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Question about dogs and snow

2K views 29 replies 22 participants last post by  WeHeartLabs 
#1 ·
I just moved from Los Angeles to Indianapolis a few months ago and have zero experience with dogs and snow.

My questions are:

Do labs need booties for snow?

and

Do they need a coat or sweater when temps drop down into the 20's?

or in other words what the best way to protect a spoiled rotten indoor dog when you have to take them out for their daily walks.
 
#2 ·
NO and No. Labradors were bred to work in the fridgid waters, helping fishermen retrieve their nets. Labs LOVE cold.

The main concern is salt on the roads/sidewalks (city/counties throw down salt to melt the snow/ice) If you are in an area where the dog will be exposed to a lot of salt boots might be the ticket... but most people go without the boots and just wipe the feet off when they come home from a walk.

Enjoy the snow, your dogs will !!!
 
#3 ·
Do labs need booties for snow?

No.  Occasionally they may be desirable on some surfaces -- say those that could cut pads -- but the main problems in snow or slush are ice balls forming between the pads and toes. 

My Puff and I go out every morning in Kansas winters where it's sometimes been -10°F with 4-6 inches of snow.   What we found to be great is to use "Musher's Secret" a wax that waterproofs your dog's paws and prevents any ice build up.  You can Google it and find a variety of places that sell it for an even wider range of prices.

Do they need a coat or sweater when temps drop down into the 20's?

Absolutely not. 

They'd be laughing stocks of their 'hood.   Just take out your Lab every day for a 30-60 minute walk in all kinds of weather and an appropriate coat will be grown.

Incidentally, my Puff has the thinnest coat of any Lab we've met and she's active enough with off leash retrieves so that she stays warm enough.
 
#5 ·
Molly loves the snow. Just watch if you get ice. She cut her pad on frozen snow/ice in out backyard. I bought her boots to wear while her pad healed but she didn't really like them.
Good advice about rinsing their feet off after a walk if the get salt on them.
Have fun, your lab will love the soft snow. :)
 
#6 ·
Emma has only been through one winter so far, but she loved it and wanted to stay out in it all of the time.

They don't need boots, but you should keep the hair that grows between their toes cut short. Ice builds up and snow, and tiny snowballs start to grow. So start now, keeping that trimmed short.

Youre going to have so much fun watching your dog in the snow! Labs love it! The best is making snowballs and throwing them. They go to retrieve it and it's blended in with the rest...nothing there!

Have your camera ready to go!
 
#7 ·
I have nothing new to add but my own personal experiences. Jes "comes alive" in the colder months. He absolutely loves snow and cold weather. I actually had to force him out of the water one day when it was 8º outside. I think they're better suited for mild to colder climates than the warmer climates.
 
#8 ·
#9 ·
Cinder absolutely loves the snow. I love when the tennis ball sinks and she runs with her nose under the snow to sniff it out. I have to make her come in to warm up and she lays on the register (we have the big old ones in the floor) to warm up her paws, then she's ringing the bell again. I agree with everyone else about washing the paws if they get salt on them, and if you are spreading salt on your stairs or walkways they sell pet friendly ice melter(?) instead. Have fun in the snow!
 
#10 ·
For paw protection I'd go with what Bob Pr said or simply make sure and clean your dog's paws after a walk.

As for the sweater...heck no! Your pup will be fine being in the cold for a walk.

You'll see he will love the snow! My puppy has seen only one big snowfall so far during which he just ran out and stuck his head straight into a pile of snow and sat there. He loved it! We'll see what he does this year....he will come across a lot more snowstorms this winter :)
 
#13 ·
Thanks for all of your responses, I wasn't sure what to do about snow, it's not something I had to deal with before and I didn't want to make Molly uncomfortable if I could help it.

I'll check out getting the Musher's Secret, sounds like it will work well. Also the tip about rinsing her paws is good, she loves it when I groom her or otherwise fuss over her. Now the only trick is going to be getting me up to speed about cold, I like cold but to me it's around 40F never had 20F all day long.
 
#14 ·
Totally agree with everyone...no to the booties and no to the coat. It is us that needs the protection from the cold and not them.

I love winter walks and so do my dogs. The major advantage being we see much less people because everyone cuts their walks (or doesn't walk at all :mad:) in the winter meaning we often have parks/woods/trails all to ourselves without seeing a soul. If YOU where the right gear the cold is not an issue. I wear a special "arctic" fleece that traps body heat and my waterproof jacket. I also wear some thick jeans and heavy walking boots. I strongly recommend some decent walking boots for winter walks...a good pair will be expensive but they are WELL worth it.
 
#15 ·
I would never put boots on Emma, she would be humiliated! :)

But coat I would say that depends on your lab, how thick coat he/she has etc. We are out for really long walks even wintertime and sometimes we meet somebody to chat with and we stand still for a moment... We have really cold winters here sometimes and Emma was freezing so much she just wanted to go home after a smaller walk! So for about 4 years ago I sew a coat for her so now she's not freezing anymore! :) But it's just in the mornings or extremely cold wether (around 14 Fahrenheit or below) she uses her coat, because when it's milder she loves to make snowangels! :) And if we keep us very active, she's not freezing.
 
