# Winter grooming/clothing



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

How cold are your winters and what size poodle ? For a small poodle, winter clothing is needed for walks when the winter is harsh but not necessary to go outside to do their business. Around here it gets to -40 and my dogs never wear a coat to go outside to pee. They just hurry up !

If you want to walk them in the snow or where melting salt is used, then boots are good because they prevent snow accumulation between the pads and salt burning their feet. And a coat will prevent snow on the coat.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

My standard doesnt need a coat for pee breaks, but i keep her shorn short and my bedroom cold (14-16 C) , so sometimes she wears a sweater at night. She does wear a coat for long (20min +) walks on particularly cold/windy/rainy nights, or blowing snow, and has boots for days with lots of salt down. Keeping her feet shaven prevents buildup of ice in her feet, which keeps them from getting as cold. I put a hood over her ears on very windy and cold nights (-10C and below) as i worry about frost bite. I dont tend to put a coat on her for offleash play as she runs fast enough to stay warm.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

When we visited family in SE WI in winter, I brought insulated dog coats. I never got them used to boots, but they might be helpful, especially with the salt and that crunchy, icy layer that forms on top of snow.

I find the relevant variables are temperature, wind, precipitation, and accumulated precipitation. Accumulated snow seems to make the most difference. It could be minus 10 with no snow/ice, and the dogs were fine au natural. Or it could be 20 degrees with 1 foot accumulated and at least one of them was visibly cold, lifting his paws unnaturally as he walked.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

I'm in Kansas, Winter is plenty chilly and occasionally very snowy. I have minis and use these down jackets for spending time outside, as much to keep their backs dry as keeping them warm. My boys are young so don't really need anything in the house. I keep them clipped to about 1/2 inch.









When my girls got older, and especially just after a clip, we had cotton/poly sweatshirts for them for the colder months inside, fleece coats for outside, and lighter weight cotton poly t-shirts for the warmer months, if they seemed chilled. They'd get groomed very close and we'd let it grow longer for the colder weather.

















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We had no luck with booties but Musher's Secret gets recommended a lot to protect paws.

If the "sensitive content" label is present, it really isn't. It's poodles in t-shirts .


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I like Pawz booties for protection from road and sidewalk salt. This was a big issue in Toronto, but varies from place to place.










For a little extra warmth, Gold Paw fleeces fit nice and close, have forgiving stretch, wash up easily, and are designed to be extremely comfortable with all seams worn on the outside.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

We keep Bobby pretty short year ‘round but just a touch longer in the winter. Minnesota winters are pretty cold, snowy and icy, sometimes brutally so. Bobby loves the snow though so we don’t put anything on until it gets in the low teens and below. Then it depends on the weather, windchill and temp. We have a lighter jacket and sweater for cold weather and heavy duty winter clothes for the super cold and bad weather. We use Musher’s Secret to keep his pads nice and we keep his feet in poodle feet as it is easier to keep the snow and ice and chemicals off. We definitely put on boots when it gets in the single digits and below. In the house he’s funny about them but once we start walking he’s great!


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

I'm also in Minnesota, and Zephyr doesn't own a coat. We go out and hike daily no matter how cold it is, and he is fine. He does have some boots, but doesn't wear them since they don't stay on. As long as he keeps moving he is good to go.


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## vandog (Mar 30, 2019)

I keep my spoo cut pretty short all year round. She has a few fleece sweaters and “pj’s” (half leg coverage) if it’s chilly in the house or if we’re “camping” or travelling. Depending on what we’re doing she also has a thin slicker/rain coat and a thicker insulated one and a head muff. 

I tried walkeepaws initially because they were cheaper after paying the exchange and while they’re great in theory, the leg part isn’t waterproof. I use them to walk in the city on the sidewalks or on paths were salt has been used. I don’t use them for actually going in the snow because she still can get wet and snowballs form on the mid leg area and she can slip her legs out when playing/running. 









My favourite is the backcountry paws gaiters. They fit her great (completely adjustable) and don’t fall off but they are not cheap. She’s on her second pair because she grew out of her puppy ones. This prevents the snowballs from forming on her legs and I don’t feel as guilty taking her up into the mountains because her feet are protected and they’re super easy to put on and take off.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Ohhh my goodness those gaiters are hilarious! I LOVE them!! They would absolutely stop traffic around here.

