Reply With QuoteDefinitely sensible on small dogs not sure about larger beasts
My Rottweiler loves to be outside. Not only for a walk but basically all day long, 'guarding' our grounds. And he thinks he's pretty successful. 57 kilos Rottweiler staring at you silently from behind a fence worries people and they walk on.
With the temperatures dropping, I wonder(ed) if a 'body warmer' style cover would be good for him. A water repellant or water resistant type would be best. We have built a dog house for him, but he doesn't like it; it blocks his view over the grounds I suppose. Most of the time, he's on the terrace on a water resistant dog bed.
Normal(...) Rottweilers hate rain and water. This one not! He doesn't care what type of weather it is. And that's the trap I don't want to step into: he does not show signs that he's cold or uncomfortable. I take him inside when it rains, or I think that it's too cold. But then he's near the backdoor waiting to be allowed outside again.
Does any of you have experience with this sort of 'body warmers?' Pros/cons. Is it nonsense or what?
Last edited by thieuster; 8th December 2022 at 09:06.
Definitely sensible on small dogs not sure about larger beasts
This was the state of my dog yesterday when I asked the missus to sort out some jumpers for her.....
#neveragain
Just getting ours some new Equifleece coats. Excellent quality.
For really shit weather we have some Rukka full coats.
They love it
Another great way to extract money from caring consumers.
...
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Can't speak for a 57KG all-weather outdoor murder-machine, but for wimpy dogs like greyhounds and our half-grey-half-saluki, winter coats are essential as they really feel the cold - there's not an ounce of fat on 'em and they have very short coats. Even for our full-saluki, a raincoat stops the dozy bugger from being soaked to the skin and thus requiring me to spend ages towelling him down, which he hates.
^^^ That is a really good idea for cavaliers. Our cavalier gets drenched/covered in mud on a walk when the grass is wet. Drying takes ages and we always end up with knots.Originally Posted by blackie
Surely anyone on TZ should be getting something here https://www.barbour.com/uk/barbour-dogs
dogs shiver when too cold or show signs they want to go back inside, if you dont see either then i would not worry about it.
my dog is visibly cold, shakes and is eager to get back indoors on very cold days so that is my experience anyway
Equafleece are great. Ours isn't so much for the cold but means he's a lot cleaner and drier when we get back from winter walks...
Definitely the way to go for sighthounds. Even in their native Malta my pharaohs shiver in winter and need coats. If I ever brought my Tommy to Britain I’m sure his impressively large balls would retract into his body cavity in shock!
Back when he was alive,tried a coat on our Rottie ,he hated it.
Yep - our whippets have equafleece “jumpers” which cover the chest and upper forelegs, they can still run a round like loonies but don’t get cold when they’re walking or sniffing about. The Equafleece stuff is really good quality, too - Gracie has had hers for 8 years now.
Just going through this same conundrum ourselves. Wifelet wants jumpers and coats for our young Pointer, I'm not convinced. 'Tis true though that pointers have very short hair and ours has not fat on her at all....
Dot won't wear a coat even though she has really short hair.
That said if there is light drizzle she refuses to go out which suits me.
Rotties have quite decent coats Menno so I wouldn't worry too much about an overcoat.
I think this dog dressing up thing is a fairly recent phenomenon TBH.
Cheers,
Neil.
That's why we have them mate or it gets messy and they hate us trying to get knots out. Usually end up cutting but these have been great
Just got to perhaps get a custom for our new rescue dog Mabel. She's a cav crossed with summat but the Rukka legs will be too long unless I can cut them and glue the ends
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I was on top of Kinder scout last week…. Whilst down below it was a proper pea souper, we got above the clouds
He wouldn’t be putting up with any jacket nonsense…. It would have got in the way of him leaping over boulders and wading through bogs… And he’s nearly 14 years old….
Nobody saw dogs on coats 30 years ago?
This they come with their own coats for free!
