Cold paws and ears

[SkellysPet]

Hi everyone, 

Our lovely grey Skelly is around 5 years and we have had her for about 4 months now. She's been doing great but as we came back from her morning walk we noticed her ears and paws are quite cold. It is around 12 degrees celcius in London this morning - should she be wearing a coat? We were under the impression that she only needed a coat if it was under 10 degrees according to some of the other answers we've seen for similar questions on here. 

Any recommendations on whether we should be putting a coat on her? Or any other ideas of what it could be? 

Thanks!

[mansbestfriend]

Hi.  If your dog picked up dampness on her paws and ears at 12°C, they would be cold to touch. A rule-of-thumb I use to put a coat on Max, is 15 Celsius and below, or if he appears to be cold. Cheers.

[greysmom]

If you're going for long extended walks - say, over 60 minutes - or walking a lot on a frozen surface, I would be concerned about getting her some boots.  A snood may also be helpful if it's particularly windy or having frozen precipitation.  But a coat isn't going to help much with either cold feet or cold ears!

It's normal for extremities to become cold as the body reroutes bloodflow to its core, where all the important organs are, in chilly weather.  It also happens after hard exercise unless it's very hot out.

My dogs routinely are outside playing for 20-30 minutes in cold weather - even below 0 C (down to, say, 20 degrees F) - with no coats or anything.  They love playing in snow, and I've had more than one greyhound who simply will refuse to toilet if they have a coat on!!!   

That being said, watch your dog and they will usually tell you when they are uncomfortable, want to stop, or maybe need a covering.  But again, if it's that cold, you don't want to be out for an extended amount of time anyway.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Every dog is different and will respond to the cold differently.

I'm in Ontario and my guys only wear mid-weight /fleece coats when we're walking when the temps drop to freezing.  

They go naked for pee breaks.  Our house is also kept quite cool, especially at night. 

Nigel is 12 and has always been a bit of a wimp, so he wears a light fleece all the time in the cold weather....usually starting around the end of October.   

I figured Kibo, our little Spanish guy, would really feel the cold last year - his first Canadian winter - but he hardly ever wore his fleece.

They do have heavier weight coats but if it's cold enough for them, the ground/road is usually too cold for their feet so we don't walk at all.  They're fine in the snow for short periods of time.

[smurfette]

It depends on the dog. Paddy being the oldest and with some spine issues wears a light coat when it gets cold and damp. Saoirse, too because she going nekkid on her hind legs. She gets cold fast. I don't even know if Abu will need a coat at all. He is super fluffy and still prefers to sleep outside in the wet gras or sand during the day. 

Normally a healthy young greyhound with fur will need a coat around here when the temperatures reach 0°C or it is long walks in the wind and rain (who am I kidding? Long walks in bad weather.... the would let me walk alone  )

[HeyRunDog]

Grace, despite having a thick fleece for winter, a thin white cotton one for keeping cool in summer, a thinner fleece for those in-between days and a raincoat, won't wear one whatever the weather. She prefers to adjust the length of her walk instead

[MerseyGrey]

We are in the north of England. Buddy has frequently worn a coat overnight during the summer as our house is quite cold, but I don’t think it’s cold enough here yet to be wearing a coat while he’s walking. He should be able to generate enough heat during his walk to keep him warm. However if you are very concerned you can try it, and if starts panting soon into his walk, just take his coat off for the rest of the walk. Like us, each dog runs at a different temperature so some might get colder more easily, and some are like those crazy people who wear shorts and t-shirts in January!
This year I have made a coat for Buddy from a very thin fleece to wear during his walks as I think most of the fleeces you can buy for greyhounds are too thick for him when he’s walking, but as I said, it just depends on your dog. He also has a snood or two, but we’ve never considered booties for him - it just doesn’t get that cold here in my opinion.