[mrssp]

Now that it seems that winter has finally arrived here, I'm interested in any cold weather tips for puppies.

Baxter is almost 8 months old, so this will be our first winter dealing with a dog and the extremely cold weather that we can get here (sometimes down to -45 C with the windchill).

I bought a little sweater for Baxter to wear on the cold days, and had considered buying him some boots to protect the pads on his paws - from the overabundance of salt used here as well as the cold, but my husband seems to think that the dog won't wear them/it isn't necessary. I guess on the really cold days that we can just eliminate the bigger walks, but I still worry about the 5 mins or so that he would spend outside in that kind of temperature, just to pee. In that kind of weather I wonder too if a sweater or coat is necessary for a brief trip outside?

How do you other extremely cold weather folks deal with the salt/cold in the winter? Aside from boots, is there another solution for protecting his feet?

 

[MikaTallulah]

Lucky always wore and boots if he was going to be outside for more than potty time. He lived for the snow. He would put the boots on the porch if they fell off. Plus when he came in most of the snow was stuck to the coat so I did not have remove snow from his whole body only his head and legs. On bitter coat days he wore a coat every just for his 5 minute potty time.

My yorkies wear sweater 24 hrs a day in cool weather with additional coats for outside use. The yorkies love their coats and sweaters.

Buddy, rescue, wears a coat now outside because his has a lot of bald spots from the after affects of flea dermatitis and secondary skin infections. I feel better with him wearing a coat especially since he has no hair on his butt. Buddy tolerates the coat because he loves to be outside.

They need to be trained to not touch it.

 

[Swampcollie]

The coat is unnecessary. Protecting their feet from ice melting chemicals is another story. At minimum I would apply mushers wax. "If" he'll tolerate boots you could try those too.

 

[jpajinag]

We are in Alaska and it gets to -35 F or less at times (wind chills bring it down even more!). Our dogs , even at 4 weeks when we were potty training the litter, have never worn sweaters / jackets. Our 7 lb Maltese will occasionally wear one if he has recently been shaved but that is the only time. On bitter cold days, -25 F or less, we usually just give potty breaks, but Moose who just turned a year on the 14th is happy to play for an hour +. We have never used booties or shoes either but we don't use salt on our driveway because it kills the grass if it melts and drains. Just be sure to watch your pet- each is different. Our dogs tell us when they have had enough. My neighbor across the street just moved here from Georgia and her 2 yr old Golden got a dry cracked nose and paws from 15-30 minutes outside at 30 F- he was not yet accilmated. He would cry everytime he went out. Now a few months later he happliy plays outside at -15/-20F. I would bring shoes, check pads regualryly and limit walks to begin with and watch your pet, you will know.

 

[Deber]

Brrr you make me cold just reading this. Think I will quit whining with our Texas winters. Can't imagine temps that cold.