Dogs in the Winter

It really depends on what breed you have.  You could put it in your signature line so you dont have to repeat it often.
 
Shakespeare loves the cold, kind of.  He will play outside forever in the cold and snow if you give him something (or someone) to play with.  Sophia could care less for the cold but she goes out (usually to keep Shakespeare amused).  Last friday WI had a huge snowstorm and Sophia was let out too long.  She came back in with snow stuck to her paws.  Now when I let her out its only for a few minutes, unless Im out there also, to make sure she isnt gettting too cold.  I looked for boots for her, but they were all too small, so I considred putting baggies on her feet to keep the snow from sticking, but now that its all packed down, and I limit her outside time, the snow sticking isnt a problem anymore

We don't have "real" winters, here. It hasn't snowed and stuck in 17 years, and then it only stayed for two days. My dogs have never seen snow, that I'm aware of, but....

Teenie wears booties, and a thick coat. She's NEKKID! She shakes and shivers and her ears and toes get icy cold, so.... She gets to play dress up. Emma just wears a light jacket. I had a Rocky Mountain Dog Coat snuggler, for her, but someone threw it in the dryer and now it doesn't fit right. I have to buy her a new coat. She's just as happy in a t shirt. Just something so the wind doesn't blow through her.

As long as they're happy and playing, I don't think it's too much of a problem.

Yeah, I think it totally depends on the dog...  It was 6 degrees here this morning and Slick didn't even seem to notice.  I've never seen him affected by the cold.  Last winter he spent alot of time swimming in an indoor, heated pool.  When we'd leave to go home, he'd be soaking wet and it would be in the 20's.  There would be steam rising from his hot body!   Despite walking for 25 minutes, soaking wet in the cold - I'd stick my fingers into his fur and it was always nice and warm in there!  I WISH I had a winter coat that effective.   If your dog has ample body fat and a double coat, cold weather should not be an issue.  For those leaner breeds, coats and boots are definitely a must.  I see the gear come out when the temps drop below 40 in my area.

We live in the southeast. High today 40, low in the teens.
My dogs stay out some during the day, but with frigid temps as the teens, I think most dog breeds should be inside.

I live on the California coast so it dosnt get extremely cold here. However my Rory dosnt even have any hair on her tumm! She has a sweater that she wears on our walks. The cold dosnt seem to bother her. We had taken her to the snow and that didnt bother her at all either, she wore little booties but then again  she was a pup and just like a little kid they never get cold.....or at least show it, ha ha!

It gets very cold here, well, not as cold as some places but very cold non the less. 28 degrees this am on my way to work. Anyway, when it's this cold we don't walk them, it's not good for pushed in nose breeds to be exposed to very cold weather or very hot weather, their noses just aren't long enough. We have a huge fenced in backyard , they go out do thier "dootie" and come back in, quickly, I might add[]

Ummm... I have sled dogs so...

I think most dogs can adapt to most climates with the exeption of the tiny ones.  We had Weims for a while and they were fine in our winters which go to -40 quite often.  Also Ron has a husky in Texas.  My dogs would probably die in Texas if they were just thrown there from a winter here.  But as long as they have time to adapt. 

We don't have a *real* winter in the central valley of CA, either.  Nights have been known to dip into the low 30s when the weather is dry but warm up considerably when it's raining. Days will range anywhere from the high 30s to the high 50s.  Max has very short hair but he doesn't seem bothered by weather when he's walking or playing. He certainly knows where to find the warm blankie when he comes back inside.[]
 
Joyce

The only dog I have who has problems with the cold is Duchess - she has a very thin coat and shivers when she gets outside. Therefore, I have to be one of "those" people and put little sweaters on her . . . it's hard to find dog sweaters that don't look silly. []

We've been thinking on going on a couple of winter hikes this year with Balto and Ladybird; I think we're going to look into getting some paw-covers for them, but I'm not sure how often it snows here. (We just moved to North Georgia from Ohio.)

It has been shown that arctic dogs are more adaptable to temp extremes than warm weather dogs. This is because sub-arctic regions go through dramatic changes. Southern Alaska, for example. And Canada. Winter temps can get to 40 or 50 F below zero in winter and close to 80 F in the hottest part of summer.
 
Part of what helps a Husky handle to cold is their activity and metabolism, as well as the fur. Many mushers prefer to run their dogs at least -20 F as this allows the dogs to function without overheating. But when they sleep, they will burrow into snow to use its insulating effect. In the heat of summer, their activity decreases, along with their appetite.
 
I have a cooler mat, a big freezer to make ice in any container and keep him inside in the a/c as much as possible where I can keep the temp at 75 F, though it costs me. In Texas, when we get days and weeks at 100 F or hotter, that is normally referred to as August.
 
All dogs cool by panting, as they don't exactly sweat, particiular Sibes and Labs, of which Shadow is a mix. Their waterproof skin doesn't really allow sweating. So, I will sometimes help him sweat, so to speak, by wiping him down with a damp cloth.
 
As for a warm dog in cold weather, you might use booties which can be bought from sled suppliers and of course, dog sweaters, which you can find at dog.com.

Romeo is double coated and loves the cold,  however if the temp hits 30 or drops he wears a coat or sweater, and booties (especially if it froze the night before) any other time he goes au natural and I put mushers wax on paws.  We live in Houston and the weather has been crazy, one day it was 80 degrees in the morning and 30 degrees by 3:00 pm.  So, even Mr. Romeo gets the shivers.

This year I am excited because we are (Romeo and I) going to Vermont for Christmas ( I leave on the 19th and comeback on the 26th) it will be his first time seeing snow.  I can't wait to see how he is going to react, so for this trip we are taking a couple of full body snow coats. 

WI temps, from what I understand, are rather similar to temperatures in some places in Germany,.  The GSD is made to handle cold whether for longer periods of time (and look at old Photos, they didn't seem to have a lot of hair, but had thick double coats).  Strauss LOVES it outside, and it can be hard to get him in!

He rolls in the stuff, runs around with his nose to the ground pushing snow to make trails (his head won't come up!) or he runs around like a lunatic with his mouth open, eating the fluff!  The Labrador equally enjoys snow, but we have to bring him in sooner, because his coat isn't as thick (i'm rather surprised he has one at all, his hair is so tight to his body).  

My dogs love winter. Summer is the killer here. But Candace is right - you'd be surprised at how well a dog can acclimate if conditioned properly. This summer the dogs were working in 90 to 100 degree weather and I got used to being able to do it with no problem, because it came on fairly gradually. Then in August I got a new dog. I was shocked at how long it took to get him up to speed. Basically it was the rest of the summer before he could work longer than ten minutes at a time.

Now the only trick is keeping the weight on them while they both use the energy working AND stay warm. It's been in the twenties in the morning and at dusk when we work the most. [:-] As I say, the dogs (and sheep) love it but I hate it. The only thing they'd all love more would be about six inches of snow cover. But that ain't gonna happen here in NC - at least not on a regular basis!

Poor Zhi is the only one left out of the winter fun. Even coats and boots are insufficient to keep her warm in sub zero windchills like we've been having. The only good thing, her furnishings are growing out beautifully because she's been forced to be a real Princess instead of a tomboy.

Russell is a cocker spaniel, loves the snow and no temp seems too cold for him. We've already had below-zero windchill temps here and he will hang out in the backyard for upwards of an hour if I let him. The only thing I have to watch out for is when it snows, if his feet aren't well trimmed he gets iceballs between his toe pads and that is painful... if his feet are trimmed he does fine.