Keeping your dogs warm at night

Sagz_2

My whippety cross has a nighty for really cold nights but the bigger Lurcher never seems cold indoors.

When they are in their kennel & run (If I'm working away for a few hours) they have jumpers, and if REALLY bitter they have quilted jackets as well.... and 3 or 4 double duvets, old blankets, towles and hot water bottles - not that I spoil them at all

moomin5

Those PJ's may look a little human but for many dogs they keep them covered up better and don't twist like coats with just a waist strap when they lie down.

My greyhounds have a double fleece coat for overnight & some days when the heatings off. They don't grow a thicker coat for winter now they live indoors with central heating.

staffiecat

Polmop wrote: »

I was thinking the same we have a lurcher.
Found these on ebay, couldnt stop laughing though

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
I don't think I would be forgiven if I put her in one of these !

puddy wrote: »

dogs have fur coats, i think only the little toy ones may have problems

Yes dogs do have fur coats but some (not just the toy ones) can have very fine coats, such as whippets and greys for example. Therefore when they aren't exercising they do need extra warmth.

andthethreebears wrote: »

I was wondering about this - we have a slim lab who sleeps in the kitchen (plastic dog bed with fluffy 'vet bed' padding) and we haven't started putting the heating on yet, but the kitchen is probably the warmest room, he could lie next to the range cooker!
I don't know what to do - to get a warm/soft bed and risk him chewing up / swallowing it overnight or to let him sleep in our room when it gets realy cold, or leave him as he is?!

I have the plastic dog beds too with lots of bedding and then fleece blankets. I have quite a lot of padding but I think as Raksha says, it really depends on where you locate their bed. Your kitchen sounds great, mine would be freezing. In fact my whole house is freezing !

I have been thinking about purchasing a memory foam mattress and using that in their beds - i think that really keeps you warm so potentially might work. The other thing that I have read about is heat pads, but I need to look into that more.

The GSD is probably ok, she is crossed with a Staffy so she doesn't have the usual GSD coat, its more like a Staffy coat but coarse. She does however how HD and onset of arthritis so she too really feels the cold in her bones.

staffiecat

Sagz wrote: »

My whippety cross has a nighty for really cold nights but the bigger Lurcher never seems cold indoors.

When they are in their kennel & run (If I'm working away for a few hours) they have jumpers, and if REALLY bitter they have quilted jackets as well.... and 3 or 4 double duvets, old blankets, towles and hot water bottles - not that I spoil them at all

I wondered about a hot water bottle - do you bury that deep in their duvets?? Mine tend to paw at their beds when getting comfy so I was worried about damage etc.

bugslet

I think it's a fiar question for dogs with very short hair and yes I'd go for one of the hood type beds as well. You can get microwaveable pads or perhaps even those wheat bags to put under the bed, that might help. Not tried it myself, so can't say.

In our house, as the dogs settle in between us, you need to ask what can we do to keep Mr & Mrs Bugslet warm as the dogs win the battle of the duvet......:o

staffiecat

bugslet wrote: »

I think it's a fiar question for dogs with very short hair and yes I'd go for one of the hood type beds as well. You can get microwaveable pads or perhaps even those wheat bags to put under the bed, that might help. Not tried it myself, so can't say.

In our house, as the dogs settle in between us, you need to ask what can we do to keep Mr & Mrs Bugslet warm as the dogs win the battle of the duvet......:o

:rotfl:
This is what life used to be like. Much as we tried to get the dogs to sleep in their own beds, we would often wake up in the early hours with one munchkin lying between us and the other somehow under the duvet by our feet. Why did we wake up, because our duvet had disappeared

I will look into a hooded bed, sounds like it might be much better for the whippet.

Caroline_a

lostinrates wrote: »

I do it because my greyhound suffers when she's outside for prolongued times and mopes when left inside when I'm working outside in winter.

My othet dog has a traditional padded rug/coat for the extreme weather (wore it for about a week last year outside) but the grey needs added warmth for the prolonged times we spend outdoors to be happy. She wears it alone when its a little cold and under padded rug when its bitter. ATM its mild and she;s still ''naked'' and shorter walks in the cold weather with vigourous runs are fine, its the time when I'm working and they only really walk around or stand still. She likes to be part of things, but not to be cold.


We don't have very much heating in our house (only a woodburner in one room), so they get an infared heat lamp when its cold inside, as they would if they were in our door kennels. The room the sleep in doesn't have a high ceiling so it retains warmth better than elsewhere in the house. When its very cold (e.g. pipes frozen cold) the grey will keep her all in one on most of the day, but I take it off for at least one good run a day because then she is warm enough for a while.

I think you misinterpreted what I meant - it was more about the colour and design than the dog wearing it! I once got a knitted jumper for my last Dane when she got older.... unfortunately she wasn't impressed and ate it...:rotfl:

lostinrates

Caroline_a wrote: »

I think you misinterpreted what I meant - it was more about the colour and design than the dog wearing it! I once got a knitted jumper for my last Dane when she got older.... unfortunately she wasn't impressed and ate it...:rotfl:

ahh, well, fair enough.:):D I but any colour design on sale if I can. Otherwise we prefer greys/muted greens/blues.....but they both wear a high viz vest if we are working when I might have clients or other people here in the morning or evening...those pjs might do the trick. I really like the length of leg on those ones.....might have to track them down for a spare pair for dog dog.



I agree, the fleecy ones with no straps are considered VASTLY preferable by dog dog to traditional coats. fastenings seem to cause discomfort, even velcro...maybe a point of less flexibilty, so the all on ones are favourites here.

elsien

OP, I'm guessing your doggies trying to sneak back on the bed has less to do with them being cold, and more to do with having their little doggy noses pushed out of joint by being turfed off a very comfy billet!

I have to be really careful what I give mutt for a variety of reasons so at the moment it's an extra blanket, and when it gets colder I'll leave the radiator on a bit and stick her bed next to it. I'm wary of trying a jumper for her to to sleep in - she recently got her head stuck through a hole in the blanket, twirled to try and get out of it, and straitjacketed herself so tightly I had to cut her out. If her front leg hadn't gone through the hole as well she'd have suffocated before I got to her. So I'm now extremely wary of anything that she might get round her neck - she sleeps downstairs and i'm a heavy sleeper...
Silly sod really doesn't do herself any favours.

dizziblonde

Lots of greyhound (and whippets since they're very similar just dinky - well apart from the world's biggest whippet I met tonight who's only about half an inch smaller than my grey girlie) owners swear by the hound pyjamas (loads of places make them - AK Creations is the one I normally go to for hound-wear, I've got a fantastic coat from them and a few collars that I continue to be impressed by). I made girlie-girl a housecoat and had a few nice nights sleep where she didn't decide to join us on the bed, shove her legs under the duvet and get them berlumming everywhere - but hubby refuses to relent on the pyjama ban he's imposed!

Depends a lot with hounds if you've got one that runs very skinny or one that carries a little bit more weight - mine runs very very skinny (despite us feeding her up and her having gained a lot since she left racing) so I think she feels the cold and it wakes her up a lot on a night.