Does a dog really need a winter jacket or could it be their owner just likes to play dress-up? We’ve heard this question a number of times so we decided to do some relevant searching on the idea that a dog “might” need a winter coat; here’s what we discovered.
Does a dog need a winter coat?
What we found is that it depends on the dog and the climate. If you have a short-hair dog and the weather is below 32 degrees, then yeah, you might want to grab a coat or even use an old shirt to make a dog coat.
Dog Winter Coat
When the weather dips below freezing, the short-hair dog may feel it before a long hair does, basic science right? A coat can certainly reduce the chill factor but also serves a purpose if it’s snowing, misting or raining helping to keep the dog dry.
One of the problems we had with our dog is that he wouldn’t move if anything was placed on him. It took some training and a whole bag of treats to get him to move even just a few steps. With training Rover, you have to be persistent. This was especially a problem when we tried to make him wear boots on paws.
The other thing we discovered you need to watch for is that if your dog begins to overheat on your walk. A dog will pant when they’re overheating to cool themselves down. If this is occurring on your winter walk, you’ll need to open or remove your dog’s winter jacket.
At DDG, we’ll always keep perfect care of your dog. If you’d like your dog to wear a sweater for a dog walk or to have their sweater put on them before pickup, let us know.
