Lean, sparsely-haired dogs in 12F

[Anonymous]

I'm the new foster parent of a small and terrified hound mix, with very thin paws and legs. Very sparsely-haired, and indeed bare skin, practically, in many places. How do you get them to go outside in this weather?
She shivers a lot, and inside the house, that's probably because she's not used to us yet, but outside, it must be because of the cold...
I ordered booties, a wool sweater and a whole-body windbreaker. Not sure how kindly she'll take to any of these, but tonight it's 12F!!! I did also buy liver treats, maybe I can bribe her with those?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Is this just for potty breaks or walks? I’d hold off on walking her till she gets more comfortable with you. You can try the treats to get her outside to do her business.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

I have good news! The freeze-fried beef liver worked wonders! It got this terrified dog I've had all of 3 days into her wool sweater, and into this weird astronaut windbreaker suit. She swished out of the house instead of having to be cajoled out, and she walk a bit further even after doing her business, when usually she drags me straight back home (but then she has to be cajoled back in once she reaches the threshold, which is so strange). Anyway, tonight, none of that. She seemed much more comfortable, and got an extra treat after I took off the suit.

Phew. I was starting to worry.


I didn't have the heart to try the booties, which look like torture instruments. Do dogs actually like those? Maybe tomorrow? They're supposed to be waterproof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

I have good news! The freeze-fried beef liver worked wonders! It got this terrified dog I've had all of 3 days into her wool sweater, and into this weird astronaut windbreaker suit. She swished out of the house instead of having to be cajoled out, and she walk a bit further even after doing her business, when usually she drags me straight back home (but then she has to be cajoled back in once she reaches the threshold, which is so strange). Anyway, tonight, none of that. She seemed much more comfortable, and got an extra treat after I took off the suit.

Phew. I was starting to worry.


I didn't have the heart to try the booties, which look like torture instruments. Do dogs actually like those? Maybe tomorrow? They're supposed to be waterproof.

Post pictures plz

[Anonymous]

I so thought this was going to be about dogs on a flight!

[Anonymous]

Tonight my greyhound is wearing 4 legged fleece pajamas and I also put his winter coat on him when we went outside. He will not keep boots on; he just opens the Velcro with his teeth so effortlessly that you’d think he was trained to do that.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for fostering!

[Anonymous]

I have a very anxious mix, too, and we worked with a trainer for a while. At one point we went to a downtown area with a lot of dog-friendly stores to work with her and the trainer predicted correctly that she would be afraid of thresholds. It is so weird! We'll be walking along happily and if I try to walk into a bookstore or something she'll put on the breaks like there is an invisible barrier.