Dumb Question - How do I know if my dog is cold?

[mzza111]

I adopted Gypsy in May and she is my first dog...ever. Now that the weather is cooling down, am I supposed to cover her with a blanket at night? Does she need to wear a doggie sweater during the day? I live in So California so it's not -10 below or anything but it's getting cooler.

Sorry for the dumb question. I just want to make sure I don't harm her in any way.

Thanks,
Ami

 

[Jennifer Clark]

Keep in mind the only stupid question is the one not asked. Sheldon sleeps with one of my son's old comforters its his bed. I have no idea how to answer this but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who can. I would say shiver because when Sheldon gets cold he shivers a little that is how we know.

 

[Libra926]

Vegas sleeps under 3 blankets at night. And he is curled up with his nose in the back of my neck some nights. But he hates wearing sweaters or hoodies. O loves to lay by the fireplace... dressed in warm snuggly clothes. But she will sleep on top of the blankets at night. They will look for warmth if they need it, but be very careful when they're sleeping because sometimes they can get too hot and start to struggle with breathing.

Tapatalk rocks! Voice dictation on the other hand, sucks. Sorry for any misspellings, jumbled sentences or missing punctuations!

 

[GusBus]

I adopted Gypsy in May and she is my first dog...ever. Now that the weather is cooling down, am I supposed to cover her with a blanket at night? Does she need to wear a doggie sweater during the day? I live in So California so it's not -10 below or anything but it's getting cooler.

Sorry for the dumb question. I just want to make sure I don't harm her in any way.

Thanks,
Ami

i don't think that's a dumb question because I immediately clicked your post because I wanted to know the answer!

 

[Texas Carol]

Ami...there are NO stupid questions here, I am touched that you care
so much for Gypsy's needs. It ROCKS to have a bulldog as your 1st dog!
GOD bless you for rescuing her and giving her a loving, safe home.

Gypsy is lucky and I'm sure...showing you that she knows it!

 

[AmberXo]

Brynn will sleep under a blanket if she wants, otherwise she sleeps on quite a few softer warmer blankets then if she is to hot she will go lay down on the floor or a cooler place. I too wanted to know the answer to this question.

 

[Petra]

I think it's a cute question our bulldogs tuck in their feet sort of under them if they are cold... hard to explain. And when I put a blanket on them they take their feet out and sleep normally (if there is a normal way to sleep). If they are warm they lay on the side with their belly up in the air to cool off

Boeboe likes to wear a dress so on cold nights she can have that on but I normally just put a blanket for them at night and if they get cold they whine, lol.

 

[brutus77]

By asking questions it shows how much you love your baby!! I love that! I would provide a blanket at night. If she is cold she will snuggle. I too am curious about the answer for whether or not they should wear something outside as this is the first winter Brutus will be big enough to actually be outside for more than potty this winter. He was 8wks old when we got him in Jan of 2013. Oh and by the way to the site.

 

[Davidh]

They will shiver if they are really cold, usually they will try to curl up or get by something warm. In the winter we keep the house 68 deg. F. inside and our bullies don't wear anything and most of them don't have bedding in their crates because they will eat it. The ones that do will sometimes push it out of the way, so I'm thinking they do this because they are hot. If your bully doesn't eat or chew his bedding, then you could put it in there. It doesn't get that cold here, maybe a week or two in the twenties or thirties, and when we take them out to potty, we don't put anything on them. They are not out that long. If they were going to be out for awhile then we would put a sweater or something on them.

 

[alyssahope]

Maggie shivers. Also if you feel their ears and they're colder than your hands they might be a little chilly. Sometimes she wakes up shivering so I wrap her in a blanket burrito.

