Dogs at night

This house is warmer than our old house but Fizz wears pj's when it drops below 5c outside (she is not at all worried about letting us know if she's cold and has an extensive wardrobe) and Dobby has something on if it's meant to be freezing or below as he runs a little warmer. Ginny who has her own fluff never wears anything.
 
Mine are downstairs, in the kitchen with plenty of sheets (and each other if necessary). Never even entered my mind that they might need coats indoors... in fact, they don't wear coats at all. Whippetty-thing has a coat, but it annoys her, and spaniel is far too busy and dirty to be bothered with an outfit!
 
Lurcher here wears a fleece when it’s forecast below 0 overnight, though we’re in a cold house she’s hardly needed it this winter.
She has a basket with a folded over single duvet, and spends late evening in an armchair with cushions and a blanket to snuggle into. Usually comes up to sleep at the foot of the bed but I don’t put anything over her because she gets too warm.
 
windand rain said:
You are all crackers my dogs have lived in kennels with no heating in a straw filled shed in 3 ft of snow and temps close to -15. The indoor dogs have slept in the kitchen on just a thin bed for years. Willow is the most spoilt one as our heating is always between 15 and 21 so not cold its a new house well we were first occupants 12 years ago so she has always slept in the warm. Never bought a dog coat although was given a waterproof one to try and stop the wet dog smell didn't work as we usually forget to put it on
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We used to have multiple dogs living in an outdoor building, with a big straw bed. We always started pups off inside and brought older dogs into the house over night, too. We decided to keep the last 2 lots of pups inside permanently, partly because we felt it was sensible to keep the Rottweilers in the house, from a security pov. We did have an issue when the Labs were about 6/8 months old, with the black one waking up early most mornings. We thought at first that it was the light that disturbed her so took steps to deal with that, then we realised that she was feeling cold. Even as an adult, she doesn't have the best coat, so we keep her warm.
 
Amymay said:
Providing it’s good and hot when you go to bed, pooping a good size log on and then turning it right down should provide heat all night. In the morning open the vents and voila, fire bursts back in to life ?
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This is how we heat our cottage and keep hot water for 6 months of the year at least. The fire going out totally is A Big Deal. The dogs however sleep in the utility room which has no woodburner.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
We used to have multiple dogs living in an outdoor building, with a big straw bed. We always started pups off inside and brought older dogs into the house over night, too. We decided to keep the last 2 lots of pups inside permanently, partly because we felt it was sensible to keep the Rottweilers in the house, from a security pov. We did have an issue when the Labs were about 6/8 months old, with the black one waking up early most mornings. We thought at first that it was the light that disturbed her so took steps to deal with that, then we realised that she was feeling cold. Even as an adult, she doesn't have the best coat, so we keep her warm.
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I think when I had sighthounds and lurchers I got used to dogs wearing coats - previously with the gundogs and others I was brought up with, coats weren't a thing. When my retired old fell hound used to grumble about being moved from by the woodburner to her bed in the utlity rooom and was showing signs of stiffness, I though pjs might help. They really did and she kept weight on more easily and was less stiff in the mornings. When my young terrier really struggled to put weight on I thought a bit of a coat might help with that too and it just helped him to use less energy up. Multiple dogs bedded on straw or raised beds and acclimatised to the cold is a very different thing to a house dog that possibly sleeps alone. I can't see any reason why a dog should be left to feel the cold tbh.
 
Mine does feel the cold. He sleeps in our bedroom, which I don’t keep very warm.

He’s normally okay on his memory foam bed. Occasionally he wears an Equafleece if it’s really chilly.

If he is cold he asks to come for a cuddle under the covers. When he’s too warm he slides back out and goes back to his own bed. It’s obvious when he needs his Equafleece on.

Yes. I’m soft.
 
Michen said:
Oh that's interesting- so is it a normal woodburner? What do you mean by banked up- do you chuck a load of wood in before bed?

maybe I need to be doing this!
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I put a couple of good logs on at bedtime, and turn the stove right down and it rumbles away until I get up and I just throw another one on it then and away we go again. Keeps downstairs very warm.
 
Well I mean my older dogs are large breed 9.5 and 11 and have worked their backsides off throughout their lives and are fit/still sound through good management so if one wearing a comfy womfy jumpy wumper and another lying on two stab-proof mattresses stacked on top of each other like The Princess and the Pea makes me crackers, then I'm crackers :)
 
Ours terriers are spoiled... they both sleep under the duvet. Sometimes one stays in their basket by thd bed bit more often than not it's a fight for the electric blanket (and I rarely win that one :) ).

One definitely feels the cold more, and has arthritis since she will often wear a fleecy top in the daytime too.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Well I mean my older dogs are large breed 9.5 and 11 and have worked their backsides off throughout their lives and are fit/still sound through good management so if one wearing a comfy womfy jumpy wumper and another lying on two stab-proof mattresses stacked on top of each other like The Princess and the Pea makes me crackers, then I'm crackers :)
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We call Penny the Princess and the Pea, she’s so smug when you remake her bed with a clean blankie ?.
After training yesterday I dried Scout off and put a rug on him, friend laughed and laughed. No skin off my nose (and he looked very cute).
 
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Would she nest or burrow if you gave her a handful of blankets or a duvet Michen?

My JRT won’t wear clothes indoors so she spends her days buried under a pile of 6-8 blankets (with the heating on 20*!) and sleeps under two duvets in our bed at night - the heating goes off at 10pm and the temperature in our bedroom drops nearly 2 degrees an hour, more if it’s really cold out, so it gets chilly. The cats also sleep under the duvets with us, we had to upgrade to a super king bed to fit everyone :D.

Evidence of terrierist in her blanket mountain:
78A81E99-BD2F-4E64-BABF-EB58DF58AFBF.jpeg
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DirectorFury said:
Would she nest or burrow if you gave her a handful of blankets or a duvet Michen?

My JRT won’t wear clothes indoors so she spends her days buried under a pile of 6-8 blankets (with the heating on 20*!) and sleeps under two duvets in our bed at night - the heating goes off at 10pm and the temperature in our bedroom drops nearly 2 degrees an hour, more if it’s really cold out, so it gets chilly. The cats also sleep under the duvets with us, we had to upgrade to a super king bed to fit everyone :D.

Evidence of terrierist in her blanket mountain:
View attachment 88841
View attachment 88842
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Nope she doesn’t I have tried that! Have ordered her an “indoor” fleece.

Such needy animals. But she is hard to keep weight on and this morning I did as suggested and had piled loads of wood on fire last night and she was more stretched out.
 
Ours sleep in/on our beds in the winter, our equivalent of hot water bottles! In the summer they are in the their own beds as they overheat under the covers and then fidget all night.

We have a cocker, a terrier and a whippet - the whippet is the only one who has any form of coat - a light waterproof as he doesn't like walking in heavy rain being so thin skinned.

In your case I think a fleece would be ideal just for overnight.
 
Michen said:
Nope she doesn’t I have tried that! Have ordered her an “indoor” fleece.

Such needy animals. But she is hard to keep weight on and this morning I did as suggested and had piled loads of wood on fire last night and she was more stretched out.
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Like horses it’s cheaper to rug than to feed more!
 
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