Take good care of your dog in the cold!

Are you the owner of a puppy or a senior dog?

Then you should be particularly aware that the cold temperatures and the gusty wind could create discomfort for your dog.

You see, our pets do also feel the cold!

Are you in doubt, whether your dog should wear a coat when the temperature drops?

YES, it should.

Our pets are used to being indoors in a lovely heated home. The dog is domesticated and does no longer live outside in natural temperatures. The dog’s fur does therefore no longer function as if it belonged to a wolf, wandering around in the woods!!

The undercoat does seldom develop so that it can keep the dog warm when the cold bites.

Who needs a coat?

If we look solely at different breeds, the flat coated and thinly furred dogs need a coat.

That goes for breeds like Whippets, Beagles, French Bulldogs, and Boxers. Other breeds with no undercoat, such as Poodles, Bichons, Shih Tzus, Yorkshire Terriers etc. also need to wear a coat.

Tiny breeds too – like Chihuahuas, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and Dachshunds need that extra layer to keep them warm.

Senior dogs tend to have osteoarthritis and will benefit from a little extra warmth.

Do you have a puppy; it HAS to wear a coat outside. And if your dog is somehow ill, it too needs to be kept from being cold.

But my dog isn’t cold, is it?

Many clients tell us that it’s not their impression that their dog is cold. Maybe it shivers slightly, but it doesn’t seem cold.

Physiologically a larger animal loses less warmth than the smaller one.

This means that the amount of generated heat the animal produces and the amount it loses is more favourable to the larger animal. Which is why smaller tend to get colder.

If the dog shivers, it suffers from hypothermia. The body gets cold and the muscles tremble to generate heat. This signals to the brains that the dog should look for somewhere warm.

As a dog owner you should always react if your dog begins to shiver.

Denmark and a lot of other countries are both cold and windy. Even though the temperature is not particularly low, a cool gust can be reason enough to bring out your dog coat!

Dressing your dog in a coat when it is cold is by no means the same at dressing it up.

It is a sign of affection and caring for your best friend 🙂