jade cat

Hello all,
Here in the Southwest part of the UK, we have a had a little cold spell not sure what it is in FH but it is just a little under 0 degrees C were I am. Anyway I took Eddy out for his morning walk, whilst out I got quite telling off by a lady with two Border Collies, she told me I am a very irresponsible dog owner, as my dog should be in a full coat and he should not be shaved, Eddy has about 3/4 of an inch nearly all over bar his back legs which are about half inch. (I ended up having to take his coat down tight as he had got all caught up in some very prickly undergrowth, while running around in some woods, poor boy). The lady went absolutely mad, ready to report me to the dog warden, when I said he often goes in the sea in winter (on milder days) it does not bother him! Lady said it was my responsibility to make sure he did not run into the water as dogs have no idea what is good for them.
This has got me thinking! would a dog go in the water if it was really bad for them?!

Countryboy

Tonka and Spud used to have a ball . . . chasing each other in -20C. Dressed only as u see them below . . no coats. 20 minutes to half an hour was abt their maximum.

Your 'advice lady' is all wet...

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sarpoodle

Amen! Our two adult standards are frequently shaved down, and they love the cold. Granted we don't experience anything less than the low teens over here in our area, but when the wind starts whipping up, I'm bundled from head to toe and the dogs are acting like it's awesome.

Greg

Indiana

Yup, I agree; I don't know about going in water but here in this part of Canada the whole winter is up and down between -22 and -4C with some warmer days above zero (but that's so nasty because of the snow melting and mud, blech), and our dogs love it all. They run so much and are very active, but as soon as they start to get tired I take them in so they don't get cold when they stop playing vigorously. Anyway I don't REALLY think shaving them is that much different than full coat because they don't ever have an underlay or a double coat, so wouldn't it just be like wearing a sweater?

lavillerose

A lot of people really don't understand how different types of dog hair work, or that length has very little to do with how warm it keeps them. Take Huskies for instance. Their hair is never supposed to be more than 1-2 inches long, but the thick undercoat and hollow guard hairs trap their own body heat to keep them perfectly warm in subzero temps. The "woolies", long-haired huskies, are actually disqualified from the show ring specifically because this type of hair holds in snow and damp (snowballs, like long coated poodles get) and does not insulate the dog properly in subarctic conditions at all. So you can see, sometimes long hair is a hindrance in snowy cold.

Poodles don't have an undercoat. The hairs are all uniform in thickness and density. So whether they have a inch or four inches of hair, it doesn't make any difference how warm they are, really only the parts closest to the body will trap the body heat. This woman doesn't understand that there is absolutely no distinction between a summer or winter coat with this kind of hair, it's more like our own than it is to a breed with undercoat (although it's markedly thicker than human hair). A human's hair really only has an inch of area where it will trap body heat against your skin as well, before it falls down our necks. People who shave their heads say they feel warmer with a mere quarter inch worth of growth on their heads! Your dog has three quarters inch, which is plenty to insulate him when he's active and playing outside. Obviously if he's tired and starts to shiver, it's time to go in, which I'm sure to do. Alternatively you could put a coat on, but it's not strictly necessary as long as he's active.

Fully soaked hair and very cold temps don't insulate any type of coat though, so as long as he goes in after swimming and gets dried off in a relative decent amount of time, he's probably just fine. In rainy weather, unless its an epic soaking downpour, I've found that even a poodle's coat will stay dry at the skin and only the tips of the coat get wet. It's when it's wet at the skin that it's concerning.

lrkellly

Ugh this lady must have some serious mental problems !

Here in Canada you will find all kinds of poodles running around without coats in much lower temperatures.

I just took Sprout in from a jaunt in 2 feet of snow, and its -10 Celsius here right now (-18 with the wind-chill).

I put a coat on him sometimes, for longer walks, when it goes below - 15. He hasn't shown any discomfort in the snow. He's a small mini, the snow is almost over his head. He hops around like a bunny, its pretty amusing. He will often choose to hop around in the snow rather than walking where it has been cleared.

If sprout get wet, it seems to bother him more than the cold. So if he's playing fetch in the rain and we stop and start walking he sometimes shivers when its only a few degrees above zero. But if he stays dry, no shivering. I think shivering might be a good indication of how comfortable your dog is in the cold... (?)

ThePoodleLovers

I wouldn't listen to her. Zeb used to love playing football in the garden in the snow.. always made sure he was dried and combed when he went back in though. It used to take forever to calm him down enough to do it. As you can imagine.. its probably a bit uncomfortable for them to be wet.

For casual walks.. as long as they are always moving and active a 3/4" coat isn't anything to worry about. Cats are much worse off!

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afkar

Mine are also clipped short to very short all year round & we track through the autumn & winter in all sorts of conditions. My Tia got a "Track of the Day" award in extremely strong winds when it was sleeting rain with her coat clipped with a #5 blade. We were all getting wet through wet weather gear & Tia finished her 1.8km or so track & walked back the whole length of the paddocks wet but with her tail wagging the whole way. She wasn't a bit bothered by the weather as she was doing something she loves. Each dog is an individual & some will feel the cold more than others as they will with the heat. If your dog is happy then that is what really matters.

Luvmyspoos

I grew Cale's coat out for the sole purpose of going hunting in sub zero weather. I accomplished snow balls on his legs & face (and anywhere else he got into contact with snow lol). He was warm but then he was running around like a loon and having the time of his life. He absolutely refused to go into the water after it hit his chest (no problem on his legs) but he does that in cold water in the summer too. More to do with his age than anything else.
He shivers if he get soaked and is outside in the freezing cold but otherwise he's fine until we go in.
I think you are doing just fine with your own common sense about your dog!!

cowpony

“Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.”
― Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary