developing winter coat

[fibreart]

hi all! I adopted a lovely female BC in march- she was a pure outdoor dog with a super thick winter coat when we got her, very happy to sleep out in -10 in her kennel, and often far too hot when indoors.

However, she has been of late indoors about as much as she is outdoors, and though she seemed to shed her summer coat, she has not developed the thick winter coat I would expect, and seems sometimes (not all) a little chilly outside.

she does sleep outside and spend the time we are away at work etc outside but i am a bit worried her coat may not develop to the same degree as when she was a fully outdoor dog, and she may get cold.

I would say before anyone says I am freezing my dog, that for sure her kennel is super reinforced with carpet walls and good flooring and blankets. I would rather not have her as a house dog as she needs things to stimulate her and loves being in the garden.

[Mdaniels]

I cannot help you, our dogs are part of our home and we stimulate them with games and exercise. They are pretty tired when we do our jobs and we don't have to worry about them needing additional stimulation. They sleep on the couch or on beds.

[Maralynn]

Their coats generally won't get as thick if they're not outside all the time.

 

How cold is "chilly" now? My dogs spend time outside in kennels during the day (they're always inside at night). They have snug houses with bedding but when it get down to the low teens and lower I'll put a coat on them to ensure that they stay warm enough since their coats aren't the thickest. This seems to work fine for them. I do find that they need more food in the winter, though.

 

We're supposed to have low single digit temps with wind chills well below 0 for a few days next week and I'll just keep them inside when I'm not out with them then.