Dog coats/fleece

[Excitedannie]

Me again

6 month old cocker - do you think she needs a coat? I see lots of dogs in coats and fleeces and what it appeals to me to make the cleaning up on wet days easier, do they really need them?

We have Equafleeces for our Patterdale x , he has very little hair because he is clipped every 4 weeks but he is a hot dog in general . We have suits , and jumpers but are in the SE so it’s really only just getting cold enough to use them so I also have a doggy drying bag and put him in that when we get home and he lays and drys for 20 minutes and comes out looking good as new .

They don't need them no, but it probably does make them easier to keep clean. I think if you do get your dog a coat it's important to make sure it's really comfortable and doesn't restrict their movement on a free run. You'd think that would be obvious but I've seen some dogs in coats that look really restrictive.

Nope. I have wcs and if I put a coat on them they would expire from the heat.

Elderly dogs or dogs that only potter around , or some thin coated breeds may need a coat but an active fit spaniel it would do more harm than good.

There are some studies at the minute looking at causes of joint restriction due to wearing dog coats so best avoided for exercise unless really needed.

I do put drying coats on when the dogs are resting and still.

My experience of coats and spaniels to keep them clean if that I have a wet dog and a muddy coat to sort out. If you are just plodding the streets on lead I guess it would work a bit to keep them clean.

The equafleece is fab for my Springer.

It's very lightweight so she doesn't overheat. She can still run around fields and woods like a maniac, and when we get home, I just pull it off and she only has wet ears (from sniffing the ground and bushes!) and paws. Her underbelly and feathers are totally dry. The equafleece gets hung in the utility room until the next walk later in the day, when it's dry again. Bunged in the washer once a fortnight week or so.

Another vote for Equafleece. We use them when they might be standing around in the cold (running around they'd be absolutely fine). It's useful after a swim because they can't splash water everywhere. Rarely use them on walks but often after.

I once put a coat on my cocker when he was a young puppy and he refused to walk. Could not get him to budge an inch.

I wouldn't dream of putting one on him now simply because he never stops running when on a walk and given the stuff he runs through it would get caught in it all.

Mine also wears an equafleece. As much for easy cleaning as anything else. Doesn't restrict movement at all.

Keep seeing cockerpoos and labradoodles in coats, poor things are panting, most dogs don't need coats.

Wcs don't need coats

If you want to put them in one fine but they absolutely don't need them

We use an Equafleece jumper, but that's because our dog is a skinny lurcher with hardly any fur and no body fat. He is a chilly soul!

Thanks all. She's a show CS so not quite as active and busy as a wcs. A couple of friends recommended an equafleece so I might take a look but it's good to know that I'm not harming her by not having a wardrobe!!

Now, my next challenge....walking nicely on a lead...

Depends what you're doing

Many gundog spaniels go out in coats now, they're actually quite thin skinned and our in the wet and cold and expected to work, then stop, then work etc neoprene vests help their muscle stay warm.

If it's pet dog like my cocker, his fleece keeps the mud off. And the wet. And he's grass sensitive so he wears a suit to stop him turning into a mad scratching thing. He did get shivery last week out without it after a dive in the water filled field ditches.

We have a cheap Rydale one for every day wear. Works well.

Show CS be careful as fleeces can cause matting if their coat is kept long.

Lead walking is training. Every damn day. At 18 months mine now trots alongside like a little lamb on and off lead but it's taken a lot of time and effort. No harness, slip lead or halter etc. Just a lead and flat collar and training.

My show cocker wears a coat if it’s really pouring with rain and that’s only because he’s old and arthritic. He does have a drying coat for days when it’s wet but not cold enough for his waterproof.

He does like the jumper his grandma made him when he’s just been clipped.

Definitely Equafleece for the dryness! Mine dunks herself in gross streams and the like and the parts the fleece covers are bone dry!

Coats are great from a cleaning viewpoint, but not brilliant from a grooming viewpoint.

If you are going to put her in a coat, make sure you brush her out afterwards or she'll mat.