My no-sew home-made dog coats

smileyt_2

Hi

Just thought I'd post this in case it helps anyone else.

Last night I cut up an old dog blanket and made a coat for each of my dogs. I pinned the front of the coat with a bulldog clip, and used a strip of the blanket to tie around their middles. I hope that makes sense! It's not very stable for long walks but for our short 'bedtime wee' walk it stays on OK.

How long are you currently walking your dogs for? I am taking mine out for about 3/4 hour in the morning and 1/2 hour in the evening, plus a wee walk if they ask during the day. I don't want to take them out for too long or go too far as it is so bitterly cold at the moment, and they are OAPs (one is ten and the other is twelve). We normally get twice the amount of exercise mentioned above in a day when the weather is reasonable so both dogs are extremely fit for their age. I just worry about them in the cold - if we stop for any length of time they start to shiver, which is why I made the coats.

foreign_correspondent

We need piccies!!

My dog doesnt seem to mind the cold, but she is short, so her belly gets snowy - she does have a little coat but only wears it for a few days a year - your idea sound like a good idea for dogs like mine that rarely need a coat! You could always pin the fronts with a few stitches if you wanted to get rid of the bulldog clips - would be easy enough.

We have been only doing one proper walk a day, and a few runs round the garden whilst it is so snowy and icy out...

lisawood78

It's soo icy round us (live on a hill) that walking out of our gate is a bit damn dangerous (long legged dogs, think Bambi!)
So they haven't been walkies the last few days, they have however spent many a happy hour gambolling about in the soft snow on the rear lawn, digging it, bouncing on it and generally looking on it wonder.

getcarter

Just a little 1/2 hour walk in the morning - complete with coat on pup, then about 1 hour or so running around the fields chasing tennis balls which become less and less aerodynamic with snow as the walk goes on (and less easy to find). We are all walking a lot slower than normal though.

Edited to add - I went absolutely flying this morning and upset the dogs who made a fuss wondering what this strange noise was behind them!

Also edited to add - Pup has one of the childrens belts around her middle to hold the coats closed!

smileyt_2

I have updated the coats, this time involving sewing. I went to the pound shop today and bought each dog a high-visibility dog coat. They are made of high-vis mesh so not warm. I then pinned the old fleecy blanket I had to this, cut round it and stitched it together. Result - a high-vis, reflective, fleece-lined dog coat for £1! Bruno loves his; Tess is a little dubious but wore it without too much of a fuss. The coats aren't waterproof, of course, but at least they offer some protection from the cold.

The snow has lost its excitement for us now. We want to see grass again! :rotfl: