to help your dogs, not what others may think :d

My dogs wear coats at this time of year as they feel the cold being a short coated and african breed.

My tiny little Papillon does as he does feel the cold otherwise, but I'd never consider it for my big dogs, they just don't need it. They all have water proof and/or double coats and can cope with most weather. :)

my vizsla wears a coat as she shivers alot and her coat isn't as greesy and waterproof as it should be so she feels the cold.
my mongrel doesn't and doesn't feel the cold.
if you think yours feel the cold then go ahead.

Our Bichon had to wear a coat the other week - not because he was cold though but because I decided to try clipping him myself and had nearly finished  when the clipperguard flew off and took a large patch of hair right down to the skin nearly :rolleyes: I clipped him again last week so it wasn't as noticeable. :-)

My Dobe girl does when it's very cold and she going to be on lead. She is a baby though(born June), short coated and likes to sit in front of the fire on her beanbag. If they stand there and shiver or just don't seem to enjoy their walk, well then it doesn't hurt to pop a coat on. I'm sure though that when she's older and tougher, I won't bother.

Thank you all for your replies.  It's always interesting to know what others do.  I must admit I have seen the smaller breed of dogs and short coated breeds wearing them but not many shepherds!  Mine don't appear to feel the cold and never sit around the fire, in fact they are the opposite and will go and sit in the hallway when the fire is on, so I guess I've just saved myself a few bob:D

My Lab never has and is used to cross country skiing with me in -20C tempertures.  I worry more about her getting overheated in the summer, on canoe trips, than getting cold in winter.  I noticed, when we were agility trialing, that many people put coats on their dogs to cool them down.  Most used thick terry toweling, soaked it in cool water and covered their pooches and tried to get them to lie still in a shady place, if one could be found.

My dobe does, as he has very little fur on his body so he feels the cold badly (and hates the rain, lol!), but my rott X doesn't - she's in and out of whatever water she can find anyway, so it'd be a waste of a good coat!

Do my dogs wear coats? Yes, their own :D :D

My Cav boy has a fleecy coat I bought him at a show - we got BOB at 10.30 and BIS wasn't until 3pm, and it was a horse arena open to the air on a freezing day one November. I couldn't let him run round to keep warm as he gets filthy instantly, so I got him the coat and he looked really cute! Think he's only worn it two or three times though! They never wear them for hurtling around the park, though I may rethink when they are old and arthritic! :-)

Mine have wax jackets for when its raining and we are going on a short lead walk (saves them getting soaked through) they have fleece coats to wear if they are being left in the car at a show when its cold or on a drafty bench.  On really cold nights if we go for a lead walk or if they are going to be hanging around the ring at a show for sometime they have quilted jackets, because they do feel the cold especially if they were bathed the previous night.  The way I see it is we expect them to live in a centrally heated house but also expect their coat to keep them warm outside when its really cold.  If mine are off lead then they dont wear coats as they can run around to keep warm :)

I wasn't meaning to be pedantic about dogs wearing coats ;). They obviously serve a purpose where necessary.

It's just that I've never lived in a centrally heated house and none of my dogs have ever seemed to need a coat. Even when the weather was -9 here recently and damp. If they lay too close to the log fire they start to pant. Suppose they've become accustomed to their surroundings, even if it does make for a heavier coat.

LOL - that's what mine wear :D I don't like dogs in coats unless they are ill/elderly or like a whippet/greyhound with no natural coat or fat :) Mine have never seemed cold when they go out in subzero temperatures - but they do like to run around in this weather, so I suppose that they get nice and warm this way :)

Daisy

My male Dobe has a waterproof/padded coat (looks a bit like a mini version of the coats horses wear!). He does seem to shiver terribly otherwise, and I felt bad seeing his thighs quivering whenever we stopped to cross roads etc. Sometimes I take it off after he's been running around for a while, but he doesn't seem to mind wearing it at all.

My collie x dos'nt feel the cold but my whippet does so she wears a waterproof padded coat and loves it

I think 99% of GSD's have a perfectly adequate coat of their own. The normal length coat especially are supposed to be fairly waterproof naturally.

