No Coat Or Blanket For This Boy

[Guest ms3569]

I've had my greyhound for about 2 months. We live in Northeastern PA very cold and snowy currently. My dog won't let you get near him with his coat or a blanket. He also doesn't like anything going over his head. I bought him a new fleece coat that Velcro's at chest and belly. One side in a blue and black checked the other side is solid black. I've let him sleep on his coat. It's very soft all tags have been cut out. When he sees me coming with his coat he runs away from me. He doesn't like a blanket over him either. I have been trying to wipe his back with a wash cloth and have now moved up to a kitchen towel and he will let me. Any suggestions for helping us with a coat?

[Walliered]

Guess he doesn't want it. Take it back and get a refund.

[Potomacpupsmom]

Is he food motivated? Maybe if you give him a treat when you put it on him he will begin to associate it with a pleasant experience.

[PatricksMom]

Can you show him other greyhounds wearing coats? I've had that work.

[macoduck]

Could be static electricity in the coat.

I've had some dogs who liked their coat but never loved it. And I've had some that no matter how cold or snowy, they'd refuse to wear a coat.

My most stubborn old boys who needed a coat refused fleece but did like their flannel coats from Houndtime.

[Houndtime]

Paul would wear a coat outside, but after a while stopped wearing a housecoat. If I put it on him, he would just stand up and not lay down. The others always line up at bed time to get a housecoat. They just have their difference attitudes.

[Fruitycake]

Does he seem cold, or do you think he should be cold? If he doesn't seem to mind the temperature when he goes outside, he might just not need it. I know that my Monty is a "chillbug" and he is like a thermometer for when the house is too cold (most of the winter - we keep the house at 63 in the daytime and 58 at night) and I can tell by how he is curled up on his bed. He doesn't care for the static, but he seems to understand when he wears his housecoat he doesn't get as cold, so I make sure to dry his jackets with fabric softener sheets, but do not fully dry them in the drier - let them air dry the last bit - and will rub fabric softener sheets on his jacket if it looks staticky. Using something other than fleece, which I swear was made specifically to be staticky, might help.

 

If he's going for a quick out to potty, he may not need a jacket at all. If you, like us, have to walk, you can watch him for signs that he's getting cold and figure out how long it works for him to be without a coat. Some dogs just run warm, and don't mind the cold though we would think they'd be icicles!

 

Does he respond negatively to the sound of the velcro? Some noises can put dogs on edge, and I would think that something like that, so close to their ears, might be extra troublesome to them. If you have the jacket with you, and fastened, when you're sitting at the couch or something and he's just hanging out, how does he react when you tear apart the velcro? If he reacts negatively, that may be part of the problem. You could try to desensitize him to the sound by tearing it open partially and then treating him, then letting him relax and tearing it a bit, then treating him....

 

I have to admit that it took Monty months to get comfortable going potty when wearing his jacket. I don't know if he thought he wasn't supposed to or what...but he also seemed to think that he wasn't supposed to when he was on a leash at all when we first got him, so there's that. He was a serious work in progress for a long time for a household with no fenced yard! Sometimes that first winter we would go out for walks with the jacket and then come in and go back out and come back in with nothing produced...and eventually take the jacket off and he'd go potty for us. That was a brutal winter for all of us.

 

Good luck!

[Guest ms3569]

Fruitycake

Thanks for your ideas. My dogs ears will be cold when he comes in but I have never seen him shivering. I think when it's 20 degrees and I'm cold outside with a coat on that he would be cold also, but he may not be cold. He goes out to the bathroom and returns very quickly. I would like to walk him on days that it's a little warmer but don't really know how to tell if he's cold. He will sleep on his coat and doesn't seem to mind the noise of the Velcro. What he seems most afraid of is when you lay the coat on his back. I have been working with him gently wiping his back with hand towels and kitchen towels to try to get him used to some thing on his back. This hasn't seemed to help.

[Hubcitypam]

If it is in the twenties and he is just going out to potty he probably doesn't need a coat. I really do think "if you need a coat your dog does too" is highly overrated but people preach it over and over. While your dog may not have a lush kennel fur coat anymore odds are good he grew up outside in Oklahoma or Kansas outside 24/7 with his littermates and a communal dog house. In the snow.

