Chilly Dogs?

[Guest Nuthatch]

Hello all,

I am new to dog owning so a simple question. Apart from an icicle hanging from Sable’s nose, how do I know if she is getting chilly? So far I have been assessing her body temp by testing if she has warm ears and paws.

What does your dog do?

Thanks in advance

[OwnedBySummer]

I go by the ears.

[TheFullHouse]

If mine are really cold they will actually shiver. You can also tell by them curling into a tight ball when lying on their beds. Usually they lay full out but when they get chilly they will curl up tightly.

[Guest mbfilby]

I go by the ears.

 

 

If mine are really cold they will actually shiver. You can also tell by them curling into a tight ball when lying on their beds. Usually they lay full out but when they get chilly they will curl up tightly.

 

 

Also, instead of just taking up most of the bed, when ours are cold they sleep right on top of us. Literally.. I'm serious.. two 75 pound greyhounds pinning you to the mattress, legs numb from lack of circulation, dreaming, twitching, scratchy paws flailing.. I'm switching to chihuahuas..

[silverfish]

Yep, ears and feet feel cold to the touch when they are uncomfortably chilly, and yes, they will curl up in a tight ball.

 

[Guest NJgrey]

If mine are really cold they will actually shiver. You can also tell by them curling into a tight ball when lying on their beds. Usually they lay full out but when they get chilly they will curl up tightly.

 

 

Yup. Just last night Ellie was curled up in a ball on the couch with her nose under her tail. Put a blanket on her and in 10-15 mins she had uncurled and was laying flat out.

 

It's always hard to tell with her since her belly and bald thighs always seem to be warm.

[Guest Energy11]

Ours' ears and feet get cold to the touch, and they curl up VERY tiny when they lie down

 

When it is really cold, **doubt it will be this winter,*** we sometimes let them sleep in their coats. We always have those felt blankets to cover them with, too!

[Guest TeddysMom]

I just figure that if I'm cold so are the dogs. I was nice when we went to sleep last night but in the middle of the night the greys were piled on top of me and each other. I put their housecoats on and they spread out. Mandy actually shivers when she gets cold.

[Guest cyndiandsaoirse]

In addition to shivering and curling, Saoirse's teeth will actually chatter when she's cold. Gets a great reaction from people at the dog park!!! I usually feel her ears- that works too if they are overheated or running a temp.

[GeorgeofNE]

I've actually never seen George act or look cold.

 

Then again, he looks so darn cute in his jammies and coats he might never have had the chance to get cold! I think they're like people and have different tolerance levels. I have a brother who can go out in a blizzard in a t-shirt and down vest. I'm cold almost all of the time. George melts if it's over 70, but seems totally impervious to cold!

[Trihounds]

All of the above - ears, shivering, teeth chatter, curled up while laying down. Bumper is ALWAYS colder than Brucie and gets a coat / jams when Brucie doesn't need either.

[Guest spaztastic_fam]

Derby was restless at night, then I got her a housecoat and she slept through the night. I am she was restless from being cold.

[greysmom]

They will often not settle at night to go to sleep - up and down a lot, restless, acting like they have to go O-U-T but they really don't. A blanket if they lay mostly quietly hen sleeping or jammies for the ones that change positions a lot during the night.

 

My two girls never get cold outside - I wimp out long before they do, even in a pouring rain. One boy, Copper, doesn't get cold but he hates the rain so will almost always want to go inside when he's done his buisiness. Dude does not get cold outside - loves to run around in the deepest snow with no coat! - but is pretty pathetic inside when sleeping. He will usually curl up against one of us before the night is over, even in jammies.

[cleptogrey]

Derby was restless at night, then I got her a housecoat and she slept through the night. I am she was restless from being cold.

 

ditto....i put a light weight coat(tummy warmer) on the pups at night and give each one an old comforter blanket. not a peep since i started blanketing them. we keep our heat down to 57 at night.

 

when walking them i usually don't use a coat yet...maybe a tummy warmer at night but if we are in the sun and moving they seem to be fine. the black(dark) dogs do stay much warmer than the fawns, black asorbs heat!

Edited November 9, 2010 by cleptogrey

[Guest Nuthatch]

Thank you everyone for all your good and useful replies. I don't think my pooch has been cold yet.....better order that fancy coat I saw though.... no, I'm not justifying buying another coat!

[Guest Stripeyfan]

We're waiting for some jammies to arrive for Kelly as he's been waking up early on cold mornings – which is one of the ways we can tell he's chilly! As for buying another coat, having your already gorgeous hound look even more beautiful is the only justification you need.

