Does your dog need to wear a jacket in winter?

Dogs have increasingly become like members of the family for many of us, and as the cold snap continues to set in across much of the country, many pet owners are reaching for jackets for their four-legged friends.

But do dogs really need jackets or jumpers to combat the cold — and do they like wearing them?

Do dogs need to wear jackets in winter in Australia?

The question of whether your dog should wear a jacket in winter depends on its size and breed and how cold and wet it gets where you live.

University of Adelaide associate professor Susan Hazel, who specialises in research into animal welfare, behaviour and ethics, says larger dogs are generally well-equipped to handle the cold.

“The amount of heat that’s lost from the body and maintaining body temperature is proportional to body size, so larger dogs are easily able to make up their heat and not get too cold when they’re out walking, even if it is quite cold,” Dr Hazel says.

“Particularly breeds with double coats, [such as] the Newfoundland and the Labrador, they really are wearing a heavy fur coat and even when it rains, the rain doesn’t tend to get through that double layer.”

However, Dr Hazel says smaller breeds of dogs that weigh less than 10 kilograms have a higher body surface area to mass ratio than their larger counterparts, which makes them more sensitive to colder weather.

“For [smaller dogs], functionally, probably if you’re going out — particularly if it’s raining and they might lose more heat if they get wet — then a coat can be helpful, especially if it’s an older dog that’s a little bit arthritic, as [those symptoms] get worse if they get cold.”

Do dogs like wearing jackets and jumpers?

Dr Hazel says she isn’t aware of any research that’s looked into how dogs feel about wearing coats, but like humans, some dogs may be sensitive to certain fibres.

“It would be like how some people will say, ‘I can’t wear wool, it’s scratchy,'” Dr Hazel says.

“You get the full range with dogs, with some of them that love wearing a coat, some of them that are ambivalent, but put up with it and some that hate it.”

Dogs thrive on approval from their owners and will often tolerate wearing a jacket or jumper — especially if they are met with positive reinforcement.

“Dogs certainly are people-pleasers and they’ll do lots of things to help us,” Dr Hazel says.

She adds that a dog may become particularly averse to wearing a jacket if doing so has caused them discomfort in the past.

“Say there’s a clip in a coat and they’ve had their hair caught in it once and it hurt, then they’re going to hate it because there’s an association,” she says.

“You can, with training and counter-conditioning, try to get them over if it’s really important that they wear a jacket, but generally, it’s not that important, and it would take a fair bit of time and effort to get them back.

“I would never, ever recommend trying to force a jacket on a dog that didn’t like it. And if you did that, every time you did it, it’s going to get harder and harder.”

“But otherwise, if the dog tolerates it and it’s nothing that will hurt them, and you’re not using aversive methods to try and get a dog to have antlers or something like that, you’re not harming anyone.”

Should your dog wear a jumper to bed?

If your dog sleeps inside, Dr Hazel says there’s no need to dress them in pyjamas or a jacket overnight, and if your dog sleeps outside, a jacket still isn’t the best option.

“A kennel that is protected from getting wet and protected from the wind would be the main thing,” she says.

“As long as there’s somewhere they can keep warm and some bedding, that it’s not just a bit of concrete or something.”

She adds that “the smaller the dog and the colder the area is”, the more important it is to ensure they have adequate shelter from the elements.

Does your dog like wearing a jacket or jumper in winter? To share your experiences and pictures, email everyday@abc.net.au

Are there any exceptions?

Although larger dogs generally fare OK without a jacket or jumper, if your dog suffers from hair loss, you may want to consider putting a jacket on them if you’re walking them on a cold, wet day.

“If they’re a bigger dog, unless it’s sub-zero temperature and they’re out there for an hour, I don’t think there would be any risk of having hypothermia, but there would be more reason to use it,” Dr Hazel says.

She also says greyhounds are one breed of larger dog that can benefit from wearing a jacket or jumper.

“They are probably an exception in that they’ve got very low body fat, so they won’t generate as much heat and they don’t have as much insulation as other dogs.”

Meagan Wilson lives on the Gold Coast, the Yugambeh language region, and recently bought a jacket for her five-year-old dog, Dottie.

“I started taking her for walks at night when I got home from work and just noticed that she was a bit chilly,” Ms Wilson says.

“The other night when we tried it on for the first time … she was not too keen on it, but then on the weekend, I took her for a drive down to Tugun [on the southern Gold Coast] and when we got out of the car, the wind was quite chilly, so I put it on her, and she had a wonderful time.”

SOURCE: ABCNEWS