Melanie L Chang wrote:
> When the weather gets really cold my dogs and I do less trialing, mostly
> because there are fewer opportunities to do dog things, but we still go
> to some. The fact that I now have a dog who needs clothing when the
> temps go below 50 degrees (guess which one) makes me wonder if the larger
> dogs should also have coats when it's really frigid out -- not when
> exercising but when lying around. There's a lot of down time at any dog
> event, and it seems unfair to take frozen Fly out of the crate and throw
> her right onto the field to get the sheep, or take frozen Solo out of the
> crate and put him on the start line. It can't be good for their muscles.
Why are they frozen in their crates? If you put a bed in the crate and
cover the crate with a blanket they will be very warm! I'd do that
regardless of anything else. That way their muscles stay warmer. If I
keep them moving once out of the crate, they're good. I'm the one at
winter trials who paces in a circle in the lineup when it's cold--I keep
them moving.
>
> Should I worry about this? I might add that my larger dogs have never
> looked cold outside, no matter how cold it is. Maybe I just have this
> secret desire to buy more dog clothing now that Skeeter has introduced me
> to the joys of dressing up my dog. Our latest purchase is a set of
> fleece pajamas with sheep on them, because my apartment gets chilly and
> Skeeter walks around shivering on cold evenings.
:)
With BCs, I don't think so. I do have coats for my girls--they wear them
when windchill/temps go below 30 or when it's in the 40s and, as you
say, they may have to stand around a bit. But they have very short hair,
bare bellies, and no undercoat.
>> Stay informed about: Cold-weather trialing and cold dogs 
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