We are due to collect Keely next saturday (10th dec) and i was wondering whether she might need a waterproof/warm coat for being outside in the garden because it'll be december.  I had a couple of coats for Kintra because although she was quite happy in the snow, she wasnt a fan of the rain, and was also your typical heat-seeking gsp!  Plus the fact that we collected her in August when the weather was still quite warm and she had grown and hardened up a little before the cold weather came.

I'm just very aware of the fact that she'll only be 7 weeks old when we get her and it's not only cold but also a really damp climate here. 

The reason i ask is that there doesnt actually seem to be many puppy coats available to buy.  i know that i could buy her a small dog coat but am i being silly and over-cautious?

Thanks for the advice.  It's really for when she's pottering about in the garden more than anything else.  As she wont have had her first injection when we get her she's going to be relegated to the garden for a few weeks.  I'll certainly give masta and equafleece a try.  I'm also learning the sewing machine just now and have some sherpa fleece and windproof/water resistant fabrics left from making Kintra's beds and jackets so might have a go at making a puppy jacket

I'd forgotten about your coat collection  Is Rosa getting any use of Hog's hand-me-downs?

Yes, it can get rather grim here on the west coast  i think the damp atmosphere makes it worse,  i probably wouldnt bother with a coat if it was a nice dry cold climate.  Yup, that's it decided, i'll make a wee coat for her - poor pup, like i said, i'm still learning the sewing machine  

Everbell, that's a great idea! I've got some windproof waterproof microfleece that i was thinking of backing with sherpa fleece.  I was thinking of making velcro panels for the front and underneath to allow a little adjustability but the idea with the ties sounds much easier and it means there wont be exposed velcro for the pup to chew - maybe it was just Kintra but she gravitated towards velcro and had a thing about chewing it

They have all different sizes at cheap costs.  Most of the coats and fleeces I've seen are meant for smaller dogs.  There were plenty that were wayyyy too small for Ryder even at 8 weeks. 

I think you should base whether or not she needs a coat on how she is and how long you are outside.  Ryder is a whimp and would cry any time we went outside, raining or not, until he was 10 weeks old.  He would even cry while he went to the bathroom!  The coats were the only thing that stopped the crying.  It may have been more of a security thing than a warm thing.

As for the potty training with it, I found myself running outside to get him there at first.  So I agree with the previous post about how unrealistic the coat can be for initial potty training. 

I got two different coats for him when I picked him up.  One was just a camo fleece for like $15 at PetSmart and I bought it really big.  It still fits him 20lbs heavier!  I simply rolled up the back and tucked it in. That one was for longer walks because I had to pull it over his head and that just wasn't gonna happen if I didn't want an accident in the house, but it was the warmest one! 

The other one was the best.  It is now too small, but worth it because it fit him from 8 weeks until around 13 weeks.  It was a really warm fleece on the inside, but a water repellant orange material on the outside.  That one had velcro that went around his chest and his neck.  It took two seconds to put on and take off.  It cost me $20 at PetCo and was honestly the best thing I had. 

Now, he only gets the came fleece on if we are going outside for longer than an hour, or if the weather its really raining and he won't stop begging me for a walk.  I'm sure you will figure her out and she'll be fine!

Its so true what you say about becoming a gsp owner.  i grew up with big hairy german sheperds and a labrador. My dad, being a police dog handler, always seemed to think it ridiculous to put a coat on a dog and i suppose i always thought so too. Until we got Kintra! They just have such short coats it just doesnt seem warm enough, there doesnt appear to be that insulating layer of down under their outer wiry hairs like many breeds have.  I'm sure if she had been kennelled outside her coat would have been hardier.

We got Sadie in September, and never used a coat.  As a matter of fact, as she reached 6 months, we got socked with a blizzard.  We couldn't get her inside! She dug  paths all over, and buried herself constantly - she had a BLAST!

Point being, I think GSPs have the blood pressure, and circulation to be warm in about any conditions - provided not too far below freezing (affects the nose...).

I would be interested in pictures of the coats, though  !!

Hogan as a pup in his coats!!

Wet (cool) coat!

Snow coats:

Desperate measures!!

Oh baby Hogan you were a doll!

Bugsy has a ruffwear cloudchaser softshell jacket for nasty days (although he honestly never seems cold )