 

[Tooleysmom]

We live in a cold climate and their fur gets thicker in the winter. But when they are cold they shiver and snuggle into blankets or into a warm body or bask in the warmth of the fire place. But as soon as the cool weather starts they wear hoodies, then jackets and then sheep lined bulldog parkas as the weather gets colder when we go for walks. Booties are another matter. They hate them and it is a challenge to get them to stay on once I get them on. Always looking back into the snow to see if one has accidentally slipped off or purposely been kicked off. When they go out to potty they don't wear anything but they sure get the job done quickly!!!!

 

[Alice Kable]

They will shiver if they are really cold, usually they will try to curl up or get by something warm. In the winter we keep the house 68 deg. F. inside and our bullies don't wear anything and most of them don't have bedding in their crates because they will eat it. The ones that do will sometimes push it out of the way, so I'm thinking they do this because they are hot. If your bully doesn't eat or chew his bedding, then you could put it in there. It doesn't get that cold here, maybe a week or two in the twenties or thirties, and when we take them out to potty, we don't put anything on them. They are not out that long. If they were going to be out for awhile then we would put a sweater or something on them.

Same here. They shiver when cold but can't have blankets or soft beds because they eat them. Buster, half French, half English is the only one that needs a shirt on all the time when it is cold outside!

 

[nubonics]

I adopted Gypsy in May and she is my first dog...ever. Now that the weather is cooling down, am I supposed to cover her with a blanket at night? Does she need to wear a doggie sweater during the day? I live in So California so it's not -10 below or anything but it's getting cooler.

Sorry for the dumb question. I just want to make sure I don't harm her in any way.

Thanks,
Ami

Where in SoCal are you? We are in LA and it's still too hot for Curly (12wks) even at night. He radiates heat.

Keep in mind that a dogs can adapt to cold a lot better than us because they have fur so when the sun does set in SoCal and we're cold the dogs think of it more as AC than us where we are throwing on our sweaters

Our Boston Terrier/pug get cold easily and is starting to get cold at night and she definitely looks like she is cold when she is (shivers stays close to your body. She even digs and sleeps under covers.

We are originally from Philly and our two older dogs had real seasons so they have winter coats. last "winter" in LA we only needed their winter coat when it rained and we only really used the coats cuz they are waterproof.

Our girl that gets cold all the time will wear sweaters at night but during the day she's fine.

So I think in the end you just need to take the cues from your pup if she is cold. If she is shivering then it might be time to put a sweater on her.

Even if you put a blanket over her at night she will probably not sleep under it all night. My EB is my 6th dog I've had and only my Boston/Pug actually will dig to be under covers. with all the other dogs I've had non needed sweaters or blankets in doors (my list of dogs were: Dalmatian, Pit Pug, Pit Pug, Frenchton, Bugg, EB - I currently have the last three)


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[mbd963]

We live in a cold climate and their fur gets thicker in the winter. But when they are cold they shiver and snuggle into blankets or into a warm body or bask in the warmth of the fire place. But as soon as the cool weather starts they wear hoodies, then jackets and then sheep lined bulldog parkas as the weather gets colder when we go for walks. Booties are another matter. They hate them and it is a challenge to get them to stay on once I get them on. Always looking back into the snow to see if one has accidentally slipped off or purposely been kicked off. When they go out to potty they don't wear anything but they sure get the job done quickly!!!!

You mention sheep lined bulldog parkas? I live in Canada too and I'm looking for something that will keep Ramsay warm during our winters! Where did you get them from? Any info would be appreciated!

 

[Bo'sMamaGirl]

I always think that when Bo curls his arms and legs under him and lays on them he is cold. But Bo loves blankies. The more the better. He has a big fuzzy blankie in his house that he never tries to burrow under. But any other time he sees a blankie he wraps himself up in it. He has footmen very good at it. I'll post a pic of his best personal wrap job. He sleeps in bed with us and I'm like a rotisserie oven even though I don't actually feel hot. He is 90% of the time under the covers with me laying right next to me skin to skin but when he gets hot he will get out of the covers. He also always lays under covers so that just his nose and mouth are out. Smart boy!

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