# If you're in a cold state. . . (moved to Basic Care)



## Alley (Jun 2, 2013)

We're expecting snow this weekend and I'm curious -- when it gets really cold my husband says that our GSD pulls to leave his walk and come back into the house.

Surprising to me because I assumed his coat would keep him really comfortable.

Do you do anything special for your dog when you take him on walks and it's really cold and/or snowy outside? Meaning, do you put a coat on him? Or booties? (Don't laugh.)

Alley


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## Wetdog (May 23, 2001)

Mine would scamper around and go through second puppyhood when the wind would be blowing, snow piling up to my waist, and temperatures of 0*F or below.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Delgado loves the cold and it really doesn't seem to affect him. I just keep a eye on him and make sure he takes breaks if he's having too much fun and not self-regulating. I do worry about his paws as I live in a city so I walk him as much as possible on foot paths/trails that aren't heavily salted. He doesn't like boots so I did buy the wax as a backup but so far he's been ok, I just wash his feet when we get back as a precaution


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

The cold has never bothered my dogs when it comes to going for a walk. Wherever the last piles of snow are guarantee you will find one of my dogs laying on top of it. As soon as the temps start to drop it's like Kiya gets a burst of playfulness.


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## AngelaA6 (Jan 20, 2013)

Gunther doesn't like the cold haha he walks funny when there's snow on the ground because its too cold and inside he likes to be under my blankets during the winter. Summer time he LOVES to spend his day laying in the sun.


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## katro (Feb 26, 2013)

Ralphie loves the cold and even more so the snow. The only time he reacts to the weather is when it's summer and really humid out, then he wants to stay inside and/or only walk for a short time. My mom used to put baby socks on our GSD when I was kid; it was one of the most hilarious sights I've ever seen!


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

Gus loves the cold and snow and has from a young puppy to now. I usually have to give him a treat to coerce him into house.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

Mine loves the cold. He's been going in the pool everyday except yesterday. He took to laying in the icy grass. He's not an outside dog.....


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## MyHans-someBoy (Feb 23, 2013)

Right now it is cold and sleeting. When Hans & I went for our first walk of the day this morning, he was super energized and very sure footed. I, on the other hand, was cold, miserable and had to work hard at staying upright. 

He seems to love cold weather and when it snows, runs along scooping up snow in his mouth, tossing his head around. Can't say I'm all THAT thrilled about winter, lol.

In the summer, which I love, he tends to walk around listlessly like he's way too hot to even consider lifting his leg to pee.  
He just wants to get back to the AC.

Call him my Snow Dog!

Our cow dog has a very short coat and is miserable and shivering if it is 45 degrees out. She runs circles around all of us in the summer.

What a household!



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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

My 6 month old and I walked for over an hour at a temp of 4 F yesterday and 12F this morning. No problem. As long as he is moving I think he is fine and like others he loves walks and he loves snow. He has a short shepherd coat and does fine.


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## Msmaria (Mar 2, 2013)

Im not from a cold state and should even feel ashamed that im complaining its cold at 30 degrees :blush: Especially after reading some posts here. 
It was cold to me at 30 degrees last night. I decided to walk Dex at the outside mall and do some window shopping the same time. He wanted to get into the mall's water fountain and chase the water show. But I didnt let him as I thought it would be too cold for him. I guess I was wrong.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

mine forgets what recall means when theres a bunch of snow outside


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Hans got energized when it got really cold.
We moved down here when he was 7 months old.
He has never seen snow and I am very sad about that.


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## MyHans-someBoy (Feb 23, 2013)

Sunflowers said:


> Hans got energized when it got really cold.
> We moved down here when he was 7 months old.
> He has never seen snow and I am very sad about that.


Your Hans should come up and visit my Hans today! There is just something magical that happens to them when there is snow on the ground. We have about 3-4 inches with more coming down. There is no wind (thank goodness) so we actually BOTH had a really good time last we were out.

He just about couldn't figure which direction to zoom in first. 


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Sunflowers said:


> Hans got energized when it got really cold.
> We moved down here when he was 7 months old.
> He has never seen snow and I am very sad about that.


I keep telling you, bring Hans up for a visit and he and Delgado can have an absolute blast in the snow drifts.  Delgado divebombs into ones that are taller then him like a small kid in a leaf pile, it's absolutely hilarious to watch


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Mine love both colder temps and snow. As others have mentioned, they go crazy with excitement, running every which way and begging for someone to throw a snowball or 50. The only prep is for Ranger, being a coatie, we have to trim the longer hair around his toes and use a little mushers secret or the snow may ice up into balls and make things difficult for him. Our two stock coats are fine and need nothing, they'll hang out while I cut wood with temps in the low teens for hours with just an occasional ball thrown to help entertain them.


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## Oliver'smom (Aug 15, 2013)

*We have booties for single digits & a coat for rain*

Our dear departed dog was a shepherd/husky mix loved the cold, but his coat was like a sponge in a rain storm. So on rain walks I put a very light rain coat on him so I didn't have to deal with as big a mess when we got home (shaking water all over and wet dog smell for hours). In a snowstorm, no problem, Utah snow is so light it didn't stick to his coat and he didn't appear to really get cold, in fact I think he finally felt comfortable when it was cold. There are a handful of times a year in Utah when we get single digit day-time high spells and he did use to indicate discomfort while walking when it was that cold- he would pull to go back home. In addition there is the heavy salt/ice melt use here so he had shoes we would use on those days. He didn't really like the shoes much, but it was better than the alternative of freezing toes. I think the concrete is actually colder than walking on the snow. 

Ollie is in his first winter as a pup and so far loves the snow and his coat sheds rain better (although he will still have a rain coat when he stops growing). We are having one of our super cold spells and I've notice on our early morning walks, it seems like his feet at uncomfortable with how cold it is so I might have to break out the shoes for him. 

People might scoff at coats and shoes, but my dog gets walked 2x a day rain, shine, or blizzard. Sometimes it is later at night or early in the morning but the walks happen every day. If the coat keeps my cleaning down and the shoes make them comfortable then so be it. 

We also have a glow doggie collar for walking in the dark and I wear a headlamp so my neighbors likely think we are a hilarious pair.


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## argonne (Nov 16, 2012)

boomer11 said:


> mine forgets what recall means when theres a bunch of snow outside


Yea, ours too. One danger when there is a lot of snow on the ground and temps or wind chill are below zero is that there's a real chance of the dogs going too far out and being immobilized by the cold before they can return. They also seem to get a bit disoriented by high winds and go further than usual, so we keep a close eye on them and recall before they get too far out or out of hearing range if into the wind.

In preparation for an immobilized dog, we have a "dog rescue sled" under the porch ready to go, a big orange plastic stretcher/sled that either my wife or I could dump a dog into and run for the house pulling it by the attached rope. There is no way either of us could carry either of the dogs in snow, much less a blizzard. We also make sure that WE are dressed appropriately for a dog rescue when we take them out. You won't be doing your dog any good if you die out there with him.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

MyHans-someBoy said:


> Your Hans should come up and visit my Hans today! There is just something magical that happens to them when there is snow on the ground. We have about 3-4 inches with more coming down. There is no wind (thank goodness) so we actually BOTH had a really good time last we were out.
> 
> He just about couldn't figure which direction to zoom in first.
> 
> ...


That would be so much fun. Especially if one of us called our dog, LOL


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Shade said:


> I keep telling you, bring Hans up for a visit and he and Delgado can have an absolute blast in the snow drifts.  Delgado divebombs into ones that are taller then him like a small kid in a leaf pile, it's absolutely hilarious to watch


I have several people in Canada who I would love to visit! 
I have fond memories of renting a cottage near where you are. We spent a week at White Lake and had a blast catching pike!


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## argonne (Nov 16, 2012)

Here is a pic of the field next to our house last year where we walk the boyz. That drift is about 4 1/2 feet deep. Seems every dog turns into a schutzhund when you have a heavy coat on and there's a snowdrift to knock you into.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)




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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

http://[URL=http://s881.photobucket.com/user/nigel171/media/image_zps3a7d9e55.jpg.html][/URL]

http://[URL=http://s881.photobucket.com/user/nigel171/media/image_zps6edff586.jpg.html][/URL]

Last years fun, outside of a couple light snow days, we are frigid cold and pretty much snowless.


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## gsdlover91 (Jul 21, 2012)

Ha....I *wish* my dog pulled to come in! Its a brisk 14 degrees right now, and he gets all hyper and could stay out there forever (me on the other hand, I don't last 5 minutes.) No jacket, no boots!


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## argonne (Nov 16, 2012)

Beautiful Nigel, just beautiful. They're having a blast!


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## BahCan (May 29, 2010)

My dog loves the snow, we had a blizzard earlier this week so there are some huge snow drifts.

However, the current temperature is Minus -25 C with a wind chill in the Minus -40's so she only wants to go out and right back in...lol


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## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

Mine loves cold weather and is crazy about snow as well. A few weeks ago it was chilly and misting and when we ran past our house he tried to drag me inside so I took him home and finished my run alone.

I don't do coats or shoes and we will spend hours hiking in the winter or playing in the snow. When we are playing in snow I will occasionally (after an hour of snow hiking/play) check his feet to make sure snow isn't getting packed in there. I have dog boots that I got thinking I could use to protect his feet from the salt on sidewalks or give him traction when we get a few inches of ice. I have used them for the ice but usually for the salt I just wash/wipe his feet off when we get home.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

mine doesn't mine a walk in the snow, windy weather, rain, thunder, etc.
i don't like inclimate weather but my dog doesn't seem to mine.


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## AKIRA3 (Jul 17, 2013)

Sleet, and ice here.
We can't tell whether or not she likes the cold.
She fractured her paw last wed. And is hopping around on 3 legs now, and for the next 6 weeks.
She doesn't like going outside now because of the plastic boot 
She has to wear to keep out the moisture.


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