Why are dogs wearing clothes all of a sudden ??!

[Isntfurenough]

For years and years (I’m old!) I’ve only ever seen the occasional greyhound type or yorkie wearing a simple coat if the weather was really cold …….

Since October this year suddenly about 90% of the dogs I’m seeing daily (I jog twice a week in park and go for long walks) are wearing coats or jumpers or what look like wetsuits with legs ??!! These are fluffy / furry breeds too (poodle mixes , collie / lab types) all sorts and this has been when the temperature has been mild ?? Nowhere near freezing !! Is this a new thing? Won’t they overheat ??!!

My lab would be hugely offended if you tried to put clothes on her. I have to bribe her with charcuterie just to put her harness on (we live in the sticks so only needed for town walks). She seems perfectly happy in snow/ wet. A quick rub down with a towel gets the worst of the wet/ mud off.

Fair enough get a decent coat if your dog needs it but novelty knitted acrylic jumpers are really very naff.

I'm not sure the dog would think she looked ridiculous but I'm pretty sure she would consider clothes as some wearable chewtoy to be shredded immediately.

This very question came up on a doggie forum that I am in:
Thus cut and pasted:
There is more :) but I felt this was more than enough...

Aren’t dog coats just a fashion trend?

Dog clothing is becoming more popular, but not only for fashion reasons. We now have a better understanding of the negative impact of the cold on illnesses or potential illnesses. Being cold can make dogs sick or sicker. Hypothermia, a condition in which the body loses heat faster than it can produce it, is a serious medical emergency.

But in the old days dogs didn't need coats!

In the past, many dogs lived in outside kennels. They built up a protective coat in preparation for winter, which warmed them like a thick fur jacket. Today many of our dogs live in the house, where they spend at least 20 hours of the day at an average of 21 degrees Celsius. This can mean they don’t build up such a thick winter coat. Although the coat changes, the undercoat is not as fully formed. We have seen this most clearly in dogs that have been brought to us, for example, in the middle of winter from eastern Europe. Their coats are often very dense and protect them like a thick woolen sweater.

How cold should it be for a dog to need a coat?

There is no exact number – the cold isn’t the only factor, but also the wind. The wind chill effect is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air. It means that the body will feel colder, even if the temperature is the same as it was on a previous, less windy day. A general rule to go by is that a dog coat should be used as soon as people put on their winter jackets, and at the latest when also wearing scarves and gloves.

and this https://www.pdte.eu/post/2017/12/07/should-your-dog-wear-a-coat-in-winter is where I cut and pasted from.

Sorry, but my dog is 'my girl'. How does it affect you? Not one fucking jot I bet.
She also sleeps in ,my bed with me. That also does not affect you at all.
Get a grip.

Yup.

Crazy stuff.

I suppose we should pity these people.

Wait until you read some of the Christmas threads on here about how many presents woke are wrapping for their dogs (some get as any as their kids), if you think ‘my boy’ is crazy stuff I’ve no idea how you’ll categorise that!

Pity for people who call their dog "my boy" or "my girl"?

I'd save my pity for people who don't understand how affection works and that people show affection, and love, in ways that might be different from theirs and that love and affection are not a finite resource.

And I pity them because their lives are emptier and sadder.

Indeed -won’t be opening this thread 😂😂😂😂
Utterly hilarious that the bonkers pet owners ‘pity’ people who have actual human friendships as opposed to using an animal as a substitute 😂

Also when did dogs start needing baths? I don’t recall our farm dogs ever having a bath!

It's @Itsmeemily wins the prize for the silliest use of the term "woke ".

It’s just a typo, my arthritis is playing up and I’ve pressed the wrong buttons that’s all.

Oh I see. I did wonder! Happy Christmas.

@shockeditellyou our farm dogs had a lot of baths!! Mainly due to an unerring fox shit locator.

I hate seeing so many dogs dressed up in ridiculous clothing. Before the covid-originated dog pandemic, anyone who dressed their dog up was pretty honest about the fact that they did it because they liked playing around with clothes and were happy to treat their dog as a doll.
Now, you can't go out for a walk without seeing robust working-type dogs plastered with so-called functional clothing which can have no benefit for them whatsoever and in fact must be to their detriment.
Sure, for some breeds it might make the post-walk clean up a bit easier for the owner. But perhaps if they weren't prepared to deal with a bit of mud and moisture in the house after a walk the owner should have done a bit more research into coat-types to find a breed with a coat that dries more efficiently. Or just not got a dog at all.

I have two mini dachshunds. They need jumpers and coats when outside as they visibly shake when it is cold. They absolutely do not like rain either - so I use one for that too. I used to have a Lhasa apso and occasionally would use a jumper straight after hair cut when out as he would feel the cold. They are a god send but I don’t understand some breeds wearing them that really don’t need to.

It must be difficult going through life with such a rigid attitude to relationships. It's not an either/or.

Well one of ours has a light waterproof coat for certain countryside walks because she is the very devil for finding and rolling in horrible things.

My ddog has a bodywarmer that she wears in winter, it's not particularly pretty and I didn't buy it as a fashion accessory.
She doesn't like getting wet so it keeps her dry, she's got little legs so her under belly gets muddy and wet, much easier to wash her bodywarmer than pop her in the shower.
I think she likes it as she's always reluctant to take it off when we get home

Some people can get really sniffy about this, I’ve heard comments before about my dog wearing a coat… cos he does in bad weather. He is low to the ground so picks up all the muck, plus he doesn’t have an undercoat so any water goes right through to his skin. Hence the need for a coat & this year I’ve bought him an equafleece.

When I overheard a woman mutter to her friend about ‘dogs in coats being made to be a fashion accessory’ so turned round and told her the above, which she looked a bit taken aback by. Only then did I see the friend she was muttering to was my hairdresser & we had a lovely catch up with hugs, while studiously ignoring first woman 😆

Only in the UK people have regressed and call dogs their (fur) babies and dress them up like kids.

Grown up on a farm in another country where the dog came in if it was below -25C, otherwise our caucasian shepherd guard dogs were outside- with no jumpers.

British climate is so mild unless the dog has been shaven/elderly and lost its fur don't see why any breed would need clothes.

Awwww, the good old Every Other Country is So Much Better Than The UK Where For Some Reason I Choose To Live, this time the Dog Coat Edition.

Fun.

This.

My dog gets absolutely filthy on walks and if I put a waterproof coat on her it lessens the cleaning I have to do when I get home.

Stupid comment.

1. Caucasian Shepherd is a bit different to a short haired Jack Russel/labrador/Dobermann etc etc - their hair is literally designed for cold climates
2. your CS was acclimatised to those temperatures - your average British pet dog isn’t

When I was in Arizona there were dogs being walked around mid day in 35 degree heat - because they were acclimatised to it. Do that here and you’d get lynched

No its not, JRs Labs, short haired pointers etc are very hardy dogs, perfectly able to withstand cold temps, its just that their owners are not & treat them like fragile china dolls.

I've a GSP, she is as hard as nails, freezing water, rain, mud, nothing bothers her, she is constantly on the move, its what these breeds were designed for... so i'd never put her in a jacket, far too much of a snag risk, also remove her collar when she out in the wilds, the UK has a mild climate overall, a vigorous dog is likely to over heat in some of these clothes.

This is the second GSP we've had and have had terriers too.

So long as owners are sensible (stay hydrated and a little extra food) then most dogs don't need a jacket, i get the cleanliness argument but do these same owners clean their bums every time the wee or poo?

So the coats are to keep mud off?? My kids return home covered in mud after every single outing - is the there a child/tween suit that I can use for the same purpose please as I can’t be arsed to get them in the bath