Cold outdoor temperatures?

[ashley1135]

I was wondering if everyone takes their dogs out in cold temperatures. Sulley was only 8 weels old when I got him and I wasn't comfortable taking him to play outsidie until he got his next round of shots. Now that he's older both Sulley and I are dying to get out of the house. Problem is it is 10 degress F outside and snowing. Do you take your Frenchies out when it's this cold? When I open the door he starts violently shivering (even w/ his coat on) and looks at me like I'm crazy. We went outside briefly a couple of times before it got so cold and he seemed to like it, so he's not shaking just b/c he's nervous.

[Linnysmommy]

Both of my Frenchies only go out to potty in this cold weather. If they must go somewhere in the car, they wear coats and the car is warmed before we leave.

[lollerskates]

We've just gotten our first real bit of cold weather and Lola is having none of it. She will go out with her vest on, but then immediately starts looking for ways to get back inside. So I'm thinking we may only be going outside for potty trips as well.

It's too bad because our afternoons at the dog park were so great. And helpful when someone (me) had something to do at night that didn't involve playing with a puppy. Well, spring will be here in 6 months, right?

[franp]

Dari goes out everyday..no matter what. With her dogwalker. She has a couple of coats..( I was NEVER going to get her clothes).

She is not thrilled with the cold.But most of the walk is spent moving around..and only once a day is for any extended period of time..

IMO, allot of it is what the dog gets used to.. Now if it were way below zero, I would not expect the dogwalker to be out for any length of time either..
common sense is the rule..

[wendykei]

It's about 40+ to 50 degrees during the day in Seattle. Sidney doesn't seem to like walking too much in the cold, but we've gone on a few half hour walks. He won't walk with a coat on, so I don't put one on him unless it's REALLY cold and then he only goes out to potty. We drive to the dog park instead of walking and he still loves to play with the other dogs, so the cold doesn't bother him one bit when he's at the park. I keep it to half an hour instead of an hour because of the weather though.

[Martina]

Lola, my thinnest and most prone to the cold, likes to go out almost everyday and sit in the sunshine for a few minutes - even without a coat. But if it's cold and dark and I'm putting her out for her last potty - holy cow! I'm pushin' that little butt out the door. And then she lets me know the instant she's finished that outside time is OVER! All of mine have shirts and coats and wear them and like them ... Maybe not as much as I like them ;).

[roccomom]

My 15-week old Frenchie Rocco was going on puppy pads in the house up until a couple of weeks ago, because he did not yet have all of his vaccinations/booster shots. Perfect timing in Chicago for him to start going outside - right as the REALLY cold weather hit! I've come to find out Rocco HATES the cold - he looks at me, like, "Uh, where did those pads go? I am NOT going on snow!!"

Needless to say, the only time he will go outside is when he's gotta go to the bathroom. And as soon as he's finished, he runs back over to the gate waiting for us to bring him back inside. I hope he starts getting used to it - otherwise, it's going to be a LONG winter! ;)

[phoebesmom]

I find the best time to walk with Phoebe is in the cold, snowy weather, because she doesnt overheat and we can walk for hours. She warms up very quickly so she never wears a coat or boots against the snow, even when it is around -10 celcius! Having said that, she always walk off leash, as we walk in the countryside, so she has plenty of space to dart around which helps her warm up very quickly.

[Linnysmommy]

We got about 10 inches of snow last night. Well, guess who loves to plow through the mounds of snow!:p Lenny had the best time and i had to make him come in. He loves the snow, but not the Christmas decorations across the street. He barked and barked at them. Sweetie on the other hand wants nothing to do with the snow.:rolleyes:

[franp]

When Dari was a pup, she loved the snow...As she has gotten older, her tolerance for the cold has lessened..

This morning, the snow started...I had to DRAG her out...Not that she did not have to go ,mind you...Dari HATES to get her feet wet...

As a young dog..we would get to the dogpark and she would run into the snow drifts..It just is the problem of walking thru the slush and stuff to get there...Seeing her suffer breaks my heart..

I bought boots...a few weeks ago.. Later today I will try putting them on her...MAYBE I can get her to wear them...better than her feet getting sodden and frozen...not to mention the salt from the street..

[cookiesmug]

I bought boots...a few weeks ago.. Later today I will try putting them on her...MAYBE I can get her to wear them...better than her feet getting sodden and frozen...not to mention the salt from the street..

Good luck with that, Fran! :D Cookie does this "shake a leg" thingy (or shake all legs) whenever I tried putting the boots on her, she just doesn't like it. I haven't tried the boots with Dobby yet but seeing now the winter weather is getting quite nasty, I'll have to start getting him used to it...

[mdenglund]

Not sure it gets much colder than it has been here... lovely freeezzzing Minnesota :( . Our little 3.5 mon old Ruby tolerates the outdoors to go to the bathroom, but quickly scurries inside after she is finished. She ventured into the snow when there was ~4in, just enough so her head didn't go under - which was quite funny, but now that there is ~10in, and she realizes she would be burried, so she stays in the shovled area. We are thinking of the boots, but since she does not seem to mind too much, we are holding off.

[mdenglund]

Not sure it gets much colder than it has been here... lovely freeezzzing Minnesota :( . Our little 3.5 mon old Ruby tolerates the outdoors to go to the bathroom, but quickly scurries inside after she is finished. She ventured into the snow when there was ~4in, just enough so her head didn't go under - which was quite funny, but now that there is ~10in, and she realizes she would be burried, so she stays in the shovled area. We are thinking of the boots, but since she does not seem to mind too much, we are holding off.

[ashley1135]

That's hilarious! :lol: I would love to see pics of Frenchies neck deep in snow and enjoying it. I guess it truly is just what they get used to. I need to video Sulley doing his "I hate the snow" dance, shivering and jumping from paw to paw in the snow like he's on a hot griddle. It doesn't look like he's going to get used to snow this year at least.

[lollerskates]

When we were in Maine last weekend, Lola was loving the snow. And somtimes you could only see her ears! (not because she was buried, just because of how tall the side drifts were). :lol: We're going back up for Christmas. I'll try to get a picture and post it.