How cold is too cold?

[r00]

This isnt medical advice but I wanted to get some opinions on how cold is too cold before I had to take measures to protect my miniature schnauzer....

Here in Central FL the weather is hot and cold... literally. One week it will be a nice 78 in the winter and weeks like this week its a high of 51 and down into the low 20s and teens at night. My wife and I don't turn on AC in the summer (when its 100+) because she is from Grenada and is used to it, and don't turn on the heat in the winter because I am from NY and I am used to it. We are humans, we can deal with it... but what about our little man?

I know that dogs have a naturally higher temp than us, so does this mean he gets colder faster? We cover his cage at night with a blanket to trap the heat in and it seems to work out fine, but when I let him out in the morning he starts to shiver and I feel bad. What can I do?

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[incendium04]

Typically, if you can stand the weather without bundling up to extremes, so can many dogs. Your schnauzer is dealing with the cold by shivering to generate more heat and that's natural. There are always sweaters for dogs if you feel that he is suffering. Dogs are very tough though.

For hot weather, just make sure shade and water are always available. What I do for my dog during the hot summers is to put ice cubes in his water dish. They'll keep the water cold & replenish the water he drinks. If your dog likes water, you could keep a small swimming pool for him to cool off in.

 

[aretoo]

In Canada, a lot of people put coats (usually wool or polar fleece) on their short haired dogs in the winter, particularly smaller dogs. Most dogs are fine though. My black lab LOVES the cold weather - he much prefers it to summer, where he just gets too hot. If he is outside for longer than an hour or so and it is VERY cold(-15C or below) his paws will get cold and we usually take him inside.

 

[sumstorm]

Give him a place where he can snuggle up if he is cold. A dog bed with a blanket, or just leave his crate open so he can settle in there if he gets chilly. If he isn't finding warm spots to rest, then he isn't terribly affected. Our dogs had the joy of experiencing -16 over Christmas with my folks in the midwest, but normally live in the carolinas, where we barely reach freezing on occasion. We had feet issues (cold feet, cracked pads, ice packing) but otherwise not a problem. We didn't keep them out any longer than we were willing to stay out with them.

In the house now, we keep a dog bed in each room for our JRT as he is a bit more sensitive to the cold (sleeps under blankets normally.) If it is really cold, we see the dogs pile a lot more when resting.

Oh, if your dog has any allergies, be careful of wool jackets....they can be a relatively common allergen for sensitive dogs.

 

[r00]

he has been spending quite a bit of time snuggling under blankets with us, but refuses to put himself under a blanket if he is cold... it's like he runs around looking for a warm place but won't settle down until we settle him into a warm spot with us...

We are having a warm week (70+) so we have no worries for now, but I may try getting him a sweater if it cools off again...