Coats

[aliwake]

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to dog coats - I grew up in Cairns where they certainly weren't necessary!

Just wondering generally when people use them?

Do you ever leave them on the dog when you're not home, or are they for supervised use only?

Our lab Nixon is outside during the day when we're at work. We don't have a patio or anything in that part of the yard, so he has a fairly fancy kennel to use should he choose to keep dry when it's raining. I have actually sprung him using it on occasion which I was very happy about, but I know towards the end of the day when we're due home, he will be racing around the yard gleefully regardless of weather! He's generally quite happy wandering around in the rain, but it worries me through winter, when rain is combined with cold, and we won't be there to dry him off til the afternoon. Would any of you consider a waterproof coat in this situation?

[Bjelkier]

My Lab wears his pretty much all day once it gets cold (I do live near Canberra though so it's freezing) but he's old and has very bad hips.

He didn't wear them as a young dog however and he also loved running around in the rain. Labs are pretty tough, I don't think getting a bit damp in a QLD winter will hurt him too much ;)

[The Spotted Devil]

It really does depend on the dog - at this time of year my Dally wears a coat 24/7 unless he is being trained or exercised. And he's indoors (standing over a central heating vent with the cats) unless the sun is shining. My Springer runs HOT - only wears a coat after she's been training or competing in freezing water and I just can't get her dry enough and get her out of the wind. A toasty warm kennel sounds just the ticket for your Lab - put your hand inside it on a very cold day and see how it feels. Ensure it faces away from the prevailing wind, line the base with newspaper or straw for insulation and you can cover it with a blanket.

Edited May 8, 2014 by The Spotted Devil

[Vehs]

Where do you live now?

If you are in Brisbane I'd just make sure he had dry clean towels in the kennel each day that he can bury into if he does get wet and cold

[aliwake]

I am in Brisbane, sorry - just realised I should have mentioned that! He is pretty tough, and has a lovely thick coat naturally, but I hate putting him outside on rainy days, even though he's happier out there!

His kennel has a cushy canvas covered bed inside, but I'm not sure it gets super warm. It's in a sheltered spot, but on a side of the house that doesn't get a lot of sun (great in summer, maybe not so great when it's wet and cold)

Some burrowing towels sounds like a good idea, though no doubt he'd drag them outside and leave them in the rain!

I certainly wouldn't put a coat on him when the weather is nice, but it sounds like you guys don't worry about leaving your dogs in a coat all day, so maybe I'll look into one just for when the weather is bad...

[Tara8430]

I only use a coat on Abbey (black lab) if its really really cold when walking, she is less than impressed but her coat is not overly thick and it keeps her dry. She has access inside during the day in winter so ive never left it on her when ive gone to work.

As long as he goes into his kennel and doesn't sit out in the rain looking sorry for himself (fellow lab owner so I know they do the guilt trip) Aliwake, most labs are usually okay with a bit of cold just depends how cold Brisbane can get.

[persephone]

I've not been a believer of coats ..except for dogs who have no undercoat/are clipped/are old ...my Last dog, Hamlet had no undercoat , and for some strange reason felt the cold awfully ..so he wore a coat at night time.

I have worked with labs a LOT ..and in melbourne , etc where it gets quite cold & wet ..& we didn't use coats at all.

Our working dogs (koolies/kelpies) live outdoors ..no coats . Even in minus temps , they often prefer to sleep out of their kennels ....

[aliwake]

Fair enough, I know I'm a bit of a worry wart :) I definitely don't have any issues with him racing around and getting wet (which is the most likely scenario), it just worries me that he might stay that way all day til I get home. I know he takes a long time to dry off too. If he went and stood around outside in the rain first thing in the morning, he'd be wet until I got home at around 5pm.

Brisbane doesn't get super cold, but it can get to the low single digits at times through winter. Unlikely during the day though I guess.

[DeltaCharlie]

Most dogs are pretty good at adapting. If it is cold, they will grow a thicker coat, then drop it once it starts to warm up.

We put coats on some of ours during winter, but we are in the mountains near Canberra, we easily reach -10 overnight, and the main reason- we are cold so surely the big tough working dogs are too :laugh:

Charlie hates the cold (and the heat...) so he lives in a jacket 24/7 during winter and tends to stay in bed all day. Our older dogs are jacketed at night (except for the really tough ones that sleep under the doona) and any with injuries, eg Delta has spondylosis in her spine so I make sure she stays rugged up in the cold. One of our small terriers has absolutely no undercoat and she freezes without a jacket, so she tends to live in hers 24/7 too. The other terrier is 15 and happy enough to potter around in her coat so we tend to leave it on her too. The young dogs don't wear them, except briefly for toileting in the rain. I wouldn't trust them not to eat them. They get polar fleece rugs to snuggle up in instead.

[sheena]

I have these coats for my guys Hurtta Winter Coats, but I only put them on if I am walking them in the rain or I go to somewhere & it is freezing cold. But my guys are BC's so have a good coat. But it may be good for your guy, cause besides being warm, they are waterproof.