My Rottie cross is 9 in March and on Rimadyl for artheritis.
I bought her a coat last month and she took to it straiught away. She wears it everytime we go out for a walk now.
Lea :)

Have to say my GSD's do wear a coat but only in very, very cold weather and since last year.  My 9 yr old has severe HD with secondary arthritis and the other is 11, no visible signs of arthritis with him apart from the fact he is a little slower that he used to be.  They are walked in all weathers, every day and so far this winter they have worn a coat on about 5 occasions.  

Arthritis and very cold damp weather is not a good combination regardless of natural coat type.  

Izzy my Greyhound/Collie X (according to the vet - but hey, the other one thought she was a whippet x - but she is TOOO big to be a whippet) anyway, she wears a coat, an indoor coat for the house too... if the central heating isn't on...

And a nice big thick outdoor coat when outside

The golden doesn;t wear anything - he is always hot

the BH's...never....its minus5 tonight & they are all outside lying on the yard concrete whislt the heat lamp burns pointlessly in their dog room!!!!!  However one of my deerhounds has a veritable wardrobe as she always feels the cold (she is terribly thin) She has a towelling  absorbantcoat for when she comes back from lamping & is wet.....she has a quilted coat for icy weather & a thin fleece coat for warming up before she courses/lamps on old days.

I think it all depends on the breed and the living conditions. Dogs were not "designed" for big temperature differences like going from 24'C to -3'C in a few minutes. I thought dogs don't need it as they have coats and boy I was wrong. My Staffy mix got a terrible urine infection and my Chi got a cold. he could hardly breathe at night (there went my sleep :rolleyes:). So I got them both nice coats (only for really cold days for short walks) and they never had problems since. i also think coats are very handy in rainy days, so they're not completely soaked when we get home.....

Hi I have Chis, and I wish they would wear coats when it gets cold, but all of mine refuse to wear them. No matter what type, and what I do. I have bought many different ones, and had some bought for me. Put them on them, and they sit down and refuse point blank to move. I have tried everything I can think of to get them to wear them, as I do think for the small breeds that they are a very sensible idea. My dogs disagree with me.

My dogs wear a bandanner and shades when we go to dog shows. :D They only enter in the silly village shows and always win :D

Funnily enough, our oldest HV has worn a coat during every winter except the last two and she will be 8 in July! I think we were just pandering to her as Kayla(3) wouldn't be seen dead in any kind of clothing :D So we just started not putting it on her and she doesn't mind at all. If they get wet they just get towelled off then let through to sit infront of the fire. She did used to be skinny when she was younger so to help keep the weight on, an extra layer did help.

Idõ has a lovely wire coat and that does him just fine, he was swimming the other week and loved it. Gundogs work during winter(or at least were bred to!) so their own coats should do the job IMO!

Nips is a small breed but I refuse to put a healthy young Jack Russell terrier into a coat. Apart from anything else they are a working breed and the working instincts are strong in him so he gets into all sorts of places that are wholly incompatible with any coat other than the one he was born with. I feel the same about Westies and regularly have to bite my lip when I see these hardy little dogs burdened with unecessary clothing!

I also fess up to finding "dressed up" dogs an abhorrent slight to their dignity but I can see good and practical reasons for some dogs wearing coats - especially those with arthritic limbs and breeds that can't tolerate cold weather as well as show dogs who need to look their best but also may have to do a deal of waiting around.

>>regularly have to bite my lip when I see these hardy little dogs burdened with unecessary clothing!

LOL, how true :D Its one thing putting a little dog in a coat but when I see the likes of Labs, BCs and the like in coats it does make me wonder! Fair enought though, as you say, if there is a valid reason but this trend of dressing dogs up to resemble little people is crazy...anyone see the woman with the 'chihuahua' the other night on Pets are People???!!

Yes I saw it and had to laugh. I have kept Chihuahuas now for 27 years, and would never pamper them in that way. Mine are part of the family, and much loved yes, but she went to extremes, lol. That gives the wrong impression of the breed too, as they are not soft namby pamby dogs at all. They are quite tough little dogs, which is why they are long living. Whats more they think they are at least Rottie size, lol. However yes, the old and the very tiny Chihuahuas do feel the cold, thats why I wish mine would wear coats when its cold, but like I said, there is no way they will, lol

I always think it's a bit odd when people have coated breeds like Yorkies or Westies, have their coat completely clipped off, and then put them in little jackets!!

I also agree that dogs should not be dressed up in silly costumes - apart from fancy dress once a year for the Christmas party that is!! :-D