cold weather advise?

[Kilter]

Yes, stock the cars. Have warm clothing, an extra sleeping bag, snacks and water just in case. A small shovel and a traction mat for getting unstuck. I have to get those again but the ones we had were metal and unrolled, you stuck them under the tires and drove up and over the ice. There were a few times they saved my butt as far as getting out of the ice, even for other people.

Mind you where we are now, we also have to keep a shovel in the house and stock extra meals for snowed in weather, there's been times that the only way to get around is on snowmobile or foot, because the drifts get so big that they stop anything including big 4 by 4s. Last year some guys rode their snowmobiles through town and damaged quite a few minivan roofs not realizing they were under the snow. LOL

[Renee750il]

Where are you Kilter?

I want to avoid being there in the winter, lol!

[Kilter]

Carseland, AB. About 30-45 minutes from Calgary, so we still go into the city and are close for dog shows and such. But, there's about 200 houses or less I think in 'town' here and prairie forever so it's like a big snow fence, when there's any sort of blizzard we get some huge drifts and everyone stays home for a few days till roads are cleared to get to the highway. Last time I think the highway itself was fine the next day but nobody could drive TO it go go far.

But the school is awesome for the kids, we have a much bigger yard than we'd have in the city and back onto a playground which means I can open the garage, set up agility and train. We moved from a smaller house with more or less zero yard space and no off leash areas within walking distance, and the dog run was 4 feet by 40 feet give or take, now their run is 16 by 35 and we still have yard and a double garage.

[BostonBanker]

I do two layers on my guys when it is really cold and we are going to be outside a bit. A Fido Fleece on the bottom layer for warmth, with a water resistant horse style blanket like Snark posted over it. Meg, who hates the cold, does fine hanging around the barn in that for even a few hours.

I've never done anything on their feet; if they are on salted roads or sidewalks for a long time, I'll just wipe their feet off with a damp paper towel when we get home. Otherwise, I feel like booties just annoy them more than anything.

[Doberluv]

I never worried about the salted roads either. When we got home, they'd wind up walking through snow in my yard and it probably all got wiped off anyhow...never any problem.

[Babyblue5290]

Originally Posted by Red Chrome

I live on the eastside and the wind is nasty. Makes things 2x as cold. All my dogs even the furries have good coats and horse style blankets for extra protection from the cold.

That's for sure, it really wasn't too cold by itself but that wind was a pain!

Just the two coats does the trick? Art is such a woosie when it comes to cold, but I might be over-worrying

Originally Posted by Snark

I have a Chilly dog coat and a horse-style blanket I bought at the local feed store (it's a Weatherbeeta) for Riley. Mick and Murph are both double-coated so they don't need coats. I do like the Weatherbeeta a lot and it was cheaper than the Chilly dog coat. It hasn't been really cold here yet but when the temp does drop I plan on putting a sweater under the Weatherbeeta.

This is the Weatherbeeta we have (has an opening at the base of the collar for attaching a leash):

Awesome, they don't look too costly at all! ^_^

Originally Posted by milos_mommy

If you absolutely can't find booties that work (I'm sure some are made for skinny-feeted dogs and have tight velco straps, ask around), or he won't wear them, they do make a salve you can put on the pads to protect from ice and salt.

I tried some booties on him before they had fleece inside, tight sock like part on the top and velcro and they still would drop off. Any suggestions on booties?

Is the salve like a gel you put on the paw pads?

Originally Posted by Doberluv

I think a warm coat is enough. Their feet don't get frost bite and if you're worried about ice balls, you can clip their hair on their feet and between the toes a little and put something a little oily on them. I think they make something for that. I never did anything and my dogs were fine. I lived in north Idaho, about 1-1/2 hours east of Spokane Wa and it got a lot colder and more snow where I lived than it does in Spokane. As far as wind, Lyric, my Dobe wore a snood to protect his ears when it was really cold. But his ears didn't have much hair in them for protection, being cropped. The Chihuahuas seemed fine. If it was under about 17 degrees, we just didn't go for walks. lol. As long as they're moving/exercising, they're fine. I wouldn't fatten your dog up too much. The coat should be good enough if it's a decent coat.

I'm now in western Washington and the difference in temperature seems to be, on average about 10 degrees with those exeptions when it does a big plunge over on the east side.

Where I lived...in Priest Lake, Id there wasn't generally the wind you get in eastern and central Washington....all that flat farm land...it can really get going. And it seems to be windy most of the time.

Well, good luck with your move. It will be an adjustment. You'll have to get use to driving in it, remembering to keep your car stocked with emergency stuff in case you get stuck somewhere...blankets, extra warm stuff, food etc. But it will be an adventure!

lol The fatten him up part was kinda a joke lol He has super short hair on his feet, no need for cutting it.

Yeah, I'm going to be doing as little driving as possible, my school is only 2 blocks away so I'm just going to be walking to school. Most things I need are in walking distance, only time I'll drive is 2x a week for work and possibly for dog classes if I end up doing those.

Yeah, I'm such a panzy! I've gotten way too use to our pretty stagnant weather. Like you said, there's only a 10degree adjustment really lol This is going to be a bit of a change for me, I've lived here over 10 years!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Kilter

Yes, stock the cars. Have warm clothing, an extra sleeping bag, snacks and water just in case. A small shovel and a traction mat for getting unstuck. I have to get those again but the ones we had were metal and unrolled, you stuck them under the tires and drove up and over the ice. There were a few times they saved my butt as far as getting out of the ice, even for other people.


Mind you where we are now, we also have to keep a shovel in the house and stock extra meals for snowed in weather, there's been times that the only way to get around is on snowmobile or foot, because the drifts get so big that they stop anything including big 4 by 4s. Last year some guys rode their snowmobiles through town and damaged quite a few minivan roofs not realizing they were under the snow. LOL

wow! That's nuts, I doubt we will get that much snow lol

Thanks for the advice, I didn't even think about me and things for my car! lol

Originally Posted by BostonBanker

I do two layers on my guys when it is really cold and we are going to be outside a bit. A Fido Fleece on the bottom layer for warmth, with a water resistant horse style blanket like Snark posted over it. Meg, who hates the cold, does fine hanging around the barn in that for even a few hours.

I've never done anything on their feet; if they are on salted roads or sidewalks for a long time, I'll just wipe their feet off with a damp paper towel when we get home. Otherwise, I feel like booties just annoy them more than anything.

That reminds me, I need to stop by mudbay and get a fleece for both.

[stephsousa]

i just read a blog post about this the other day. It may apply. Here's a link:http://blog.luckydogvitamin.com/gett...rosty-weather/. Just reading your post is making me cold!!! Happy Holidays.