mjbuck
Hancock, MI
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Posts:144
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| 09/18/2012 1:49 PM |
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At what temperature does your dog show signs that it is cold, which for my dog is slight to moderate shivering? The temp on this morning's 7:30am walk was a very damp 34 degrees. Sadie, my 27-month old GSP, got outside and immediately began to shiver. It was nothing that she was excited about and once we began to run and play, it went away. My dog spends most of her time inside and I am suprised how often the shivering plays out in the cooler times of the year. In the winter she wears a coat that helps. |
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smatulewicz
Michigan
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Posts:1217
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| 09/18/2012 1:58 PM |
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Bella gets cold very easily. Usually she shows signs more so when she has slowed down enough to notice that she is cold. We went to the beach on a 60 degree day last week and she was fine and enjoyed the water, but she shivered the whole way home (she is used to being wet and drying right away in 70 - 80 degree weather).
I'm also very cold right now in a very mild 55-60 degrees. I guess we will both have to readjust for what's to come  |
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gsplover
Houston, Tx.
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Posts:382
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| 09/18/2012 3:56 PM |
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| Being in Houston, the cold factor doesn't happen often, however, this also means that it takes very little for mine to get cold, as they are used to being hot. If they get a bath and I bring them in, they shiver. If they drink water that is too cold from the tap they shiver. When I used to go to the dog park and I showered them there, they shivered on the way home in the car. Once, I accidentally bathed them and made the mistake of putting them in their kennels before they were COMPLETELY dry....they were dry, but still had a few damp spots....I looked and they were both sleeping, but shivering in their sleep. I woke them up and sent them outside for a run! A quick run outside usually warms them up. I don't think mine would survive up north! But I sure wish I could give it a try! I would love to live someplace where I could run them 24/7/365!! |
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"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
-- Unknown |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7929
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| 09/18/2012 6:12 PM |
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| Mine don't seem to be bothered by heat or cold, they stay outside allot during the day so they acclimate pretty well. I do that so they aren't't as stressed by weather when they run in hunt tests. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
   
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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smatulewicz
Michigan
MH
Posts:1217
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| 09/18/2012 8:17 PM |
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@gsplover... there are days up here (mjbuck may be able to say the same...maybe they are braver than Bella and me lol) that neither of us dare go outside. It's a trade off. I grew up in the deep south, so I traded the super hot days that you simply can't go out or get anything done for the super frigid days that you simply can't go out and get anything done Not to mention no more tornadoes for snowstorms. I do, agree with you too, that if they are used to being one temp, it is harder to be the other and takes some getting used to. Bella probably lost 5 pounds from panting when we visited Georgia lol.
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gsplover
Houston, Tx.
MH
Posts:382
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| 09/18/2012 10:21 PM |
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@smatulewicz, Yes, I guess I can see that there would be days that are too cold to go outside. We lived in Denver for about 6 years, and while most of the frigid temps occurred at night, there were a few occasions that high snow and ice made doing anything in the city, much less the mountains, treturous! I guess I forgot about that because it's so hot here now....urghhh! Lol, regarding the losing 5 pounds panting!! Mine seem to lose 5 pounds after 5 minutes of shivering! We can go from no ribs to, ribs in a very short amount of time. I guess it's the pup metabolism..... aww but to have the metabolism of a GSP!!  |
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"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
-- Unknown |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:3155
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| 09/19/2012 8:59 AM |
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| just walking out on a cold day doesn't make mine shiver... they have to be out in the cold for a bit to make them shiver... I know we were fall camping a year or two ago and they had been outside all day and it was a nice warm sunny fall day... when the sun went down and they were still out they started with shivers... we bought them jackets for when that happens... but they don't use them when at home in the winter... |
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tido12300
Posts:17
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| 09/19/2012 9:12 AM |
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| I don't want to hijack this topic, but since we are already talking about it, I thought I would ask. So we got Oakley in the middle of June and she stays in an outdoor dog run (13X10 feet) that goes outside and also has a doggie door that goes into our garage into another dog run (6X4 ft) in our garage. I am kinda nervous however for this winter here in Utah where the temperature can get very very cold and she hasn't experienced the cold yet. It will be interesting to see how she handles it, hopefully she can snuggle up with our other dog and that will keep them warm enough. Does anyone else leave their dogs outside in a dog run while you are gone, and if so, how do they do? Or does everyone pretty much have inside dogs???? |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7929
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| 09/19/2012 5:04 PM |
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| I work from home, but mine stay outside most of the day unless the weather is extreme. I live in TX so the temps don't usually get below freezing much during the day. We also don't get snow very often. We do get the heat though and mine do stay out in the heat, but have a dog pool, a covered patio with fan, and a kennel where they can stay cooler. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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kpwlee
Raleigh, NC
MH
Posts:1019
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| 09/19/2012 6:39 PM |
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I live in a pretty mild climate - very hot and humid in the summer but never super cold for long during the winter.
Bugsy has a very short single coat (he's a mix) and I have NEVER seen him cold. In the winter he will snuggle in a fleece blanket but even though we rarely run heating at night he has never seemed cold and is never still in the blankets when he wakes up.
Outside we've been in some horrid weather - nasty sleet, super windy and below 10*F, downright nasty cold rain and he has never indicated he was cold. I have to drag his big old butt in when we have snow.
Admittedly he doesn't stay outside for hours doing nothing though and having lived in northern climates our few days of nasty weather is nothing like the day in day out frigid cold of the northern areas.
