Do dogs need coats?

[sunglassesonthetable]

I have a year old dog, so going into his first full winter.

He's a Bedlington with a short woolyish coat and a bit like a whippet underneath, build wise.

I see lots of dogs in the park with little padded coat/ waistcoat type things now that it's colder.
It has crossed my mind that a raincoat / oilskin type thing would be handy if it was tipping down as he wouldn't be bounding soaking wet back into the house. So Probably more for my benefit.

But how do you know if they actually need a coat for the warmth?

I am completely non judgmental either way just wondering if he could need one or not.

@ZolaGrey perhaps mine is a cross...

Def not a barrel and yep gives all the huge dogs a very good run when she is running properly!

She needs to lose 0.5kg at the moment

My beagle doesn't need one on walks but if we stop and sit outside somewhere he shivers so I do have one for him to wear in those scenarios.

For a working hunting breed he's a bit of a wimp and has been known to sleep under a fleece blanket in a heatwave

@RandomMess

Looks like a parsons or a parsons cross to me!

Someone stopped me when I was walking him and got all excited about him because of his proportions or something odd like that. I think they're supposed to be the kind of elegant cousin to the JRT? Either way she was too late, he'd already had the snip and she was very disappointed!

I'd never heard of parsons before we got him, I quite like that he's a bit bigger than a Jack (I don't trip over him as much) but still got the utter ridiculousness of terriers

I have a terrier with a wiry coat and he doesn't seem to feel cold at all! he will sometimes refuse to go out if it's absolutely pissing with rain but usually if we're out and it starts raining he is fine! loves a good towel rub getting home though

I had a Parson Jack Russell and I only ever put a coat on him on the most freezing of days. He didn't much like it but then he was hardcore

Oh mine absolutely loves being towel dried!!! It's one of her FAVOURITE activities in life 🤷🏽‍♀️

I do think a lot of it is for fashion now and anti mud/washing in the poo/doodle types.

I have a ridgeback she’d go outside with a duvet if she could. Not build for Scottish weather at all. Like a greyhound only one layer of hair hardly any. Doesn’t walk in rain at all. In the Summer only dig I know that will sunbathe on a black trampoline whilst others are in the shade.

If dogs are plodding on the pavement they may need a coat versus diving about wood/fields/ wrestling each other too.

We have heard good reports about this place so thinking of investing in one as ours is a mud magnet
www.k9cleancoats.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR2bqsVSD0UBIhQE4OC3S0u007cyZuGjvomxOgciCMXWT8hugs_W6btKCjs

@sweetkitty mine will sunbathe indoors and out at every opportunity and I have never seen her move into the shade!!!

Fortunately she doesn't have free access to the garden as she would be at risk of sunburn due to lack of fur and being white. She spends cloudy days trying to get under a duvet somewhere as a fleece blanket is insufficient!!

She would be the one day in the office moaning how cold it is even in the middle of a heatwave...

Ddog1 has more coats than I have, and needs one indoors during the winter - he's a greyhound saluki type lurcher with no body fat, no hair on his underside and a single very thin layer on top. He hates the rain and needs a full on rainsuit to go out in it.
Ddog2 otoh ( doberman whippety thing) will tolerate a raincoat if we are doing on lead walking, and a warm coat if it is really cold out and we are on lead mooching. Otherwise he removes coats.

My sil has had springer spaniels and currently a rescue cockerpoo, and she uses an all in one rainsuit for them when doing morning walks while shes doing the horses so she doesn't have to hose the dogs off before work

@RandomMess Our PJRT. Sadly he was put to sleep when he became very poorly in April (aged 15) and I miss him so much. I think his body shape is very similar to your dog. Ours was also an incredibly fast runner in his younger days.

Equafleece jumpers are great, I’ve had one for ddog for years. Brilliant for helping him dry out after a walk, staying warm at lunchtime when he was a working dog, as pyjamas for cold nights camping, and keeping the snow off his tummy to avoid the snowball thing. Now he’s older he does feel the cold a bit, so I think I’m going to make him a jacket for really cold days. Or maybe copy his jumper so he can have an outdoors and indoors one.

Watching with interest.

I have a spitz type dog. He looks like he’s built for polar exploration but looks so bloody miserable in the rain that I’ve wondered whether I should try to find him some sort of light-weight water-resistant jacket. He tries to get back in the car/house if it’s raining hard, then runs pathetically from tree to tree in a bid to avoid it.

I sometimes put one on our pup, not for warmth, but to keep him drier and cleaner. So now his feet just need a dip and a towel rub, rather than a full bath after his walks. We have the one in the link below, its nicely waterproof and for breeds with less fur the fleece lining helps them to keep warm.

www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dog_clothing/waterproof/639098?variantid=639098.1&gclid=CjwKCAiAwrf-BRA9EiwAUWwKXmsCW5GSs6GXwzhF6yigZVJanVMUZ8KYZOk7VnwBoLjz1gKW9rvNexoCel8QAvD_BwE

@TheSockMonster

Watching with interest.

I have a spitz type dog. He looks like he’s built for polar exploration but looks so bloody miserable in the rain that I’ve wondered whether I should try to find him some sort of light-weight water-resistant jacket. He tries to get back in the car/house if it’s raining hard, then runs pathetically from tree to tree in a bid to avoid it.

We have a Shiba Inu and he has the coat in the link above, he hates the rain as well, sometimes he screams if he gets too wet. The coat goes on really easily and its so nice him not being soaked after a walk.

I think I’ll try one on DDog @SimonJT

Thank you!

Friends with a Shibu Inu refuses to leave the house if it's raining or it can tell it's going to rain. Doesn't mind the cold at all but does not do damp let alone wet...

@RandomMess

Friends with a Shibu Inu refuses to leave the house if it's raining or it can tell it's going to rain. Doesn't mind the cold at all but does not do damp let alone wet...

He got a wet leaf stuck to his paw on Saturday, you’d think he’d stepped on hot coals! I have thought about getting him some booties, for practical purposes obviously, not because it would look stupidly cute.

He has a Shiba girlfriend called Luna, she has to be carried over puddles 🤣

😂 I can well believe you, at least my dog walks around all puddles,wet leaves, mud...

Makes mine seem almost hardy!!

I have mini pinschers and they are pretty naked on their belly. They shiver like crazy after 5mins outside. Thats how i know they need a coat
I think if your dog is cold, you will notice.

My show cocker spaniel has a coat for wet walks and in the snow. I also use veg oil or coconut oil on her legs and tummy to stop snow balls which hurt.

Mine has a variety of equafleece coats , jumpers and suits that he wears if it’s very cold and wet mainly so that he is less difficult to clean up .Hes a patterdale x , is clipped short , loves wallowing in puddles like a hippo and runs constantly . We keep one coat by the backdoor as he won’t go in the garden if it’s raining without it at any time of the year .

we have loads of coats for our Labrador........he doesn't need them at all but hates walking in the rain so pretty much refuses to leave the house without his coat on. However even when it's freezing cold unless it's raining he doesn't wear one cos he doesn't need it. He will quite happily paddle in the sea & streams no matter how cold it is, he just doesn't like the rain. He also doesn't wear one if he's out running as I don't want to restrict him at all it is only while walking. Mind you he's a wuss and if he even gets slightly damp he looks at his drying coat (dressing gown in our house) when we get home cos he wants it on

My staffie has an equafleece for rain/snow and times she's going to be sitting in the cold, eg at a cafe or waiting with ds outside a shop.

She hates being wet or cold, so the coat has stopped a lot of whining, refusing to walk any further, or trying to turn around and go home.