# Poodles and the cold!



## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Tonka and Spud used to have a ball . . . chasing each other in -20C. Dressed only as u see them below . . no coats. 20 minutes to half an hour was abt their maximum.

Your 'advice lady' is all wet...


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## sarpoodle (Dec 26, 2011)

Countryboy said:


> Your 'advice lady' is all wet...


Amen! Our two adult standards are frequently shaved down, and they love the cold. Granted we don't experience anything less than the low teens over here in our area, but when the wind starts whipping up, I'm bundled from head to toe and the dogs are acting like it's awesome.

Greg


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Yup, I agree; I don't know about going in water but here in this part of Canada the whole winter is up and down between -22 and -4C with some warmer days above zero (but that's so nasty because of the snow melting and mud, blech), and our dogs love it all. They run so much and are very active, but as soon as they start to get tired I take them in so they don't get cold when they stop playing vigorously. Anyway I don't REALLY think shaving them is that much different than full coat because they don't ever have an underlay or a double coat, so wouldn't it just be like wearing a sweater?


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

A lot of people really don't understand how different types of dog hair work, or that length has very little to do with how warm it keeps them. Take Huskies for instance. Their hair is never supposed to be more than 1-2 inches long, but the thick undercoat and hollow guard hairs trap their own body heat to keep them perfectly warm in subzero temps. The "woolies", long-haired huskies, are actually disqualified from the show ring specifically because this type of hair holds in snow and damp (snowballs, like long coated poodles get) and does not insulate the dog properly in subarctic conditions at all. So you can see, sometimes long hair is a hindrance in snowy cold.

Poodles don't have an undercoat. The hairs are all uniform in thickness and density. So whether they have a inch or four inches of hair, it doesn't make any difference how warm they are, really only the parts closest to the body will trap the body heat. This woman doesn't understand that there is absolutely no distinction between a summer or winter coat with this kind of hair, it's more like our own than it is to a breed with undercoat (although it's markedly thicker than human hair). A human's hair really only has an inch of area where it will trap body heat against your skin as well, before it falls down our necks. People who shave their heads say they feel warmer with a mere quarter inch worth of growth on their heads! Your dog has three quarters inch, which is plenty to insulate him when he's active and playing outside. Obviously if he's tired and starts to shiver, it's time to go in, which I'm sure to do. Alternatively you could put a coat on, but it's not strictly necessary as long as he's active.

Fully soaked hair and very cold temps don't insulate any type of coat though, so as long as he goes in after swimming and gets dried off in a relative decent amount of time, he's probably just fine. In rainy weather, unless its an epic soaking downpour, I've found that even a poodle's coat will stay dry at the skin and only the tips of the coat get wet. It's when it's wet at the skin that it's concerning.


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## lrkellly (Jan 6, 2012)

Ugh this lady must have some serious mental problems !

Here in Canada you will find all kinds of poodles running around without coats in much lower temperatures.

I just took Sprout in from a jaunt in 2 feet of snow, and its -10 Celsius here right now (-18 with the wind-chill).

I put a coat on him sometimes, for longer walks, when it goes below - 15. He hasn't shown any discomfort in the snow. He's a small mini, the snow is almost over his head. He hops around like a bunny, its pretty amusing. He will often choose to hop around in the snow rather than walking where it has been cleared.

If sprout get wet, it seems to bother him more than the cold. So if he's playing fetch in the rain and we stop and start walking he sometimes shivers when its only a few degrees above zero. But if he stays dry, no shivering. I think shivering might be a good indication of how comfortable your dog is in the cold... (?)


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## ThePoodleLovers (Feb 4, 2012)

I wouldn't listen to her. Zeb used to love playing football in the garden in the snow.. always made sure he was dried and combed when he went back in though. It used to take forever to calm him down enough to do it. As you can imagine.. its probably a bit uncomfortable for them to be wet. 

For casual walks.. as long as they are always moving and active a 3/4" coat isn't anything to worry about. Cats are much worse off!


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## afkar (Dec 9, 2011)

Mine are also clipped short to very short all year round & we track through the autumn & winter in all sorts of conditions. My Tia got a "Track of the Day" award in extremely strong winds when it was sleeting rain with her coat clipped with a #5 blade. We were all getting wet through wet weather gear & Tia finished her 1.8km or so track & walked back the whole length of the paddocks wet but with her tail wagging the whole way. She wasn't a bit bothered by the weather as she was doing something she loves. Each dog is an individual & some will feel the cold more than others as they will with the heat. If your dog is happy then that is what really matters.


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## DivinityPoodles (Jan 23, 2012)

I grew Cale's coat out for the sole purpose of going hunting in sub zero weather. I accomplished snow balls on his legs & face (and anywhere else he got into contact with snow lol). He was warm but then he was running around like a loon and having the time of his life. He absolutely refused to go into the water after it hit his chest (no problem on his legs) but he does that in cold water in the summer too. More to do with his age than anything else. 
He shivers if he get soaked and is outside in the freezing cold but otherwise he's fine until we go in. 
I think you are doing just fine with your own common sense about your dog!!


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

“Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.”
― Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_What a shame that you had to take a dressing down like that!

It is not cruel to take your poodle out in that length of coat at that temperature. And letting him run in the sea at a warmer temp is not cruel either. A dog is not going to run in water that is causing pain and making it uncomfortable. I am assuming that he isn't getting soaking wet but probably running in and out of the surf?

This women must not have any understanding of the poodle breed. They are not frou-frou dogs! They are hardy and love to be outside in the snow and the cold and love to play in it. Ours do it all the time. I have stood outside shivering while our dogs were zooming around and having a grand time and then had to ride home in the car with the back windows cracked open because they were warm and panting. This is normal for them.

