How will I know if my dog needs a coat?

[Anonymous]

Dog is mixed breed, some kind of doberman or rottweiler mixed with hound. He is three yrs old, about 65 lbs and has short thin hair. Not like whippet thin though. He gets a 45 min to hour walk twice a day. About half that time he walks on the leash and other half he is running in woods off leash. We've had him since he was a puppy and the only time he makes it known he doesn't want to be out is when it's cold, dark and raining. He doesn'tt visibly shiver. However, I started thinking maybe he needs a coat for very cold mornings.

How do you know if your dog is cold/needs an extra layer?

[Anonymous]

Our whipped would shiver in the winter. Our short haired mutt does not care about cold at all and has never worn a coat.

[Anonymous]

When they shiver and/or don't want to go out. You might want to get a raincoat, OP, and see if that helps in the rain. Some are padded/insulated.

I had to laugh when a friend very kindly gave my dog a padded raincoat for my northern breed sled dog. Ha. If my poor dog had his druthers, he'd want to live in Siberia, where he's originally from. He wants his own portable A/C in this area, not a raincoat

[Anonymous]

And for cold paws, there isn't much you can do, because no dog I know likes the feel of booties, however much they might actually benefit from them.

[Anonymous]

We figured it out when he started refusing to go on walks which he normally loves. Generally if it's cold enough that I'm wearing 3 layers with a hat and gloves to walk 4 miles, like on a cloudy, icy & windy day in February, he needs to wear a coat also.

[Anonymous]

I have a very thin, short-haired hound, so thinner and less bulky than your dog... he will visibly shiver when he is cold and he HATES the rain in any season. The only time he won't go out is in the rain. He has a coat, but I only put it on if it is really, really cold (like teens or low 20s).

[Anonymous]

I don’t know for sure how you know! We adopted a greyhound and were told that due to their thin skin, short fur, and low body fat, greyhounds are not good at regulating their body temperature. The rule of thumb the rescue gave us is that the dog needs whatever we need. If we need a light jacket, he needs one. If we need a winter coat, he needs one. If we’re chilly in the house, he needs a sweater. Females, especially, are more likely to have accidents if they’re cold.

[Anonymous]

Dogs have coats - they're born with them.
Unless you're taking him to a place with sub-zero temperatures for prolonged amounts of time, he should be 100% fine.

[Anonymous]

Your dog needs a coat. Your dog should be comfortable in cold temps, just as you try to be with your coat.

- Have dogs, have always had dogs, and have worked with dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your dog needs a coat. Your dog should be comfortable in cold temps, just as you try to be with your coat.

- Have dogs, have always had dogs, and have worked with dogs.

Chihuahuas? They are the only dog that needs and extra coat.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Your dog needs a coat. Your dog should be comfortable in cold temps, just as you try to be with your coat.

- Have dogs, have always had dogs, and have worked with dogs.

My dogs have coats. I however was not born with one!

[Anonymous]

My doodle loves to roll around in the snow and asks to go out All. The. Time in the winter. He was born with a coat. A nice cozy one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My doodle loves to roll around in the snow and asks to go out All. The. Time in the winter. He was born with a coat. A nice cozy one.

We anticipate this as well. Our doodle’s favorite sleeping spot is curled around our toilet. Coldest place in the house!