I can understand it on a racing snake type Greyhound etc. as their coats are very short and not very thick. Most other dogs don’t need them, I actually worry about them over heating if they are active. They can’t sweat and have no way of telling you they are roasting.
There are some lovely dogs shown on this thread.
I am a fan of Doberman.
Fab pic thatI was on top of Kinder scout last week…. Whilst down below it was a proper pea souper, we got above the clouds
He wouldn’t be putting up with any jacket nonsense…. It would have got in the way of him leaping over boulders and wading through bogs… And he’s nearly 14 years old….
Nobody saw dogs on coats 30 years ago?
Are you saying the dog lives outside ?
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Agree 100%
Many dogs are bred and bought as fashion statements with no thought given to the welfare of the animal.
No, it's an indoor dog that's more outside that an average dog that's being walked once or twice/day. This dog is outside with me. Mostly from 9AM (when it's getting light) up until 4PM. But I wear warm clothes or a coat that keeps me dry. Sometimes, he's on a daybed, elevated from the floor. But he curls up took keep himself warm. I stop working around 4PM and he's in the house with my (us) for the rest of the day, until the next morning.
I agree that this was not an issue 30 yrs ago. My parents had a Rottweiler in de late 70s - mid 80s. Including the harsh 78/79 winter! And I have pics to show that the dog was outside with my father. And the dog didn't wear a 'coat'. But he wasn't outside for the largest part of a day.
Deacon would struggle without his at the moment, very skinny and thin fur.
Last edited by thebuffoon; 9th December 2022 at 00:53.
In that case you will know if he gets cold. Just keep an eye on him regularly. And no need to spend much if he does: if you work on your estate, a coat cut in an old blanket will be perfect. No need for waterproofing, he won’t need it if water is liquid.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Re dogs getting cold -
Yesterday, I had a very pleasant 2 hour walk along a local beach. The air temperature was about 3c.
There were numerous dogs playing happily in the sea, the temperature of which would likely be lower than the air temperature.
I was under the impression that dogs shiver to increase blood flow to cold areas.
______
Jim.
Which beach are you on with sea temperature below 3C?
You would have to have been somewhere very unusual for the sea temperature to be below 3°C...see link. It takes a long time for the sea to heat up reaching a peak for UK waters around September. It then lags the local air temperatures as winter sets in.
Agreed, surface interactions may have a significant cooling effect in shallow waters and being wet on dry land causes greater heat loss due to evaporation so your point stands. Dogs wouldn't play in the water if it made them unduly cold.
My wife’s opinion and for what it’s worth she has some experience in this area, with dogs and horses..
If cold n dry nothing required as his coat should fluff up and trap air which acts as insulation.
If cold n wet a non insulated waterproof coat to keep the worst of the rain off him.
You're correct. The sea temperature was between 8 & 10c yesterday. I don't think the dogs were splashing about to get a heat, though!
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Jim.
I saw your location and was confused, which is why I asked! Agree, they wouldn't be splashing for heat since the water conducts heat away from the body faster than air.
No self respecting Rottweiler would want a coat ... just give him the opportunity of a warm space and he'll take it if needed.
Dogs are incredibly hardy ... and smart enough to find warn spaces if they want them.
"Try putting a coat on me!"
Cheers,
Neil.
A dog that gets sunburnt! Pah!"Try putting a coat on me!"
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
My location is accurate to within 100m.
BTW, I'm also 346km from Dallas & 245km from Calgary.
______
Jim.
Equifleece are brilliant. Started out with horses and used by people with working dogs. Get the fit right and they are fantastic. Polartech fleece that is totally waterproof. My Spanner loves his and given his propensity to roll in mud, water, fox poo and anything that is dead it is a godsend at this time of year. My other fella just likes to be warm and dry and likes his too.
Ayrshire?
They did have white dog poo though.
Don't forget something like this
"Try putting a coat on me!"
But she has doggy sunscreen for her delicate beak.A dog that gets sunburnt! Pah!
Cheers,
Neil.
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