Hey all

How cold is it too cold for dogs? What about wind? Snow? What do y'all use to protect your 4 legged family members when out on walks/any prolonged outside time in the winter? Thanks!

We get a fair amount of cold, snowy weather here in SE Michigan. My winter preparation was buying a 12 by 25 piece of carpet for the basement and cleaning it up so I have a large training area (Shhh...don't tell my husband thats why I sold his couch and loveseat at the last garage sale we had!).

Am not particularly looking forward to having a puppy throughout the winter...makes keeping him busy a cold task!

As far as what is too cold for a dog, I think it is all relative to what they are used to. My older dogs are good for until 10 degrees or so and then they just want to be inside. I just tend to watch their cues and pay close attention their feet to see if they are comfortable walking on the snow.

I have a single-coated dog and I live in Vermont so I have a warm, waterproof coat for my dog to wear in the winter. If it gets down below 0-F or the wind-chills get nasty, I will add a snood so the tips of his cropped ears don't get frostbite. That's really all we've needed, and we are outside in all kinds of weather.

My sister had a GSD that loved being outside no matter how cold it was, and never needed anything special to keep him warm. I think winter management has a lot to do with the dog's natural degree of protection and where you live.

The only other thing I've ever had to worry about was the salt on the roads/sidewalks. I've always used Musher's Secret or Paw Pro and until last year it was enough. My town switched the salt they used and the new salt really bothered my dog so I used boots. They weren't his favorite, but were a good thing to have when his paws were especially irritated.

 Quote: Simon Tai

How cold is it too cold for dogs?

I’m not too sure about dogs but I had my limits pushed in about 6 minutes last night. We'd headed out in what I heard on the news was -17 c. (about 1 F). Bob quickly informed me that our temp. at home had dropped to -21 (about -5 F). On top of that there were howling winds. The news said the chills were -30 c (-22 F).

I don’t know weather I’m getting old or just not climatized to the winter yet this year (this was a freakishly quick cold snap) but I couldn’t take it. My cheeks almost immediately felt like they were on fire and my hands were frozen because of the inappropriate gloves I was wearing.

The dogs seemed happy (for those 5 minutes) so Bob sent me home (gotta love him) and he loaded up the boys (Garrett in tight vest) and took them out to our relatively wooded, sheltered property.

About 15 minutes into the hike, he said Garrett fell down and had his two front paws in the air; he brought him back to the truck. He said Echo lasted about another 10 minutes and then put one paw really tightly into his gloved hand. He knew he was hurting. Vince on the other hand showed no ill effects, but he’s a great pretender.

With Echo and Garrett (two northern dogs) obviously in pain and not enjoying themselves, he loaded them up and just drove around, making short stops for some quick ball tosses. Garrett never left the vehicle.

This particular weather was not fit for man nor domesticated beast. It’s warmed up substantially today (-13 c) and will be -5 and -6 by the weekend. But like others have said, it really all depends on what you’re used to. This was freakishly cold, too soon. The dogs seem to know too and are quite content staying in the house right now.

We’re just going to play mind games tonight. It’s rare we miss a day of hiking but there’s exercising in cold weather and then there’s just plain stupid. We’re gonna be smart parents tonight.

CJ.. I guess this would not be a good time to let you know we had temps in the 70's this week.... very unusual for November in Virginia, but nonetheless - it was kinda warm. (You know me - too warm for ME, but in November, a real treat.)

It did get freakishly cold, all of a sudden here. I was totally unprepared and had to dig out my winter jacket from the back of the closet.
Faroh didn't seem to mind at all, and I had to drag him inside several times, but he's just a silly puppy... and too preoccupied with trying to eat everything that's frozen all of a sudden!

 Quote: CJ Barrett

I’m not too sure about dogs but I had my limits pushed in about 6 minutes last night. We'd headed out in what I heard on the news was -17 c. (about 1 F). Bob quickly informed me that our temp. at home had dropped to -21 (about -5 F). On top of that there were howling winds. The news said the chills were -30 c (-22 F).

I don’t know weather I’m getting old or just not climatized to the winter yet this year (this was a freakishly quick cold snap) but I couldn’t take it. My cheeks almost immediately felt like they were on fire and my hands were frozen because of the inappropriate gloves I was wearing.

Brrr!! I'm freezing just reading that! We had cold hit hard here overnight. We've got upper 20s to low 30s and a biting, driving very strong wind. And I still need to go dig out most of my winter gear

The dogs still want to play outside. It gets down to zero (f) and they want to play outside. The two older dogs just go out and play. I put a coat on the youngster when it gets below 20 as she can't seem to keep any body fat on.

 Quote: Barbara Schuler

CJ.. I guess this would not be a good time to let you know we had temps in the 70's this week....

Barbara, I too sweltered in that almost unbearable heat this summer and was looking forward to cooler temperatures. This is just not nice though. What I would give for your temperatures. We seemed to go from one extreme to the next this year. Totally green with envy.

And yes Phaedra, I pulled out the carhartts last weekend, which generally does the trick. We're a little north of you and this weather hit us hard. An evening walk was just not a good idea. Bob's got the next couple of days off so he'll get them out during the sunlight. And sounds like we're warming up... thank goodness!!

Yeah, proper gear is a must, or forget it! I have this jacket, but in black... I wish I had it in brown!
I actually got in when I lived in Toronto for working with the dogs outside in the winter. They are usually super expensive, but I got it in the film district, at a place that sold strictly supplies for the film industry. They happened to sell these jackets, for all the PA's and crew freezing their asses off all day, for a much cheaper price than the trendy "outdoorsy" stores.

Thanks all for sharing! It helpful to read y'all perspectives and methods on dealing with the cold.