[Guest Ola]

If we're outside our grey is normally fine as long as he's moving. He will pick up his feet if we're still and he's getting too chilly or on those really really cold Canadian days.

 

In the house he's fine but will be unsettled if he's cold. Obviously we heat the house so it never gets that cold. But one of his dog beds has a flat side and a furry side, so in the winter time I flip it so he's on the furry side (in the summer that's too warm and he pants). At night I cover him up with a fleece blankie. If he shifts around and it falls off he will come stand by the side of our bed and whine in my face till I cover him back up. LOL

[Guest KennelMom]

shivering is a good clue.

 

Ours sleep in tiny balls year round, so that's no clue here....plus I can't ever imagine keeping my house cold enough on the inside that my dog - who has a fur coat on already - would need to wear a coat.

[duncan41]

I ordered tee shirts for this winter for all three, but I'm guessing only one will get much wear. Suze lays on the cold tile 18 hrs a day, Anna chooses her bed but she lays flat out, but Fuzz is my sensitive one who gets chilled easily. I'm guessing she will be thrilled to have a sleep tee this winter! Once they get used to those, I'm going to order coats for our morning and evening walks. Last winter we all froze for the month of record breaking cold (in FL!!!) and I felt very badly about not having coats for them.

 

 

[Mystella]

My Stella looooved to be warm, just like me and would join me in front of the fireplace and loved to snuggle under blankies.

 

Jeffy leaves the room if I put the fireplace on and his favourite place to lay is right in front of the patio door where he can catch the draft. Crazy boy.

[OwnedBySummer]

Yep, ears and feet feel cold to the touch when they are uncomfortably chilly, and yes, they will curl up in a tight ball.

 

 

Wow! That's one heck of a tight ball! I guess Summer hasn't been truly cold yet. She'll curl a bit and bury her nose but nowhere near that tight. And after a bit of that, she'll unfold and stretch out. So I'm guessing it's just one of her sleep positions and has nothing to do with temperature.

[Guest blankdog]

I put a light sweater on Violet every night before bed. We live in a basement so it gets FRIGID.

 

My question is: Do their feet freeze when out on walks? I'm more worried about when the snowy weather gets here. My other dog is a husky mix so naturally I never have to worry about him getting cold. I have several winter coats for her when we go on our walks in the snow but I worry about her legs and feet. Does she need to wear little booties? Do I need to knit her some leg warmers? This will be my first winter with her so i'm a little clueless!

[kolarik1]

Usually if their ears are cold, they're cold around here! Landlord keeps the place @ 72, but these old windows are drafty. So, what I do on the chilly/cold nights is bring all the pups into the bedroom with me and shut the door almost all the way. The radiator warms up the room very nicely and we are all nice & warm for the entire night (I have started bringing a water dish in as well in case any of the pets should get thirsty, but mainly Uno & Mousey drink out of it).

[OwnedBySummer]

I have no intention of buying boots for Summer. I don't think her feet and legs are particularly different from my previous non-grey, although they are most definitely much longer. But that said, she won't be walked on salt. If I was walking her on salted surfaces, I would definitely get boots. Not because she's a greyhound but because walking on salt is awful for a dog.

 

PS Blankdog, is your Violet actually "Jiminy Violet"?

[Guest blankdog]

I have no intention of buying boots for Summer. I don't think her feet and legs are particularly different from my previous non-grey, although they are most definitely much longer. But that said, she won't be walked on salt. If I was walking her on salted surfaces, I would definitely get boots. Not because she's a greyhound but because walking on salt is awful for a dog.

 

PS Blankdog, is your Violet actually "Jiminy Violet"?

 

 

I actually dont know who you mean by Jiminy Violet! Her racing name was "J's Vixen" (she was just called 'vixen') which completely didn't suit her so we now call her violet (taken from violet beauregarde in willy wonka!)

 

I have a pair of boots that I tried to use on my other dog, Pepper. When we first got snow last winter his poor paws started bleeding from all the ice that would get stuck in his pads! He wouldn't have anything to do with the boots though so I have yet to really use them. I might try it with Violet this winter, if she'll put up with them. We do have a lot of people putting salt on their sidewalks so I always make sure to check paws before coming inside on our walks.

So do you think that a thick coat is warm enough for winter? I'm trying to figure out how to crochet a 'snood' to cover her ears and I try to go out during the warmest parts of day but I worry about her bald little thighs freezing up!!