What do you do in bad weather?

[RowdyDogs]

Originally Posted by martinaa

I suppose with a 10 week old puppy you'll have to keep an eye on her if you have an abrupt cold snap. I wouldn't worry as long as you are above 20 degrees though.

I think that wet and wind are more problematic than actual temps, personally. As long as they can stay reasonably dry on their skin (keeping in mind that GSDs have thick coats and a wet topcoat doesn't mean they're feeling that chill on their skin) and out of the wind if they're not exercising, they're fine to frigid temperatures. A bit of moisture on the extremities (paws, legs, ears) isn't even a big deal if the core temperature is up. On the other hand, I've seen a dog who've I've worked for 12 hours is negative temps without a problem get chilled when it was around 45F and just a bit breezy, because he got soaked falling into a river. I had to rush him into a warm area and dry him because he was only getting worse.

I suspect that in the incident that the OP described, her getting her legs and belly wet were actually a bigger problem than the specific temperature. Cold+wet=bad news for any animal, humans included!

My only hesitation is the age of the pup, because I've never had a young one out in cold temperatures really, which is why I recommend a call to the vet. But we often forget that double-coated dogs like the GSD are extremely well-suited to cold temperatures and do far better in them than we do! If we're a bit chilly in jeans and a tee shirt, our dogs are probably just beginning to think it's perfect weather.

[jocoyn]

Originally Posted by carmspack

get wet , get dirty and curse .

no really , the dogs go out no matter what - as working dogs they need to ready and able to perform.

no dogs running for shade and quiting -- no dogs loosing "umph" because it is raining .

What she said. Blow the dogs off, no snow here. Lots of red mud. Nobody would ever accuse me of having a clean house no matter what. As for me. Coffee warms you up as does a warm shower. At least I work from home.

We don't do thunder and lightning. We are careful with summer heat.

[BowWowMeow]

What's bad weather?

We go out in any weather. I got Massie (at 10 weeks) in the winter and we had record low temps and record high snows that year. We were out in it every day and we both had a blast!

[marshies]

eGGE ball to play indoors if you have open spaces. Food puzzles.

[RocketDog]

Count me in also for any kind of weather. If it's super cold (like below 10 degrees Far. ), raining to beat he11, snowin like a mutha...you name it, we're out in it. I use paw wax or bag balm on his feet if it's really icy.

The only concession I will make is running him (as in running with me) in the heat here. Since he is a long coat, we don't run in the summer except in the EARLY am or the very late pm. He does enjoy other activity then, such as playing with the hose, hiking, swimming, etc.

Invest in some good layers, such as a waterproof shell, a down "sweater" jacket, and a fleece mid-layer and you're set!

[Kyleigh]

In Kyleigh's mind, there is NO such thing as bad weather. That is one of the main reasons I have a GSD ... I wanted a dog that could adapt to all kinds of weather. If I wanted to stay in the house all the time, I wouldn't have a dog.

Bundle up / or strip down to the basics is my motto ... go with the weather. (Unless it's a thunder and lightning storm or just stupid hot).

Kyleigh and I were out for an hour this morning, and 2.5 hours this afternoon ... it's -27 with the windchill ... yes, it was freaking cold. But she found a friend, and then two of them ran and wrestled the entire time. I had FOUR layers of clothes on, and all she had was fur! I think she was still warmer than I was!

Even at 10 weeks, the puppy can still go out and have some fun (not necessarily for 2.5 hours, but it can still be outside and moving!)

[selzer]

I got Arwen at five weeks old in mid July. So when the river froze over she was probably six months or less. I took the two of them down into the woods and Frodo got stuck on the other side of the River. Finally he tried to cross it and the ice broke and I had to go into the river to rescue him. Arwen also on the way back up dropped into the drink. But I fished her out quick.

I brought them back up and put them in the kennel while I went inside and pulled off my wet things and dried off and got into dry things. Then I went out to get Frodo and dry him off because he was totally submersed and in the water longer. I started with him, I should have started with the pup.

Anyway, after he was dry, I got Arwen and dried her off, and we were all inside a few hours later, everyone lying down in the living room, and Arwen got up to come over to me and it was like she could no longer control her back end.

I freaked.

I called the vet and rushed her in. She was walking by then. They said a touch of Hypothermia. She was perfectly ok and had no lasting effects, but I should have gotten her dried off quicker as she was a puppy and did not have the layer of fat adult dogs do.

At this point, my 7 month old pups are out all day and I bring them in at night. They have houses out there. The 10 month old puppies have an indoor outdoor kennel. I figure if I need long johns, they need straw. It has been so warm this year that I just put straw in Monday. If you put straw in early, they just pull it out. They can handle some pretty extreme temperatures, as long as you keep them out of the river that is.

[MichaelE]

Originally Posted by carmspack

get wet , get dirty and curse .

no really , the dogs go out no matter what - as working dogs they need to ready and able to perform.

no dogs running for shade and quiting -- no dogs loosing "umph" because it is raining .

Agreed. The dog and I go out, we don't pay attention to what it's doing outside as long as the weather is not producing severe thunderstorms or tornados.

[Ken Clean-Air System]

Like many others, we get cold (well I do anyway, lol), wet, muddy, etc. The only weather that will keep us from walking, playing, etc. is driving downpours and thunderstorms, and even then if there is a break in the storm we get in as much outdoor time as the weather will allow. On the rare days when the weather doesn't allow enough time outdoors we play indoors, do extra training indoors, and use puzzle toys like the Kong Wobbler.

[EchoGSD]

My friend and co-trainer started a Puppy Playtime group last year to address this issue for youngsters. We held classes for puppies under 6 months and another for puppies 6-12 months old...they were not formal training but instead were an "indoor dog park" where we could monitor and control the environment and participants. Limited enrollment, an indoor school gym with matting, toys, water bowls, etc. The whole point was to let the puppies "run free" to wrestle, run, bark, chew, and generally have a ball while learning socialization skills, bite inhibition, etc. We had informal discussions with the owners about typical puppy issues, and at times had everyone call their dogs to them for a quick break, etc. Was a WONDERFUL success.