[Leah82]

Collie is pretty woolly at the moment so we don't worry about him. Sarah on the other hand recently been clipped and has no undercoat so I put her jumper on before letting her outside to the lovely 5 degree morning we had this morning.

And on the plus side she can get out of it herself when it warms up :D

[Tara8430]

Fair enough, I know I'm a bit of a worry wart :) I definitely don't have any issues with him racing around and getting wet (which is the most likely scenario), it just worries me that he might stay that way all day til I get home. I know he takes a long time to dry off too. If he went and stood around outside in the rain first thing in the morning, he'd be wet until I got home at around 5pm.

Brisbane doesn't get super cold, but it can get to the low single digits at times through winter. Unlikely during the day though I guess.

Maybe just a rain coat Aliwake? They are pretty light weight. Would he be happy to wear one?

[aliwake]

That looks very snuggly Sheena!

I'm thinking about getting one of these:

http://www.horseland.com.au/weatherbeeta-rainstop-dog-rug.html

Mainly cos it's on sale, but I think being a straight rainjacket, without any additional warmth or quilting, might be a good compromise. I wouldn't worry about him getting cold if he's dry (or mostly dry). And if he doesn't overheat he might actually be tempted to leave it on. I guess I'll just have to get one and see if he'll leave it alone or not.

[aliwake]

ah, TWTD - we must have posted at the same time!

ETA Re whether he'd be happy to wear one, I'm not really sure. He's fairly placid in a lot of ways, so as long as it doesn't get in the way of him licking his bits he might not have a problem with it? :)

Edited May 8, 2014 by aliwake

[Tara8430]

ah, TWTD - we must have posted at the same time!

ETA Re whether he'd be happy to wear one, I'm not really sure. He's fairly placid in a lot of ways, so as long as it doesn't get in the way of him licking his bits he might not have a problem with it? :)

[Little Gifts]

Do you know anyone who knits? I have a fairly simple pattern that goes up to quite large sizes that I'm happy to share with you. I only ever knit dog coats in 100% wool because it will keep a dog warm even if the knitted coat gets wet. I buy my wool at Spotlight or Lincraft when it is on special so it might take time to knit a big coat but it doesn't have to cost a lot.

There will be a large temperature difference between what Nixon was used to in Cairns and down here in Brisbane but hopefully he will make the adjustment naturally, growing a thicker coat. It doesn't really get cold enough here (I'm Brissy southside) for dog coats on a healthy young lab but I know I have an SBT that has always loved wearing coats in winter and will even crawl under all my blankets to sleep while wearing one. No idea how she doesn't overheat because she is well furred.

Hopefully you will be able to tell by how Nixon is when you get home whether the cold and wet has been too much for him? He'd be all shaky if he had trouble warming back up after getting wet. As long as he has somewhere dry to hide out if it rains then he should be ok.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Little Gifts

[aliwake]

That's a lovely offer thanks little gifts - I can knit but not well enough to actually follow a pattern :) As you say, he shouldn't really need the warmth in Brisbane though.

Nixon has never actually lived in Cairns - that was more just an example as to why I'm clueless about dog coats (because I grew up there)! Nixon has always lived in Brisbane, so his coat is fairly appropriate to the climate I think.

When I get home at the end of a wet day he is usually VERY over excited, but probably not cold cos he tends to race around a lot in the afternoons. Usually after I dry him off and he calms down, he tends to want to wander outside again :) Most of the rainy days we've had so far since we've had him have been over summer though. I just have a feeling we're going to have a few more wet days this winter than we did last year.

[dididog]

To see if Didi would like wearing a coat I just put an old jumper/t shirt on her that wasn't uncomfortable or restricting movement and just left it on her for a few hours while supervised to see how she reacted. Didn't want to buy her coats if she hated it or tried to destroy it straight away!

[JulesP]

That looks very snuggly Sheena!

I'm thinking about getting one of these:

http://www.horseland.com.au/weatherbeeta-rainstop-dog-rug.html

Mainly cos it's on sale, but I think being a straight rainjacket, without any additional warmth or quilting, might be a good compromise. I wouldn't worry about him getting cold if he's dry (or mostly dry). And if he doesn't overheat he might actually be tempted to leave it on. I guess I'll just have to get one and see if he'll leave it alone or not.

The problem with an unlined rug is that they can prevent the animal's own hair acting as insulation due to squashing the hair flat. The hair normally puffs out a bit trapping warm air next to the skin. This can make the animal colder with the rug on.

I would also be looking at a coat with buckles not velcro if I was planning on leaving it on.

[DeltaCharlie]

Probably depends on the dog, Charlie had one with buckles on it and he managed to get them caught on everything! At least the Velcro seems to pull apart if they happen to catch themselves on anything when you aren't there.

I have never personally used a jacket to stop them getting wet all day, only for overnight warmth in the middle of winter. In saying that, we do have cheap waterproof ones we will slip on them for a quick toilet trip before coming back in the house (much easier to dry the feet of 11 dogs, rather than 11 coated dogs!) When mine were left outside though, I figured it was up to them what they did. If they didn't want to get wet, they sought shelter, if they chose to go out in the rain then they obviously weren't too bothered by it or feeling the cold.