I have a coat to put on my short clipped dog, but I don't use it because he gets too warm. His coat was about 3/4" long all over until a week ago. He sleeps near the patio door a lot so that he can catch the cool air radiating from it, and our house is not hot!

As others have said, if your dog shows signs of shivering, then it is time to end the play and bring it in. I have only seen one of my dogs shiver once in three years. _


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## jade cat (Sep 22, 2009)

Thank you all, I was starting to doubt myself, silly me. I thought Eddy looked like he was having too much fun, sniffing and tracking the local cats to worry about the temp!! 
Oh and yes Eddy does not go into the water full on when it is cold out, if it gets near his belly, he leaps out sooo quick it is so funny, no he just runs around chasing the tidal edge, like a little child.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Sounds like she doesn't have the first clue.

My poodle is kept quite short and he's absolutely fine in the coldest weather as long as a) he's moving and b) he's not wet. If I ask him to stand around in the cold, he'll shiver. 

If your dog is happy, tail up and not shivering, he's fine. I'd tell the woman to mind her own business in areas she clearly hasn't sufficient knowledge.


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## kdias (Sep 17, 2011)

"_ I'd tell the woman to mind her own business in areas she clearly hasn't sufficient knowledge._" 

So true, some folks think they know about everything. YOU were the one with the poodle, SHE had the border collies.


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## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

Well I just shaved Panda really short yesterday because I find it easier to keep him clean that way. We are in SE England too and have snow and Panda is just fine, he wears a snow suit to keep him dry but it doesn't offer any warmth as it is thin. He doesn't show any signs of discomfort though, he loves the snow!


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

Russell and Rufus are kept quite short, and Russell spends a lot of time outside. He begs to be out there, this morning was -16C ... I think he's nuts, but what do I know. He sits on the deck in the sun, surveying his property with steam bellowing out of his nose! No sweaters for him! At this temperature I tend to call him in every 1/2 hour, but it takes convincing on my part. Rufus, who is 14, shivers if it is under 4C, won't tolerate a sweater though. I firmly believe your dog will let you know if it is uncomfortable!


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## Ms Stella (Aug 16, 2010)

How rude of that woman! She obviously doesnt know what she is talking about but must really believe her story..I guess we could just consider her uninformed and very passionate about doggie welfare! But my standards have shaved (with a 40 blade) butts and they will sit in the snow. Ive never seen them act cold..except once after a fresh shave of his feet Player had cold feet in the fresh snow. But he let me know right away. Im sure your dog will let you know if he is uncomfortable.


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## spookiesmom (Dec 31, 2011)

Seems like I read that Poodle was fractured German for puddle. And that the show cuts were originally designed so the dogs could do what they were supposed to do, water retreivers. Yes, no?

I love BCs too, but that woman is crazier than a loon.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

Wow I cant believe some people! I mean the breed was developed to hunt in freezing German waters! Or what about the all spoo sled team that ran te iditarod in AK. We lived in AK for a while (avg -30f in the winter), let me tell you they will let you know when they are cold.. Basics tap dancing in the snow.. shivering. Ugg some people are soo prejiduce against poodles.. they are no where near as frail as some believe! I know my mini put a 6mon old lab in its place, or the time she retaliated against a 70 lb husky for pushing her very patient limits. She is not frail, nor an aggressor but if your another canine dont push her or she'll push back! And is maybe 12lbs and 13.5" tall, and the most social butterfly!


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## cate&clair (Aug 7, 2017)

I had the same experiences with my children and the myriad of advisers who haunt grocery stores, or wherever. There are "experts" out there who know _everything_ you don't know, and they're happy to rant on about it! Pbbbt! 

I might have asked the lady why she has border collies and is not out herding sheep with them like border collies were meant to do!


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

Poodles are, after all, European water retrievers! That Border Collie lady is the one who is all wet! A dry poodle can certainly handle very cold temps with 1/2 inch of coat.


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## Païllâsse (Jun 14, 2016)

Next time why don’t you ask her to mind her own business. :argh:
This is just pure nastiness and ignorance.

Poodles are indeed wonderful companions, but originally they were used to hunt and retrieve birds in very cold water. In France the hunting season has always been in fall/winter, so the poodle breed know how to handle the cold.
In French their names derived from the word duck, because they were champion for this kind of hunt.
Mine can spend hours in the cold walking in the snow with a temperature on –15c
Look at the picture, the jacket is just to protect from the ice sticking on the chest.
The only issue is the ice clinging to the fur.
Even in winter time when the water is freezing, he goes swimming when I do not see him.
As long as the dog is active, and that he does not spend hours in the cold soaking wet, he will be fine.
On the contrary dogs that spend time in th cold are more resistant and less sensitive to temperature variations.


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## Dancer920 (May 16, 2016)

I have Sienna clipped to a 3/4 length of hair too. She is constantly out with the Border Collies playing and NONE of them have coats on. The last few days it has been anywhere from -10F to -30F below which hasn't stopped her at all. Yes their coats are different than Huskies, and I do keep an eye on my guys in the cold weather but my crew isn't having any problems. I've seen people in my area having a fit because a husky was out on a cold day and wasn't in a heated warm house. I had Sibs for over 20 years, that's the last place that they really want to be but people are so intent on their human emotions that it really doesn't seem to matter. People will lock things into their heads, right or wrong, and swear by their convictions and think that everyone else should follow their lead because they are "right".....even if they are wrong. I see it all the time. Best decision, you make the one that is right for your dog.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Wow! It wasn't 'til I scrolled back and saw Spoospirit's name that I realized how old this thread is... back to 2012.


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