#16 ·
Like the others who replied, no boots or sweaters. I can barely get my dogs in the house during the winter months.

I would suggest getting snow gear for yourself. I use my ski pants and parkas when out with the dogs. Trust me, you'll get colder before they will.

Definitely do not forget the camera! I always seem to be camera-less and miss too many great phot ops.
 
#17 ·
Pansy ass Morgan reporting here ;)

I will confess that in the last day I have put a coat on Lya, but there are extenuating circumstances....

first due to her allergies her fur is a little thin right now (matter of fact if it was sunny I would worry about a sunburn) AND the cold in my part of Michigan is a little early and a little sudden this year AND we are doing really big walkies to attempt the 3 day walk for the cure in the future.

I am with Bob on this one, once she has just a bit to grow a good coat (I am thinking no more than two weeks) and get used to this cold the coat will come off. We keep our house at 65, so that alone should help stimulate coat growth.

Outside in the Winter, Lya is a dynamo of activity...never does she look happier than in deep snow.

Morgan with Lya
and Friend Rocco the Ridgeback (he has a collection of coats cause the boy is a weenie.)
 
#18 ·
Oh my goodness...I tried to put a sweater on Rider last year...and he was so mad. :)

It snowed here yesterday and Rider was in HEAVEN...he comes alive in snow. They love it.
 
#19 ·
Niki loves the snow and spends hours playing outside during the winter. She does have booties but HATES them. I got them to protect her paws against all the salt that there is on our roads but she can't walk in them and they make her miserable.
 
#21 ·
I agree with Trickster -- it's much more important that you dress youself warmly enough so YOU'RE willing to take your Lab out in most any weather and are comfortable.

Some good sources are http://www.rei.com , http://www.rei.com/outlet , http://www.llbean.com , and your local Army-Navy Camping stores as well as Costco (or sometimes Sam's Clubs).

Among the things I have, use, and like are --

Head (brand) insulated socks (Costco)

Polartec insulated long johns for COLDEST days (from rei-outlet in their spring sales)

Polypropylene long johns for just cold days (maybe rei-outlet)

Insulated ski bibs (from local Army Navy store)

Down parka (Costco)

Various sets of warm gloves (Costco & A-N stores)

Knitted ski hat (Target)

Hi-Tec boots (from local work clothing & boot store)
 
#22 ·
Labs love snow (all the ones I have met at least!) - Rocky does better in teh winter, he's not a big fan of the heat (harder to exercise!).

I admit I do have booties for him. One - because we are in teh city and there is lots of salt. Two - because I hate having to clean his paws everytime we go out - the booties keeps the feet dry! But I get alot of looks and "that dog doesn't need boots!" from people passing by.
 
#23 ·
No coat, no boots! I am in Delaware and it gets cold here but not for long so a towel when we get home works for us!

Fanny arrived in my stocking Christmas 2003 and come January so did the snow. I was digging a path from our back door to the shed so we could get the snow blower out and she thought it was the greatest game! We had about a foot out there, almost as deep as she was tall and she loved digging at the snow to fill the spot I had just cleared! Oh man, was I tired at that end of that but it was hilarious to watch and amazing, who knew my baby would love the snow so much? Never had a lab before!

The following winter I tried a coat for her and the looks I got! And she did whatever it took to make it come off, back then we weren't going to the bark park we were walking the devlopment and she didn't want anyone in those houses seeing her in that dumb coat! Plus, she loves to be towelled off when she comes in, from the snow, the rain or the bark park!

Eddie is a whole other issue, one of the mixes he has in him does not like water in any form except what comes in his bowl!

 
#25 ·
At -47°, for me, I'd restrict any time outside to just enough (say no more than 5 minutes at a time) of enough vigorous exercise (like fetching) to induce pooping and allow a pee or two.

I'd look for the indoor exercises that can unwind each day's triple knot windup of the Lab's rubber band motor.

For example, my beloved Bess [BF, AKC bench line (competitive breeder), 55 lbs, 1967-81] was extremely insistent on getting her daily exercise -- come to think of it, maybe it was also the retrieving? -- and it never mattered to her if to was above 100°F and raining or below  0°F and sleeting.  So I assented.  I only declined when there was lightning or tornadoes in our immediate vicinity.

For those days, I took a toy upstairs and left it where she could find it and sent her upstairs to get it.  Then gradually I began hiding it in harder places to find.  Then hid more of her toys upstairs so she made more trips.  After a hunting friend gave me a dozen wings from teals (a duck-like bird), I used those instead of toys.  That let me make one trip upstairs to every 12 for Bess.  Repeated that until both of us were satiated.

I suggest using something like that for those rare days when it's too physically dangerous to go out.

Puff and I have gone out for an hour of off-leash retrieving and walking when it's been -10°F (-23C°) here in Topeka without any problems (but I keep her active).
 
#26 ·
I have also noticed that winter is the best time for Angus. He melts in the heat, poor thing. He turns into a zombie and can't focus for diddly :p

The weather has started to get cooler the past few weeks, and he is obviously very happy about it! ;D
 
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