Walks in the freezing cold

I agree with every one else. Aslong as he is not showing any discomfort witht he weather then there is no need to put a coat on him.
 
Lucky for me I have a collie, I would be surprised if I ever saw him shiver, he sleeps in the snow when out in the back yard lol. Wont be good for his hips though.

here is a simple pattern and instructions on how to fashion your old sweatshirts into ones that fit the dog properly. i just found it and can't wait to try it, my dog freezes real quickly, so thanks for inspiring me to find that [].

edit: i forgot the link, doh!http://www.ehow.com/how_4069_make-dog-sweatshirt.html

When it's cold outside, I give Pearly a sweater/ t-shirt and her coat.  Half the time when it's really really cold, she stays indoors.  Even though she's very fluffy, I still dress her up because she do get cold and sneeze like crazy.  [:-]

Molly has a coat and boots when she go out in the winter. She has long hair so may not need the coat but her feet get cold real fast. She tried to stand on one foot in about 2 min because her feet were cold. No time to potty or poop so we got her boots. They help alot. But she is small so she can get her exercise in the house doing the fech thing in the winter so we don`t go for walks if its cold out.

I agree with some of the others, I don't think your dog needs a coat or sweater. If it's really cold, you'd need to shorten your walks for your sake, but probably not the dogs. When I take my dogs out ( Lab/Shepherd and purebred Lab), they'd keep going and not get cold, but I get cold after a while! They even go swimming in the middle of the winter. [&:] Of course 'cold' means different temperatures for different people, and it depends on the weather that your dog is used to. 20F is an average high for the winter, if it gets up to 20, that's warm for us (except this year...weird weather). And when it's  around 0, they go out and run around, it keeps them warm to run. For a dog that's used to warm weather, though, they might get cold quicker. Just keep an eye on him and make sure he's not shivering.[]

Do people feel the same about letting your dog swim or play in freezing cold water?  My dog is a lab/husky mix and he loves be in the water.  At the dog park we got to, there is a stream that he really loves to play in.  It sometimes has running water even when it is below freezing and there is snow on the ground.  I haven't been stopping there for him to play in the water since its been cold, even though I am sure he would enjoy it.  Is that just silly?  The snow and cold don't bother him at all, in fact he loves them, but somehow letting him swim when it's below freezing seems like it would much colder that just being outside.  Since he's a mix, I'm not quite sure if his coat is really ideal for that (huskies are built for cold, of course, but they generally aren't swimming dogs).  What do you think? 
 
In answer to your original question, I agree it just depends on the dog.  Ace doesn't ever seem to get cold, so we go for walks in all kinds of weather.  At 15 below I won't walk much further than around the block, but he'd keep going if I'd take him. 

We don't walk in the cold simply because I have no cold tolerance whatsoever. [&:]
 
Both boys are fine in the cold, however they do have blanket style coats for when it is really frigid out.  I figure it certainly doesn't hurt them, and it keeps me from having to dry them off when we come back in from the snow.

Well I listened to your advice... the majority of you don't think a lab needs extra protection.  So I've been walking him as usual with just his little bright orange hunting vest that I always walk him with.  (Brown dog in the woods in a hunting area you know.)  He doesn't shiver at all.  He'll go forever if you do.  I have worried about the getting wet thing too.  But it seems like if there is running water he only goes in a couple of inches, drinks and gets out and runs, shaking the water off.  I'll have to take a look at his paws to see if there's any problem but I think you're probably all correct.  He's a lab, has the double coat and is made for the cold and water.  I just have to keep adding on the layers for me, but he could seem to care less.  Thanks as always for the reality check.

I'd say get a jacket or sweater and make sure it keeps your dog warm. Also, maybe boots for the feet? I've never tried them but I'm really looking into them. Also, I've seen this spray on tv that prevents the ice and snow from hurting their feet .. you spray it on their feed and then they don't need to wear the boots, but I can't seem to remember what it was called. If I find it I'll be sure to let you know! []