Danes and cold weather

[havadane]

I need information about raising and keeping danes in an area where the weather gets quite cold and wet. I have raised a dane, however, I lived in California where the weather rarely gets below 50 degrees. I am in an area now where 30's and 20's are not uncommon and wet weather is the rule of the day.

Although I don't have a dane now, I'm looking forward to the day when I will once again have a big baby in my life }( . Any advice on danes and cold, wet weather would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Tami J

[_Crystal_]

RE: Danes and cold weather

Hi! Welcome to DOL! }( I live in West Texas and though we can get some bitter cold winters, they are for the most part, dry. However when the weather is cold and icky I do have a jacket (actually a foal blanket that I got at the feed store...fits him pretty good, lol) I put on Brutus when we go out for a walk or something....but he's a house dog (like all Danes should be ) so his potty breaks during the cold are usually very short and quick and I don't bother putting his jacket on him then. There are several DOLer's who live in cold climates so hopefully they will chime in with more suggestions for you. Have a great night!

[B.C. Danes]

RE: Danes and cold weather

HELLO FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA,ALL MY DANES ARE HOUSE DOGS,LIVINGROOM FIXTURES REALLY.THEY ALL LOVE TO SPEND TIME OUTSIDE IN THE WINTER.WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPS THEY ASK TO COME IN QUICKER.WE HAVE ALOT OF SNOW IN OUR AREA THIS YEAR.TODAY WHEN I LOOKED OUT TO CHECK ON EVERYONE GRACE AND FANCY WERE ON THE ROOF OF THE BARN LEAN TO.I JUST ABOUT HAD AHEART ATTACK.THE HAPPILY GOT DOWN AND CAME INSIDE.MY HUSBAND WENT OUT AND REMOVED THE SNOW THAT HAD BUILT UP FROM SLIDING OFFTHE ROOF WHICH WAS THERE WAY TO THE ROOF.SO HOPEFULLY I WON'T LOOK OUT AND SEE THEM 10 FEET OFF THE GROUND ANYMORE.RHONDA

[Bev_K]

RE: Danes and cold weather

I live in Iowa, where we have can easily have single-digit temps in the winter. We do not use any sort of coats/blankets on our Danes. The dogs are only outside with us to play or for short potty breaks. I've found that as long as I can stand to be bundled up outside, they don't seem to mind the weather.

My past Danes actually preferred the colder weather, but my current Dane takes pretty quick potty breaks when it gets in the teens or below. She is liking the mild winter we are having so far this season!

Bev

[Aggie]

RE: Danes and cold weather

I'm with Bev. I live in Buffalo, and my Dane loves the snow and cold weather. We take him cross country skiing (if we ever get any snow!) and he doesn't need to wear any clothes. If he is outside for long in the cold, he is generally getting lots of exercise, so his temp is up anyways.

[jlr07]

RE: Danes and cold weather

I am in MD, and it is a little milder here in the winter than NY, but still has been in the 20s this year thus far. My danes are house dogs, as well, and enjoy being outside in the cold, fresh air, but not for long. They are out for potty breaks, and then for 30 minutes of hard, play time before they get tired, cold, and want to come back in.

[alicat613]

RE: Danes and cold weather


Well inside the house, they are always fine!

I live in the Seattle area and its cold and wet much of the year. The dogs stay inside through most of that weather except for potty trips, walks and the dog park.

It is often too cold for them. Sometimes I can tell Parker is cold at the park and we go home. It takes a bit more for Hank to get cold because he's built more like a mastiff.

However, we recently lost power for a week at home, so it was very cold inside (upper 40's until we learned some better tricks) and without blankets, the dogs would start shivering.

Danes do not have significant body fat or fur like some other breeds meant for colder weather. They do best in the temperate climate of the typical house.

[havadane]

RE: Danes and cold weather

Thank you all for your responses! My dogs have always lived in the house as well. For the most part, my dogs are only outside to play, potty and walk when at least one of us is out there with them.

In our new home, we have 34 acres some of it forested areas where we can hike, etc., the rest of it farm. Do you take any extra precautions with dane feet? When we had our Angie girl we were in a suburb/city type area so she didn't exerience much difference in ground other than paved, dirt, or grassy areas. This will be a much different experience.

Tami J

[sstone1]

RE: Danes and cold weather

I recently moved from northern new jersey where a typical winter was cold and filled with snow. My dane Sammy who has since past used to go out in the snow with a little bit of encourgement. She was an inside dane who loved the sun and warm weather. Sammy did not like the cold and did make it back in to the house really quickly in the winter. As she grew older she developed arthritis in her hips which was not helped by the cold weather.

[havadane]

RE: Danes and cold weather

Sammy sounds like a sweetie. I've wondered about the possibility of arthritis as my doggies get older and how the cold would affect them. All part of the process of aging, I guess. New Jersey seems like a reaalllly cold place...hope you've found some warmer weather

Tami J

[sstone1]

RE: Danes and cold weather

we did we moved to texas for a job relocation, although Sammy has sinced passed the warmer weather did make her feel better. The arthritis was not to bad but we could tell it was hard on her and from what I understand Sammy was pretty old for the breed she passed at the age of 10. but danes are great dogs and there are many was to help them in the winter.

[scameron83]

RE: Danes and cold weather

Well I live in Chicago in an apartment. Tinkerbell has plenty of room inside but she doesn't have a backyard to run in. So we take long walks a few times a day if it isn't raining. She has coats that she wears because we are really close to the lake and it gets really windy. It has only snowed once but she HATES the ice and avoids it at all costs. She has actually almost made me fall down avoiding it. So now she does have boots. There is so much salt everywhere and when there isn't salt there is ice. Hopefully she will get the hang of the boots. I also just ordered her a rain coat because she gets so antsy staying in when it rains so at least with a rain coat we can go for short walks. Oh god I just read this and I sound like a yuppie. Ick! :f

[gmac]

RE: Danes and cold weather

I live in California in the mountains and we get four seasons, one of which is of course winter. I have a 36 x 16 foot kennel that hooks up to a 12 x 6 insulated building with heat and all the comforts of home. Two of my dogs are in there when we are at work, and while it wasn't cheap to build, it is a safe and comfortable place for them to be so they can get some exercise and fresh air. If you have anyone in your family that is a handyman sort, it's a lot more reasonable cost wise, and for us it's been great.

[havadane]

RE: Danes and cold weather

Thanks, Gwenna. We thought about doing something similar. Good to know this has worked out well. Do you have any problems with sore paw pads?

Tami

[gmac]

RE: Danes and cold weather

Sore from what? The kennel run is gravel, and the building has wooden floors with carpeting and dog beds. I have a thermometer hung in there and this morning it was 20 degrees outside and 70 in the dog's house. Shoot, it was only 60 inside when I woke up - we'd have all been warmer sleeping under the heat lamp.