I wouldn't expect my dog to stay out in that all day long
He does not do the heat well.
My sister in outside of NYC has a female viszla that is terrible in the cold, she likes snow but shivers pretty quickly when out in it. |
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It's Bugsy's world...
http://dailyzoomie.blogspot.com/ |
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smatulewicz
Michigan
MH
Posts:1217
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| 09/19/2012 6:50 PM |
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| To be fair... Bella was only a puppy last year so I shouldn't make her sound like too big of a sissy until she gets to acclimate to her first winter as a big girl She may just end up like me though, a total blanket hog (which I'm gonna air on that side of things) |
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everbell
Kanata, ON
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Posts:3180
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| 09/20/2012 3:48 AM |
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Bo's first winter he seemed to feel everything. Now, we only put coats on them in the deep of winter when we are walking them (since I don't walk fast enough for them to stay warm). If they are running with my husband or running off-leash they are fine. When it gets super-cold (-15C or more) none of us are really eager to go out
I don't know how cold it gets in Utah, but I know where I live (Ontario) I simply couldn't leave the dogs out in the winter for an extended period of time. They just don't have a thick or warm eough coat, IMO. |
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Joce and Rich
Bogart and Shiraz (GSPs)
Roxane (RIP: 1995-2009) and Tiger Lily (Cats)
The Everbell Adventures |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:3155
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| 09/20/2012 6:52 AM |
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| I do think that the dogs could be fine being left out in the winter since they can go into the garage... however I would provide some blankets that they can fluff up and snuggle into... also I know they make special dog beds with heat in them so you could consider using one of those... you could put it on a timer too so that it isn't heating the entire time you are gone... another idea would be they make fake electric wood stoves and you could plug one of those in the garage too... |
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trasmuson3
Posts:7
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tido12300
Posts:17
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| 09/20/2012 8:22 AM |
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| It's not quite as bad as it sounds, salt lake city gets cold but usually not to cold to handle. Obviously there are those handful of days that get that way. What I'm planning on doing though, is we have one of those igloo's that I am going to put in the dog run inside the garage and stuff it with blankets, and I think that she be plenty warm with them both snuggling up in there together with their body heat. Also, last year we would plug one of those space heaters up in the Garage and let it blow heat on him tO keep him warm too, so if they're still cold than we'll resort to that. |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7929
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| 09/20/2012 10:02 PM |
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| You might want to try hay in the igloo. Hay really works well as an insulation. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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tgatto
Lake in the Hills, IL
MH
Posts:420
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| 09/21/2012 10:02 AM |
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The only time Sadie gets cold is when swimming in colder water (around now... in Northern Illinois/Michigan). When she was about 4 - 5 months old, we had a blizzard, and plummeting temperatures. We got over a foot of snow in a little over an hour (it seemed), and we couldn't get her inside - she was loving it! Here are some pics:
In the above picture, our fence is a 6' fence, and our deck for our pool is about 4 foot at the stairs (so we had some serious drifts...).
I do think a lot has to do with how active they are. Sadie is very fit, and I think she can stay pretty warm if she keeps her heart rate up (as was the case in early 2011). I don't think I saw her shiver at all during that time. She is also good when hunting (my avatar is her during a hunt in March of 2012, when we had a cold snap, and good amount of snow). She did slow down from jumping through the cover and snow, but I do not think I saw her shiver then at all either. |
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It is watching the dogs work that I thoroughly enjoy, and love. I could get by with just watching them work - if it weren't for all the training, and the joy they exhibit when they pick-up, and deilver to hand a bird that they pointed, and you shot. - Todd |
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mjbuck
Hancock, MI
MH
Posts:144
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| 09/21/2012 11:28 AM |
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| I'm the person that posted this asking the question. Thank you all for your replies. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish shivering from being cold or excited. My dog is especially hard to read. Once she begins to run around, she never shows signs of being cold in any kind of weather. Living in the northern most part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we get long cold winters and an average of 220 inches of snow per year. She loves the snow and has a winter coat for the cold, cold days. She just doesn't seem to handle it well until she gets moving a bit, then it is all fun, snow and cold or not. |
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tgatto
Lake in the Hills, IL
MH
Posts:420
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| 09/21/2012 11:32 AM |
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| In general, I try not to work the dog outside (any more than just bathroom breaks) below 0 Fahrenheit (including wind-chill). That's usually the point that you can feel the ice building-up in your nose when you breathe. I do not know if that is actually based in any fact, or study, but I just figure if my short-nose is freezing, then the short-haired long-nose must be freezing, and that can't be good... |
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It is watching the dogs work that I thoroughly enjoy, and love. I could get by with just watching them work - if it weren't for all the training, and the joy they exhibit when they pick-up, and deilver to hand a bird that they pointed, and you shot. - Todd |
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smatulewicz
Michigan
MH
Posts:1217
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| 09/21/2012 10:11 PM |
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Mjbuck, that's why I mentioned Bella showing signs more once she "slows down enough to notice". We simply don't do much of anything on the exceptionally frigid days 0 to -20+ with the windchilld. Neither of us have any desire to do so lol. I think what you are seeing in Sadie is normal. Bella, too, is prone to shivers of excitement, focus, or overstimulation. I think most GPSs are.
We were talking just tonight (since the word sleet is already being thrown out there for upcoming days) about how we think Bella will be excited to have her beloved snow back. Fresh powder was her utmost favorite. Speaking of weather...keep me posted on when you're hitting peak color up that way. |
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