all the reading i've done suggests that little dogs get cold far easier than medium-large dogs, and that jackets are basically a must have for the winter months in places like canada, if you're going to be out and about with your dog for more than quick trips out into the yard.

neb stopped growing several months ago - he's 17-18lbs. he's coming up on 8 months this friday , and i assume he will not be growing any more.

i'm thinking his dad was a JRT. he is definitely part-husky on his mom's side. he has a decently thick coat. despite being part-husky, toby thinks he will get cold like small dogs do anyways (he said something about surface size relative to something or other).

does anyone have any experience with this? i discovered last november luc does poorly in the cold in relatively mild temperatures in early/mid-november. i'd prefer not to have to watch neb shiver etc. is there anything else i can watch for? he's been fine outside playing in the yard and on walks (still short due to his age and are on pavement), but i do take him hiking on longer hikes sometimes and i don't want him freezing his butt off. we'll also be back at FR training in the new year and there will be some on-field training in the cold (was out there in snow last march before i got neb). should i assume little=will be cold, or will his husky genes kick in?

Does he have that super soft super thick husky undercoat? it takes some real effort to actually be able to get to Yote's skin under all his hair. If so he probably will do fine being outside for normal periods of time.

I know that my huskies live for cold weather, will literally tunnel and sleep in snow even as a pup, Yote has a little bit of something else but his husky genes overide whatever it is when it comes to coat and weather preference
When the weather is above about 70F or so he can overheat if I don't watch it.
But then again being little I don't know, I've never had a dog smaller than 50lbs lol.

I have a coat for my hound because he shivers like crazy in anything below about 40 and just doesn't have any real bulk to his coat at all.

thanks jennifer!

i didn't know huskies have a super soft undercoat....i'm going to go with no. he's got thick fur, but i haven't noticed an undercoat of a different texture.

neb's size, or lack thereof, was a surprise for me, but i was just looking back on his 6-week old pics, and what a complete midget he was then (he's grown so much, my sweet little guy), so it does kind of make sense.

so far, he seems fine, but i want to be prepared, also i suspect (based on how he responded to his little pack) that he might try to eat a coat (he ate his (well, my) whistle last night too....apparently he doesn't like the come command, heh), so unlike luc who i just threw clothing on, i think he may need to be socialized to it.

luc has a couple of coats, b/c he's so cold intolerant. teagan holds up the GSD cold tolerance better, but she does have the long coat. her hips get creaky in -30C, but i think that's only to be expected.

I tried a quilted type jacket for Loki but he hated it with a passion and would just rub around on the ground and moan when we put it on. SO I got him a neoprene hunting dog vest instead and it seems to work better and doesn't freak him out so bad.

But our winters are nothing compared to yours so I don't know if that would be sufficient even with is longer hair, Loki's is almost like a greyhound coat.

We always joke about how nice a sweater made with husky undercoat yarn would be..
honestly it is the most interesting fur I have ever seen on a dog. The way it sheds dirt, dries in no time at all and is just SO thick!

But the climate that the dogs are made to thrive in requires some pretty serious insulation and ability to stay dry.

They have a super thick downy soft undercoat that insulates and also comes out twice a year in ridiculous head spinning amounts and then a longer slightly coarser but still soft outer coat.

Jennifer,
I just ordered a coat for my PitBull who has no body fat and very, very short coat/hair. I order on from a company called Foggy Mountain Dog Coats...they are made like horse coats. I have a ton of those things for my horse!! Dogs are much cheaper, but not cheap by any means. I ordered a Denier nylon coat with polyfill and a fleece lining. It buckles in the front and has two straps that cross under the belly.
I'll let you know how it fits when it arrives.
I had one last year from RuffWear, real nice jacket, but she has filled out and it is much too tight around her neck.

Right now she is roasting in front of the woodstove with a bullystick. That stove really mellows her out....Shhhhhh....let resting dogs lie...she is usually a maniac...LOL

Linda

thanks linda! how big is your pitbull? i see coats in the petstore for little dogs but aren't hugely impressed with the designs.

lack of body fat is why luc gets cold too. he has a ruffwear jacket, which i like, and i got him a combo coat from katahdin mushing supplies on the advice of a board member (lynn cheffins) - we haven't had to use it yet, but i'm really impressed with it. unfortunately, they don't make coats small enough for neb.

i should probably just start him with a coat then, eh? it won't hurt, i guess, i was just being cheap about whether or not i needed to get one.

Hi Jen,
check out the site on the net. they make coats for tiny dogs up to Great Danes. As you would imagine, its ordered by measuring from the base of the neck to the base of the tail.
My girl is 50#. I will let you know how it fits when i receive it. should be coming this week.
I know, I dilly dally sometimes for days before deciding to just place the order. We've had a real cold snap, and I know she was feeling it.
The company I mentioned also makes some cozy fleece coats also. They were ordered from a company called Truefitdogcoats. lots of pictures and colors to choose from if your interested.

linda

The smaller something is, the faster it loses heat. It has a poor surface area: volume ratio. The larger something gets, the higher its volume: surface area is.

But Toronto doesn't even get cold!

Lynch is JRT/Border Collie. He's around 35 lbs. A dog from the next litter we saw at the breeder's farm was JRT size. On topic though, we aren't quite sure how he'll be with the cold, but he should be as good as the larger Shabbado we think. She has a tight coat but is fine outdoors at -30 for a couple of hours even. Lynch has a rough coat. We haven't considered coats, but might try some booties for Lynch. Shabbado we're lucky if we can get paw wax on her feet.

 Quote: Ron Eunson

But Toronto doesn't even get cold!

LOL! i do take them up north though.

luc wears his coat in anything below -10to-15Cish. he's okay as long as we're moving in temps above that.

i'm assuming the biggest low we'll have to deal with in t.o. or hiking around s. ontario is going to be around -15C, possibly -20C if there's a cold snap. it's for taking them north that i'm worried about, for hiking/snowshoeing/backpacking, if i should assume neb will be affected b/c he's small, and how badly will he be affected.

is it a bad idea to take a small dog backpacking in an area that could get down to -20to-30C at night, or below? especially once we're stopped, in the late afternoons and evening. i may not take neb on any overnight trips this year, just so i can see how he does w/cold temps during the day. i guess i'm just going to have to see how he handles the cold on day trips. since he doesn't have the husky undercoat though, i'm thinking i should assume he's going to be cold in the small dog tradition.