Do you clothe your dog

MirkaM

Do you clothe your dogs in the winter? I bought a jacket for Ife even thought I'm usually against using them with dogs who should have double coat. BUT last winter in Finland was the coldest in ages and Ife had some healty issues with it. This year I'm trying to avoid same problems by clothing Ife. I have a photo were Ife is wearing her jacket but I don't now how to attach it to hear .

JessicaRabbit

I clothe my pit bull since she has so little fur. And I will likely put boots on Miko because she has delicate feet (read:she is a wuss and doesn't like her feet getting wet). But no coat for her. That said Finland is, as I understand it, MUCH colder in winter than Rhode Island.

Heidi

I've never clothed my dogs. I had a shiba named Tojo who was a real wuss about his paws being cold, and I made him some nice fleece booties, but he wouldn't wear them, and he seemed content to keep his outings short on those extra cold days. It would only get cold enough for him to refuse to go run and play a few times during the season, so it wasn't a big deal. My other dogs have all put up with any weather without complaining.

But, if your dog is having issues with the cold, then it's certainly appropriate. There's some really nice dogwear out there, made from the same materials in people outer wear. Microfleece is nice.

Kevin

Won't with Tuula. Probably won't with Darcy, but she's got a very thin coat, so it's possible.

Brego_mellon_nin

Well my dogs have big fluffy double coat and Denmark is less cold than Finland is, so I will manage without the clothing. Though if I had a dog with shorter, thinner coat I would not hesitate to get a jacket or a blanket in some form, though just practical wear, not those bling-bling coats with rhinestones and whatever. That's too much Paris Hilton-Chihuahua for me

baanton

No clothing needed for Josephine, even in spite of cold Minnesota winters (although maybe Finland is colder at times). She puts on quite a few layers of fur. I do see clothing on thin-coated dogs when we are in the dog park. I've noticed certain dog breeds (Irish setters and golden retrievers) need to wear booties in the snow because they build up ice chunks between their toes.

MirkaM

Ife's jacket's lining is made from microfleece and outshell from water rejecting material (don't know the exact word for this). We have "enjoyed" this week from -10 degrees but the wind is making it feel like -20-25 (it's about -4°F). And last winter we had for three months every day from -20-35 degrees. And some experts had said that this winter will be the same. This November has been exceptionally chilly and snowy so maybe we will broke our last year subzero record very soon .

And no bling-bling for my dogs!

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k46/kenneldonahuen/Ife/Kuva019.jpg

OT: I finally managed to attach the photo .

sunyata

Ife looks quite comfy warm in her new jacket!

My two love the cold, and have never even tried to shiver. However, I do live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US, so I am sure it does not get anywhere near as cold here as it does in Finland. If I lived where temperatures were consistently below -15 C, I would probably get some jackets for my pups as well.

Saya

Bella gets dressed during winter, but Saya doesn't. If it gets too cold then dog coats are needed the one on your dog looks great.

Heidi

When I watched Let the Right One In (which is in Sweden), there was a scene with a standard poodle with a typical poodle cut walking in the forest in winter, and I thought that in real life, that dog would need some kind of protective wear.

Mirka, those are the same temperatures we experience here in Alberta, Canada. There's always at least one really cold snap where it's between 25-35 below for a while. It's much drier here than it would be in Finland, though, but we do get really, really strong winds. Not sure how the experience compares since I've never been to Finland, but those are typical temperatures for winter around here, and I've never used a coat.

But, if your dog needs it, then that's a different story.

shibamistress

I've never used clothes on any of my dogs (unless to purposely make fun of them on a holiday, but that's another story!). However, I'm thinking about putting something on Bel. I grew up in Alaska, so it seems ridiculous to me to even CONSIDER putting clothes on a dog when its only the 20s or 30's, but Bel's coat is not a regular Shiba coat. She's got only the thinnest undercoat, and my little crazy girl often goes outside and refuses to come in, and I see her shivering outside. So I might put a sweater on her....I had one from years ago that was, ahem, one of the dog tormenting items (see above!), so I could try it.

Toby's coat is so thick he certainly doesn't need it, but Toby LIKES wearing clothes. We had to put stuff on him when he was injured to keep his bandages in place, and he pranced around. He didn't even mind the giant elizabethan collar he had to wear. He thought he looked GOOD! He'll probably be jealous if Bel gets to wear something and he doesn't!

MirkaM

Ife will be using her jacket when it get cold, below -15. Last year she had few UTIs during the coldest period and our vet was quite sure the cold was causing it.

baanton

Ife is styling, for sure! Love the deep red against her beautiful black fur. Understated without the bling, but nevertheless an elegant look for a cold Finlandia winter!

shishiinu

Hana wears a neoprean camo vest to keep her warm while duck hunting. Taro wears a kevlar cordura cut vest when hunting pigs. Not flashy but both vests serve a great purpose for the dogs.

asia

My sis has a sweater for her pup, which has short hair. He seems to appreciate the added layer.

tjbart17

My mom just bought Maymay and Koda matching jackets kind've like this but flannel pattern. Koda doesn't seem to mind it. I tried it on him, and Maymay will do whatever Koda does but wants to do it first. She was ok with it.

My mom got them because she's worried that they are California dogs and won't grow a winter coat. She's worried about when I take them to Lake Tahoe. I thought it was a cute gesture. I will definitely use them if I feel the dogs need them in the snow.

MirkaM

My mom is also worried how Ife is managing. Last week she called couple of times and wanted to know is she doing fine in our walks. I said "Yes, she is doing fine. But I did get frostbites to my hands while cycling back from school." And she just said "I know you have issues with cold but is Ife doing okey. I more concerned from Ife."
Thanks mom . She is knitting a sweater for Ife for Christmas, so Ife won't freeze her belly.

tjbart17

Too cute! My mom sees Koda as one of her grandchildren too.

dlroberts

I have a neon pink jacket that I put on Lucy in the winter. With all of her health issues she has very little fat on her and often a very poor coat. When I noticed her starting to shiver, I start using the jacket.

Let Ife dictate to you when she needs the jacket.

BradA1878

We had one for Maui, like a lot of creamies his coat is really thin so he gets cold. The one we had for him was awesome: http://www.obtrack.com/dogcoat/us_skrylle.html

I am considering getting a Jacket for Blue as his coat is so thin and it gets so cold here. The price is so painful tho because he is so large.

BradA1878

We had this one too for Maui: http://www.obtrack.com/dogcoat/us_rogle.html

It was super soft.