I briefly mentioned on Monday that we’re trying to put weight on Cooper. He is really under-weight. He’s all points and knobs.
One of the big problems making this even worse for him is the weather. Today’s high? 15. The low? -6. Without a single drop of fat on him, Cooper is fr-fr-freezing. His fur fuzzes out, he tucks his tail, he shivers like crazy… just to run out and pee.
So, we’ve been keeping him in sweatshirts and coats for the better part of a month now. I really think he realizes that they’re keeping him warmer because as soon as one gets dirty (read: peed on), we take it off, and he stands there and waits while we get another out of the closet. Then he diligently lifts one paw at a time while we put on the clean garment. Thankfully, we had a few on hand that have made it into rotation.
He has a green jacket that attaches with Velcro. It’s easy-on-and-off but not as warm as his others. (Though it’s super cute!)
He has the red fleece hoodie that I made as part of his Thing 2 costume.
This is a two-layer fleece that my mom made for Emmett several years ago. We couldn’t find a warm coat to fit his big barrel chest, so she made this to fit him perfectly. He… ahem… outgrew it, so now it’s Cooper’s.
Finally, my very favorite… his cable-knit sweater. It’s ridiculously cute. Maybe not the warmest in the bunch, though it can layer underneath the green jacket for some extra coziness.
Honestly, with the snow on the ground and how crazy he gets with Lucas and playing at doggy daycare, these things get filthy daily! Right now he’s wearing the green… the paw print is in the wash… the sweater is hanging to dry… and the red is queued up for when he or one of his brothers pees on the green!
How does your dog do with apparel? Do you need winter wear to keep your pup warm? Or perhaps more for the cute factor?
When I lived in Indiana my dog had her own fleece hoodie. I have also put t-shirts on her to cover her belly when she used to scratch and irritate it, but she’s never been much on wearing clothes. She’s also 60lbs. Soooooo she doesn’t need the extra layers. 🙂
Take a look at Ruffwear’s Quinzee Jacket, it’s down filled and super cozy. Ziva suffers from the same problem as Cooper regarding the cold. She just starts shaking uncontrollably, this jacket has been awesome! Depending on what size you order you can also add a layer to the top, or underneath the jacket.
And if you want something that would keep him middle of the antartic style warm, hurrta has some amazing doggy winter suits. 🙂 http://www.hurtta.com
Good luck! Stay cozy Cooper!
Those are some great outfits! Stay warm!
Although Scout is certainly NOT under weight, she is very intolerant of the cold. I keep a heating pad out and turned on low and when she is cold she lays on it. Combined with a sweater this might help Cooper stay warmer – maybe if it was in his bed he would quickly learn that where to go to get warmed up.
Graham has a coat that he sometimes wears to the dog park on cold days. But I usually take it off after he’s run around for a while. I’m not entirely sure he needs it since he was a nudist when we went up to the snow last year and he was perfectly fine. That being said he does like to burrow under the covers during the winter, such as it is.
Hershey generally only has clothes put on her (hats, scarves, a jingly jester collar) so I can take embarrassing pictures of her.
Since we are in the deep south, it doesn’t get stupid cold. Bentley dresses just to be cute. LOL!
Cooper is adorable, he looks comfy and warm. I need to find some hoodies for Cash and get my mom to modify them so they fit his oddly proportioned body. What I should’ve done was get my mom to make him some, she was always trying to make my daughter clothes, which were a beautiful gesture but really, really under appreciated by the kid. I guess it’s not too late to get Yeya on the job still have 4-6 weeks of winter left *sigh*
He’s very dashing in all his coats. 🙂 We don’t have coats YET. it is something I’m working on. My guys don’t seem to ‘mind’ the cold, but I would like them covered considering the extreme weather we’ve been having. My biggest issue is sizing them. Sampson has the broadest chest and the tiniest waist. We bought him a bright orange vest for hunting season (we have a deer hunter where we walk) and I had to modify it to fit him. I don’t want to pay tons of money for something that I myself will have to modify. My SIL is a seamstress and I’m seriously considering asking her to make something.
Suh, a French Bulldog, should be wearing sweaters outside because her whole body shakes when she goes out there but I don’t think she likes them very much anymore. As soon as she sees a sweater in my hand she takes off running… I love the sweaters though so she gets put in them when I can catch her : )
We have to put the Pawz boots on ours because at 3, she still has a couple pink pads! And if the ground is too cold, someone has to carry her. She hates the boots, so I have to keep a handful of treats on me to keep her from running away when I put them on. Once they’re on, though, she’s pretty resigned to the idea. She also has a coat, but it’s not nearly as stylish as Cooper’s! He is one fashionable dog!
Luke is our first dog that we felt needed a coat. Mostly he wears a lighter weight hoodie and that seems good enough. I like that since he can keep it on in the house too without getting too warm. He still fights having it put on a little bit, but he’s getting better, and actually learning to put his paws through the holes by himself. I did order a fleece jacket for him as well, for the real cold days, but it’s on backorder. We try to keep him on the slim side because of his knees, so I think he just doesn’t have a lot of meat on his bones for warmth, plus his fur is pretty thin in places.