Today we were waiting at the traffic lights and there was a woman on the pavement, nattering to another woman. She had a little Pug on a lead, which was standing right in all the thick, icy slush and while she was nattering, the little dog kept lifting his feet up, one at a time. We were there for a few minutes, traffic lights in Cambridge being what they are, and the whole time this little dog was trying to move and lifting up his feet.

I think his feet were very cold or he had some ice stuck in his pads. Never having had a small dog, I thought she should stop nattering and pay attention to what her dog was trying to tell her.

He wasn't wearing a coat either, which I thought he maybe should have been in that weather.

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I suppose it depends why he was lifting his feet up!
If he was cold then the owner should of paid more attention and got him a coat. Although he might of just been bored and fidgety.

I always limit Heidi to 20 mins walking in the snow and thats when she is well bundled up. I know from experience that 20 mins is all she can do before the cold really gets to her.

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Poor little thing, maybe she invest in some proper weather proof booties (not the frilly ones but proper water proof ones) and a coat

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Raw fed since 2010

Zipper hates wearing a coat - but he has quite thick fur, a pug doesn't so I would of thought it would need a coat.
And I wouldn't want any dog stood still in Ice

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A coat will not make cold feet warm

Most dogs do not need coats unless they have a large skin area compared to body mass ratio and have only one coat or very thin one like Greyhounds.

Coats can actually interfere with the insulating properties offered by the air in hair, certainly with dogs which have both undercoat and top coat.

I doubt a pug would need a coat.

Should dogs NEVER get cold then?

What about people?

Perhaps dogs should not go out at all in cold weather or if so ONLY if wearing boots.

Not seen any RSPCA campaigns on this, but I could be wrong.

I think there were many dogs all over the UK being competed in the cold, some of which involved lying down in snow for 10 minutes, shock, horror.

That's what I thought. I don't think even mine would like to stand still in all that thick icy slush and they were bred for snow. By the way he was lifting each foot at a time, I think his feet were cold rather than ice in his pad.

__________________
http://www.gentle-newfoundland-dogs.com
http://www.royston-pet-care.co.uk



Will always miss you, my little Joshie Woshie xx

If you want real love, buy a dog

If you wouldn't use it on a child, don't use it on a dog

http://pettaxisg8.yolasite.com/
http://www.help-for-learner-drivers.yolasite.com/

Well I did the exact same thing today with Florence

We were on our way out for a walk and I stopped to chat to the neighbour for 10 minutes or so. Florence normally whinges and moans at me anyway if she has to hang around waiting for me, so I ignored her. It was only once I'd finished chatting to the neighbour that I realised she was lifting her paws up one by one I felt awful but I honestly just didn't think. She doesn't feel the cold on her body and I would never ever put a coat on her, but obviously her paws were freezing up

So maybe that lady just didn't think, like me today.

As for a coat, perhaps the dog needed one, but maybe he doesn't like wearing one? We fostered a greyhound during v.cold weather last year and we didn't put a coat on him as he wouldn't walk with one on; and he was fine he was off lead though and able to run about a lot.

eta: I wouldn't put boots on Florence in cold weather. Surely a dog's paws offer more grip than a pair of boots ever could?

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Maybe some dogs are a little more sensitive to the cold than others, Lucky hasn't really had the opportunity to go for a walk in the snow (none here) but I would probably get/or make her some little boots if we did get snow and the ice was really bad

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Raw fed since 2010

Not acceptable. Cassie didn't want to leave the flat when all the ice was on the ground, it was just simply far too cold for her wee feet. But then she had never been walked much in her last house and her pads were sooo soft. She tap danced when I had to take her to the toilet as well.

Little puglet should have had at least booties on!

I wouldn't have a dog just standing around in slush and snow while I chatted, I imagine it would get hellishly cold on their paws. I've never considered putting boots on them for walks just because of the cold though, the cold has never seemed to bother them in any way while running around on the field or in the woods. I considered it with Rupert and his hairy hobbit feet when it was snowy as he'd get snowballs between his paw pads and not be able to walk though.

Rupert wore a sweater at one point because he had such a thin, useless coat of his own and was so underweight that he was absolutely miserable in the cold weather. Once he gained weight he seemed not to need it.