so, it is supposed to snow quite a bit on thursday, it snows here maybe once a year, and less than an inch total.
This is expected to be more, yayness!!!!
What do i need to look out for with the dogs?
Roxie and Maya have coats, as does the Chi. Bart lost his in the woods, and it was my favorite too, brown and orange courderroy...
anyway, Capone doesn't have one, and he has the shortest hair. I might put Roxie's coat o him.
Do i need boots? This only happens like this once a year, and i don't want to have to wrestle with boots....

after bart lost his coat, i won't let them wear them when we run in the woods anymore, there are just too many thorns they get caught on. Will they all be ok to go out with no coats for a couple of hours in the snow?
Roxie is hairy, so i'm not worried about her. It's mostly capone and bart, who both have little fur cover.

I was in Hendersonville for Christmas and it snowed on the 26th. Then again on New Years day. Illinois was single digit temps with wind chill below zero. Roscoe and RJ were digging it!! Two Florida dogs had no problem at all. Hell, they didn't even want to come inside!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v620/Howard/?action=view&current=SnowyDogs.flv

i think they'll be fine without boots. i use them pretty rarely, teagan doesn't really get cold and putting them on luc is such a pain that....it's gotta be serious for the boots to go on. they've both gone hiking in 6-8 inches of snow and been okay. if it's really wet snow though than ice balls might be more of a problem.

and have fun! i hope it does snow for you

can i hike them without coats?
or rather, should I?

Edited by Mallory Kwiatkowski (01/15/2008 10:05 PM)
Edit reason: i know i can....

Unless your out for hours at a time and there is not a huge temperature drop it wouldn't worry.

As long as the dogs are active, I wouldn't worry. If, as Terra said, you're out for hours and they're standing around more than moving, then the shorter haired pups might feel it (in which case you'd see them obviously chilly - tail between legs, back roached, shivering, sad face - my RR even hackles a little when he's cold, like goosebumps).

The boots thing I would only consider if it were wet, slushy and salty (from rock salt or de-icer) which is really hard on the paws - plain cold and snow shouldn't be a big deal at all. I got Oscar boots for the slushy stuff (all other winter conditions he's fine in) but he HATES them and refuses to walk very far with them on - even when walking without them leaves him limping every other step and whining because his toes are packed with liquid ice! His boots don't see daylight very often... We do have a coat for him which I'll put on if it's below 20 degrees, or really howling with a windchill...

I'd only make a serious effort if you see your dogs obviously not, to coin Howard - "digging" the conditions. I'd wager they'll be OK if you keep them moving and they don't have to be out all day... most dogs I know really love the snow! We just got about 8 inches and Oscar had a grand day out in it - withOUT his coat!

Have fun!!

~Natalya

As evidenced in my sig pics, Cajun LOVED the snow! I never worried much about him, I used paw wax and when it was much below 20 or in the teens he had a coat I made from a torn winter horse blanket I salvaged from the barn. My last winter in Wisconsin, '06/'07 holy moly it was cold! Snow doesn't matter, it's the temperature that is the big deal for short coated dogs. I prefer paw wax to boots most of the time as no matter how many time they had boots on, for the 1st five minutes I have a miniature hackney not a dog.

Oh. Never ever put boots on a cat. Life lesson 7,539.

Don't worry, enjoy the snow while it lasts!

hahaha, also, never take a cat on a leash into petsmart, no matter what you see on their commercials....life lesson no. 9, 472......

well, it is going to snow th. morning, and we will have sleet/ice/freezing rain the rest of the day, and friday too.
That is what we normally have, freezing rain.

mine don't really care if it is cold, it has been 24 degrees before, and i wasn;t paying attention, and heard a crack and a splash, and all 3 dogs had broken through the thin ice and were swimming in the creek.

i haven't seen 8 inches of snow since i was little in ohio, and my family bred and worked samoyeds, who "dug" the snow....mine would LOVE that!!!!!

 Quote: Jennifer Marshal

no matter how many time they had boots on, for the 1st five minutes I have a miniature hackney not a dog.

Ah Jennifer, only a fellow horse woman could make that analogy - but it's right on the money! And you got me... the 'hackney pony bootie-dance' (that's bootie as in 'boot', not bum ) is one of my guilty pleasures. I swear, no matter how many times I see it I STILL bust a gut whenever the boots go on and the high-stepping starts... poor Oscar (the laughing just makes it worse for him - it hurts, ya'know... on the inside...).

~Natalya

Yeah I had a thing for the gaited breeds for a while, Natalya. I had a TWH stud that would rack like a hackney and trot like a QH. He had every gait imaginable, training him was err, fun. It always reminds me of him when I put boots on a dog cause after that initial high stepping action they start trying everything under the sun, even the wet cat paw shake.

Mallory - I take my cat to petstores with just a collar on. He loves it, even meeting dogs. But I sort of train my cats like they are dogs :-p

Have fun in the snow!