None of mine have ever liked coats even in the snow - and it gets to single digits fairly often in West Texas - and occasionally below zero. The only coat several of them tolerated was a version of a horse blanket with string ties instead of Velcro.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Hubcitypam

[sobesmom]

I live in north-central PA. 4 miles from the NY border, So - very close to the same temps as you, ms3569. I assume you have a fenced yard for your dog to do it's business? I do. My current grey is 10 years old and I've had her since she was 2. You can't put a coat on her. She HATES it. She goes out, does her business and comes in. On a "decent" day we'll go for a walk, but not too far because she gets cold. No coat, ever. It's just not worth it. She won't tolerate it, and it's not necessary. We do let her play in the house, throwing stuffies to get some of the "cabin fever" out. My first grey, Sobe, loved the cold, and would wear a coat, or not, and be out forever in the cold.

 

Every dog is different. I've had 14 fosters through my house. Some wore coats, some never did. Some went for long walks in the winter, some only left the house to potty. They all were fine.

 

Coats are fine, but I don't believe they're the "necessity" I once thought they were. If the dogs is doing what he needs to do and doesn't want the coat - why bother?

[Guest ms3569]

Sobesmom thanks for your reassurance that he's fine. I do have a fenced yard and he will go out to do his business and come right in. I do walk him when it's warmer. I don't wear gloves and when my hands are cold we go home. I don't know how to tell if he's cold other than by feeling his ears. I've never seen him shiver. Thanks for telling me the coats are not a necessity. This is my first Greyhound and the rescue group told me he had to have a jacket if he went out longer than to do his business. It's good to know your dogs were fine even if they didn't wear a coat.

[greysandmollie]

Ditto that...my current greyhound does not like coats and looks in pain if you put one on...he doesn't wear one. He is fine.

[GeorgeofNE]

If you really want him to wear it, put his leash on, make him stand still, and put it on.

 

He's not going to run away from home if you apply some tough love!

[DonnaBehr]

My dogs hate their coats and since I don't walk them in this weather (I too am in PA) and only let them out back to do their business, I don't bother putting coats on them. It doesn't seem to faze them and if it's really cold, they just do their business quicker and come back to the door to be let in. If they decide to run around, it warms them up.

[Guest ms3569]

GeorgeofNE please tell me how you make them stand still? I know my dog needs tough love. He came to us with the habit of crying like we were killing him if you make him put his Martingale collar on, put a coat on or pretty much did anything he didn't want to do. He also will run away from us if he doesn't want to do something. He had a rash on his leg when we put the prescribed ointment on his leg initially he was fine after a few days he would cry or run from us. This rash was not open or draining so I don't think the ointment was causing him pain. Everyone has told us to be patient and we have been, but I also don't want to be feeding into these behaviors.

[Guest Amber]

As long as the temp isn't extreme, like sub zero celsius, and you walk at a good pace he's probably fine going walkies without a coat.

 

if it's -3 c then maybe not, but you wouldn't want to walk far in those temps either (well, i wouldn't! )

[Susanval]

I live in Hartford, CT and Edge hates his coat. I take him out when its 20 degrees and he's panting!! The few times I've put it on him he's so itchy he rubs against me and we can't even walk properly. Can't put blankets on him either. I figure I just have a "hot" hound!

[krissn333]

GeorgeofNE please tell me how you make them stand still? I know my dog needs tough love. He came to us with the habit of crying like we were killing him if you make him put his Martingale collar on, put a coat on or pretty much did anything he didn't want to do. He also will run away from us if he doesn't want to do something. He had a rash on hisg when we put the prescribed ointment on his leg initially he was fine after a few days he would cry or run from us. This rash was not open or draining so I don't think the ointment was causing him pain. Everyone has told us to be patient and we have been, but I also don't want to be feeding into these behaviors.

She means if you have his leash and collar on, just hang onto him and make him stand there while you put his coat on.

