AIBU to wonder why so many dogs wear coats these days?

[DogCoat]

I am quite old, so in my day, you never saw dogs wearing coats. These days, a high percentage of dogs are dressed in coats to go out. What is this all about? Why did dogs not used to need coats, but now they do?

Um except dogs have natural fur coats on already
Some dogs have undercoats of fur that keeps them warm and dry, like labradors.

Others, more usually small dogs, have hair just like us, hence needing to go to be groomed regularly. They feel cold like we do on our head.

Mine is the latter, but she absolutely hates coats of any form, so we just walk quicker with fewer stops for sniffing which suits me perfectly!

If it’s absolutely tipping down with rain I will put a coat on the dog, one less job to dry the dog when we get back.
My elderly dog had her cosy coat on for walks on really cold days because she’d enjoy it more that way. The young one runs round like a lunatic- she doesn’t need one.

Its because people like buying things.

My best guess is that perhaps 10% of dogs with coats benefit from them. For the rest, coats are either tolerable or welfare-negative.

Agree with the groomer comments. Our dog was only cut once a year just before summer abit my daughter's is cut every so many weeks all year round.

Mine only wears a coat if it's really pouring down, he absolutely hates wearing anything. He can come home filthy in the middle of summer so pouring rain and mud is a combination that requires a coat.

because dog ownership is a big money making business

All dogs are normal dogs

My Grandma ran a business making dog coats in the 70s and 80s.

Most dogs live in heated homes and don't grow thick winter coats. Many breeds naturally have it and many get cold easily. My greyhound has to wear a coat because they are skinny with single layer coats.

I never thought to with my lab. He is always too hot in summer so I thought winter was a relief for him
There was a program on the radio yesterday where a woman (I guess an expert) was claiming because of central heating dogs should wear coats now when it’s cold. I wasn’t listening carefully so not sure she meant all dogs but it made me think a bit.

I’m in my sixties and had dogs in the family since birth. They always had coats, going back to the sixties.

I have a single coated dog (not lots of layers of fur) and so when they get wet, they get very cold and take forever to dry out.

They also don’t like getting wet, and having a coat on means they notice the rain less and are more likely to tolerate a walk in it!

When I was a kid our dogs were made to sleep in an unheated garage (unless it was below freezing) which I think now would be considered abusive.

We have a mostly white fluffy German Spitz who sees any opportunity to get as wet and muddy as possible and takes it 😂 it’s for our own sanity she wears a coat in the wet months, otherwise we’d be having to throughly bathe and dry her after every walk.

So you don't have to wash the mud off your dog EVERY FECKING DAY.

My dog wears a coat in an attempt to not drag all the filth from the road/pavement/grass he wanders through into the house. If it’s wet or has been wet at all coat goes on, dog is mortified though.

Dogs shouldn't be shamed for their fashion choices

My dog loves cold weather but since we live on a farm, I do not love how muddy he gets when we go out at this time of year. It’s a lot easier to take his coat off than clean off the mud. So it’s for my benefit, not his.

I spent a heck of a lot on a couple of good dog coats for mine when I still had her. She was a bull terrier, had severe arthritis and medically needed a good coat so she could stay mobile and still enjoy more sedate walks.
My home runs at 16c in the winter so yes that did include fleecy jumpers as she aged to for the same reasons.

I'm late 40s and remember scotty dogs wearing coats when I was a child.

Whippet and Greyhounds have their own wardrobe of coats, jackets, fleeces, jumpers, pyjama, snoods etc.

Doberman, Malinois, Rottweiler are nudists although the Doberman quite likes wearing a Santa hat at Christmas.

More dogs get clipped.

Even the long coated ones will have less fur if their living inside/ in a heated house. 100yrs ago, more lived out and there was little heating.

Keeps them cleaner

We have lighter breeds as well.

I think the increase in dog grooming is also related to the popularity of mixed breeds which often need their hair cutting (this in part why they are popular - they don’t shed).

My dog is young, lean, fit and single coated. She needs to wear a coat when it gets to a certain coldness.
If I feck up she may get limber tail again.

My dog really likes a coat, it’s new for us but dog sticks head in excitedly. Stops the mud forming mats in the fur, and prevents the need for a wash- which is the worst thing ever for my dog 🤣

As my dog gets sodden in rainy weather with his furry coat - and it's a faff drying him off 4x a day as he tries to eat the towel!

Because more people are aware and appreciate animal welfare. There’s a lot of things we do now that we didn’t in previous decades….