[NAGDU] General Winter

[Julie J.]

Currently it's 21 degrees and snowing like gangbusters.  That's actually 
quite an improvement over the last couple of days, when it was below zero 
and windy.  I agree with what Cait has said.  I'd only add a couple of 
things I don't think have been mentioned.

First, and I'll probably get a load of flack for this, but I'd increase your 
dog's weight by a couple of pounds.  I don't mean to let her get fat or go 
crazy, but a couple of pounds will add to your dog's natural ability to deal 
with the cold.

My second bit of wisdom is to not stand around when it's cold.  If you keep 
moving, natural body heat will kick in after a few  minutes.   Even if I'm 
waiting for a ride or something, I will give my dog some leash and let her 
bop around.  she's also a Doberman, like Cait's, and not particularly fond 
of the cold.  My older dog, Monty, is more cold tolerant, but even with him 
I'd still give him extra leash.  With him though I usually had to walk 
around or move to get him to move.  The Doberman gets that moving means warm 
and does it with no encouragement.

The only other thing to be careful of is cold plus a lot of wind or cold 
plus wet.  either of those is way worse than cold alone.  Wet and cold is 
especially bad.   You probably already know that, but I'm mentioning it in 
case there is someone new to guide dogs reading this.

There are coats that go down and cover the dog's legs.  The make dog 
legwarmers, earmuffs, goggles and a wide variety of boots.  When I was 
looking for a heavy coat for Jetta I found a lot of stuff I didn't know 
existed.  I didn't buy any of it or bookmark it, so no links.  I ended up 
making a coat myself for her.

HTH
Julie