 

A greyhound that doesn't like his/her coat is an odd thought to me - I've had 7 greyhounds and 2 Italian greyhounds and they all will happily stand still to have their coats or jammies put on. Several of the greyhounds will shove their neck into the hole because they're so excited

 

That said, mine don't suit up just to go out to potty. They just run out and go and come back in. They really only wear their coats if we're going somewhere in the car when it's cold. They do wear pajamas in the house when it's chilly.

[Hubcitypam]

 

 

A greyhound that doesn't like his/her coat is an odd thought to me - I've had 7 greyhounds and 2 Italian greyhounds and they all will happily stand still to have their coats or jammies put on. Several of the greyhounds will shove their neck into the hole because they're so excited ... That said, mine don't suit up just to go out to potty. They just run out and go and come back in. They really only wear their coats if we're going somewhere in the car when it's cold.

 

Well you just explained why they get so excited to see their coats - coats = go for ride!

[silverfish]

Fruitycake

Thanks for your ideas. My dogs ears will be cold when he comes in but I have never seen him shivering. I think when it's 20 degrees and I'm cold outside with a coat on that he would be cold also, but he may not be cold. He goes out to the bathroom and returns very quickly. I would like to walk him on days that it's a little warmer but don't really know how to tell if he's cold.

 

Usually, the way to tell if they're cold is to feel just inside the ear. It should be warm. If it feels cold to the touch, the dog is cold. They will usually also shiver.

 

Sounds like Sid. Sid runs away from coats, and won't wear pyjamas or have a blanket over him. To be fair, he does have a very thick, fluffy coat for a greyhound and he never shivers, so we assume he doesn't need it. If it's literally blowing a gale and it's snowing, he'll let me put a light coat on him. Otherwise, he'd rather stay home than walk in a coat.

 

[RedHead]

I never ever put a coat on for potty trips to the backyard. We've even had a few days close to -40 and he still just runs out, pees, and if he is cold comes right back in. I do put coats on for our daily walks, but if it is around the freezing mark mine starts panting and I have to take it off. Your dog would have worn a racing bib all the time if he raced, but sometimes objects going over their backs can seem threatening or scary.

[sobesmom]

Sobesmom thanks for your reassurance that he's fine. I do have a fenced yard and he will go out to do his business and come right in. I do walk him when it's warmer. I don't wear gloves and when my hands are cold we go home. I don't know how to tell if he's cold other than by feeling his ears. I've never seen him shiver. Thanks for telling me the coats are not a necessity. This is my first Greyhound and the rescue group told me he had to have a jacket if he went out longer than to do his business. It's good to know your dogs were fine even if they didn't wear a coat.

You'll find that there are lots of things in "the books" that are more helpful suggestions than rules. I think you have a good rule of thumb with your hands as a guide. Your dog WILL shiver if he's cold, or try to get you to go home. Trust your instincts, and observation.

[Guest karab21]

Could it be he doesn't like the snow and associates the coat with going out in it? Rather than not liking the coat itself? My Desmond loves his coat when it's cold in the fall or spring...but since it has been so snowy this winter (and last) when I pull it off the coat hook he runs away from me. He plain does not want to go outside and wade through the snow. Since I do not have a yard and we have to walk, I do make him wear it (especially since the snow is deep enough to go past his belly that has very little fur - and our sidewalks by my condo complex are plowed sporadically at best). I put the leash on first - the leash always means business for him.

 

If you do think it's a snow issue, rather than the coat, I've found having him wear Pawz booties helps a little bit. He still runs away from the coat (lol) but walks a little better in the snow.

[Guest greytone]

My Freddie was kind of difficult too. He hated wearing a coat as well. I could put one on him but he would never go outside and go potty.

[cleptogrey]

this is the type they wear at the track- simple plastic clip to keep it closed,(the old coat has the tie belt, the newer model came w/ a clip) water replant/wind proof and durable http://www.halemar.com/Winter-Fall-Lined-Coat-107.htm

no static what so ever- i would return the other coat.

 

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Winter/Fall Lined Coat

Slips on over the head and attaches with an adjustable plastic buckle strap. Lined with a warm fleece. Machine washable gentle cycle. Measure pet across its body from above the front leg at the chest along the side to the base of the tail. For dogs measuring 30"-33" order medium, 33"-36" order large.

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