Possible ridiculous question regarding dogs and Montana weather

[CaspariNorth]

I'm guessing that keeping Australian Shepherds in the garage or a partially heated kennel probably wouldn't be a terrible thing? They have fairly thick coats and settled in the west as herding dogs, so I can't see that they'd do terribly in these sorts of conditions.

[historyfan]

Our border collies are both slick & rough coated and have access to an unheated outbuilding where their dogbeds are. It has a cement floor so the beds are on pieces of cardboard. They also have old gym mats that some prefer to sleep on. These dogs are in excellent physical condition and have free choice Dogfood & a heated waterer. They are ranch dogs and prefer outdoors. They are fully adapted to our climate. When it was -32 one morning this week they were playing in the snow when I went out to do chores. The great pyrenees prefer winter and love to roll on icebergs.

[toryturner]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

I would caution the use of a sweater. I use one on my dog when I plow snow and it is 10° or less. She rides on the back of my 4 wheeler, so she's not running or active, just sitting there.

In the past, I have used her sweater too long and she actually started shedding hair in January. Then it is a tail spin because she has to wear her coat. So, if she is not riding, she does not wear her coat and she is fine.

Use of a sweater is fine, just use caution so they are not dependent of a coat. Dogs adapt just fine.

I wondered about that. My dog tends to keep shedding even into the fall because she stays buried under a blanket next to our wood stove most of the day. Thank you for your reply.

[lvoc]

Dogs are basically thermos bottles. The lose practically no heat through their fur. They control temperature by aspiration. In general they will adopt to any temperature pretty quickly. With good food and lots of water they can handle almost anything.

Here in Las Vegas we get the other question. Is my long haired hound going to have heat prostration in the summer. Same answer. They are pretty much thermos bottles and can control their temperature by aspiration.

I am quite skeptical about sweaters and such. I don't think they can even tell they have them on. They simply don't transmit heat through their skin.

Even paws are pretty much temperature proof unless they are being worked hard or wet. Our small dog prances on hot pavement in the height of summer and will lay down on sun soaked bricks. No effect.

[jasper12]

Interesting side note, our dog, Sam, Bassett mix, had a downy undercoat when we lived in Montana. When we moved to Las Vegas, it was like we got a new dog! He became a smooth coat Bassett, with no downy undercoat! He just had some tufts on his rear legs. It was really interesting how his fur completely changed.

[JoeRock]

I don't think that's a ridiculous question. I moved from the US to northern Canada for work. I was very worried about my dog the first winter but she was doing just fine. Last weekend it was -40F. I took about a 15 minute walk twice a day and my dog was super happy running around, me not so much!

Especially when you are there in summer/fall your dog will get used to the temperatures and adjust accordingly.

[toryturner]

Originally Posted by JoeRock

I don't think that's a ridiculous question. I moved from the US to northern Canada for work. I was very worried about my dog the first winter but she was doing just fine. Last weekend it was -40F. I took about a 15 minute walk twice a day and my dog was super happy running around, me not so much!

Especially when you are there in summer/fall your dog will get used to the temperatures and adjust accordingly.

-40F! Yikes!