About dogs wearing clothes?

Sheep next? Have you never seen a field of yellow sheep dyed to look good in the show ring or at auction?
My fell pony lived outdoors to the age of 35 wearing a good rainproof rug in winter. Brought in and rug changed in wet weather.
My Jack Russel (14) and lab (13) wear waterproof coats in cold wet weather for practical reasons not as a fashion statement.
A couple I know who chose not to have children had a chocolate lab who wore all the fashion accessories available for their 'furbaby'. I detest that word.

When did this trend start? 70 or so years ago, the only dogs I ever so wearing any kind of covering were racing greyhounds, regularly walked by their owners around our streets. We had a boxer, a breed with a short, smooth coat. She was always walked on the beach where she was in and out of rock pools and all too often rolled on piles of stinking seaweed, or - once or twice - the decaying corpse of a seabird. Imagine the mess if she had been wearing a cosy coat. As it was, as soon as we were through the door, she was upstairs and waiting to be bathed.

A friend of mine in Canada has a dog who wears little black boots in winter. Apparently her feet stick to the ice if not.
Seems like a good idea to me.

Callistemon21

^Sheep next?^
Grammaretto 😁

They're not known as woolly jumpers for nothing

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Sheep next?
Grammaretto 😁

They're not known as woolly jumpers for nothing

I don’t care one way or another about coats for warmth but I can’t stand things like bows and silly decorative items. Just plain tacky.

They’re all different though aren’t they foxie. My now elderly horse (7/8 thoroughbred) still absolutely hates wearing rugs. I’ve finally learnt to listen to her and rarely rug her to go out, she holds her weight well and if she’s cold she can move about and eat more, as horses do. If she lived out 24/7 we might need to have a discussion.

On the other hand I see a hardy little Dartmoor rugged up to the eyeballs and a Welsh cob with hives because he’s so hot - I have learnt to keep my mouth firmly zipped. And don’t even get me started on the whole matchy matchy thing - some horse people have whole wardrobes for their horses including every colour under the sun. My view is horses cost enough anyway, let’s not invent ways to spend even more.

Feel the rain and COLD …#shouldhavechecked

Depends on the dog.
Greyhounds have exceptionally thin coats and feel rain and the coat much more acutely than their shaggier fellow dogs.
So yes, my greyhounds wear a raincoat in heavy rain, a warm coat in cold weather and have even been known to wear an indoor “kennel coat” when on their hols where the usual home comforts of Mum’s bed are alas denied them.

I have a labrador and a collie. The collie would hate to wear anything, so he doesn't. The lab is a complete poser, wears bandanas when he goes to creche, will happily wear hats. He doesn't wear coats, bandanas or anything else day to day. If you know your dog is happy, then surely it's up to the individual owner. If you don't know if your dog is happy you are hopefully an unusual owner

Our lovely little Patterdale lived until she was 16 and needed a coat in her latter years.

Our whippet has very thin skin and very short hair. The upside is no grooming and he does not have a doggy smell at all. The downside is he wears a coat in winter simply to keep warm when out and about. Nothing to do with fashion or an owners' whim.

My Italian greyhound needs his coat in winter. If it offends anyone I really don't care

My very small JRT is virtually bald underneath (and close to the ground) so really gets cold very quickly. Try telling her she was 'bred to work outside in all weathers killing rats'. She's more like a cat, into comfort, warmth and relaxation.

She refuses to even go out in the rain. If it starts raining while we're out she hides under something, stops walking - looks pathetic and expects to be carried.

We have a selection of winter coats and jumpers that she enjoys wearing. After all, they really don't care a jot about how silly they look.

eddiecat78

mumofmadboys yes I've had several labradors. They were happiest swimming in rivers or rolling in snow

Our friends Flatcoats would joyfully charge in and out of the sea in December! A good shake, and off they went again.
Mind you Flatties were IIRC initially bred partly from Newfoundlands, which really are ‘water’ dogs.

Sometimes people who criticise aren't particularly knowledgeable. I've owned many horses and dogs over the years and used rugs and coats for both. Most of my horses have liked to wear fly rugs in the summer and I had a welsh pony with sweet itch who needed to be really well covered or kept in when the mozzies were around or he rubbed himself raw. I would pop a lightweight rain sheet on my daughter's unclipped pony as you can't tack up a filthy wet muddy pony and all the horses were clipped out so they could be "worked" so wore either a stable or turnout rug. My ruftie tuftie border terriers have all hated wet weather despite having a "double coat" because they are house dogs not kept out in kennels but will happily walk all day in their little coats. Daughter's Viz can cope with hot weather but shivers in the cold and wet as he's so fine coated so he has a coat to wear.
Would I dress any animal up as a fashion statement? No, but I will keep them comfortable so they can enjoy their activities.

I'm far less bothered by this than folk who just abandon pets that they are no longer willing or able to care for. And this is far far more prevalent

Some dogs don’t have thick coats and some extra protection in cold or wet weather helps them as they are used to living in warm houses. Ditto some elderly dogs. If you had thin hair would you go out without a hat on a cold day?

mumofmadboys yes I've had several labradors. They were happiest swimming in rivers or rolling in snow

My dog has a cooling bandana which is very effective in hot weather. ~He has an equafleece pug coat for the very cold. I see dogs in our local park wearing equafleece all in ones for practicality when there is lots of mud about . Saves having to put them in the bath every day. So easy to be judgemental when you dont know the why.

I think rain proofing is a good idea, but my dog flatly refuses to wear anything - he tolerates a collar but not a harness and certainly not the rather smart rain coat I bought him at great expense.

He simply refuses to walk. Sits down and won't budge until the offending article is removed - then off he trots.

I even see Battersea programmes with some dogs wearing bandanas. I do not mind a mini blanket on its back in the very cold weather but putting its feet through something? Definitely not and it cannot be comfortable for the animal.

My ex-cat would not tolerate a collar no way would she have put up with a bandana or worse.

I agree in cold weather or wet weather we put a waterproof coat on our dog. She was elderly and it kept her warm and dry and much easier to keep your dog clean. Have you ever had a dog eddiecat?

I don’t see anything wrong with coats for certain dogs, especially if they’re getting on a bit and don’t have the sort of fur that shrugs rain off easily. A friends’ Westie comes to mind - their 2 Flatcoat retrievers OTOH had no need of them - their own coats shrugged off water in no time.

We live by the sea in the north east and get very cold winds in the winter so put jumpers on our dogs or warm coats that are also waterproof for wet weather.

Just as dogs feel the heat, they also feel the cold so why not keep them warm and dry?