Do you find that covering paws interferes with traction/stability at all?


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## codys_mom (Jul 22, 2020)

Oh my gosh, these pictures of poodles in their winter gear are ADORABLE!! Nothing to add, but following along because I’ve been wondering about the same thing. We’re in the Chicago area and Cody (4 months now, spoo) will probably just have started to need real haircuts this winter.


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## vandog (Mar 30, 2019)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Ohhh my goodness those gaiters are hilarious! I LOVE them!! They would absolutely stop traffic around here.
> 
> Do you find that covering paws interferes with traction/stability at all?


Nope! She can run, jump and zoom without any issues. The booties have traction and she walked weird in the house for a bit with them but had no issues as soon as she was outside. I’ll throw them on her if we’re hiking and it’s been raining. She uses them in my yard if it’s muddy/snowing and can easily jump 6+ feet and zoom with no issues. They have significant better traction than the walkeepaws which is on of the reasons why I only use those for sidewalks lol


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

For their first five years or Pogo and Snarky were fine through a New England winter if I let their hair grow out a bit. They would run around outside and keep plenty warm. They suffered more in spring, when I welcomed the arrival of mud season by giving them buzz cuts. They would burrow into the couch cushions for a week or so until they adjusted. I got them cheap fleeces to wear during the adjustment period.

As they aged they became less cold resistant I got them each a Canada Pooch raincoat. They normally didn't require much insulation (and if they did I'd just layer their spring fleece underneath), but they appreciated the protection from cutting winds and driving rain.


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## Austen (Mar 10, 2020)

Same @cody_mom ! The photos in this thread are so cute! 

I'm following this and will check out the coats, boots and paw protectors that have been posted. We're in Nova Scotia so our winters aren't as cold as some, but we have a lot of snow/ice/thaw/repeat from January through March and even April. 

Austen came home in December last year and didn't go outside for long periods until he had had his last set of vaccinations, so this will be his first real Winter. He's an oversized mini by about an inch, and is very long and lean at 11 months, so fit for coats might be tricky. 



codys_mom said:


> Oh my gosh, these pictures of poodles in their winter gear are ADORABLE!! Nothing to add, but following along because I’ve been wondering about the same thing. We’re in the Chicago area and Cody (4 months now, spoo) will probably just have started to need real haircuts this winter.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Austen said:


> Same @cody_mom ! The photos in this thread are so cute!
> 
> I'm following this and will check out the coats, boots and paw protectors that have been posted. We're in Nova Scotia so our winters aren't as cold as some, but we have a lot of snow/ice/thaw/repeat from January through March and even April.
> 
> Austen came home in December last year and didn't go outside for long periods until he had had his last set of vaccinations, so this will be his first real Winter. He's an oversized mini by about an inch, and is very long and lean at 11 months, so fit for coats might be tricky.


We had similar fit issues with Gracie, who was half mini....and a quarter dachshund! Lonnng body.

The Gold Paw fleeces fit her really nicely. We always sized up slightly for best coverage.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

The problem I've had with many coats is that the belly band sits too far back. Designers seem not to consider the fact that the exhaust pipe is mounted in front of the rear drive train on boy dogs.


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## Kaera (Jul 19, 2020)

Dechi said:


> How cold are your winters and what size poodle ? For a small poodle, winter clothing is needed for walks when the winter is harsh but not necessary to go outside to do their business. Around here it gets to -40 and my dogs never wear a coat to go outside to pee. They just hurry up !
> 
> If you want to walk them in the snow or where melting salt is used, then boots are good because they prevent snow accumulation between the pads and salt burning their feet. And a coat will prevent snow on the coat.


He is a standard poodle, currently around 60 pounds. Our winters can get rough. January and February can bring -20 or lower temps.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Kaera said:


> He is a standard poodle, currently around 60 pounds. Our winters can get rough. January and February can bring -20 or lower temps.


He’ll be fine as long as you keep his coat long enough.


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