Is it too cold for him?

Question

I have a puppy who is half Chihuahua and half Shih-tzu. It's not snowing here, but it's pretty wet outside, and it's in the low 30's. Is it too cold too walk him? I know I'm supposed too walk him, and I've only had him for about a week, so what should I do? Also, where can I find cute shirts for him? He's really little.

Answer 1

What I have found is, don't leave it up to your dog to tell you - they don't know any better or what's good for them and if they like to be outside they will stay out there even if their feet are ready to freeze off.

I have a 30 pound Boston Terrier / Beagle mix (short thin hair) and a 18 pound Pug / Rat Terrier mix (medium thick course hair) (both HATE and REFUSE to wear sweaters, boots, etc.). We live in Michigan. It is in the mid to hi 20's here with some snow. I walked them the other day thinking I would just play it by ear, go at their pace and see how they did. Well they kept pulling and pulling and were so excited (they love to go for walks) so I just kept going and then all of a sudden my Pug was walking on 3 paws and wouldn't put her other paw down, and then my Boston Terrier picked up her front paw and wouldn't take another step and screamed when I tried to touch her paw. I felt so bad I wanted to cry. Their feet must have been frozen. But we still had to walk the rest of the way home, and like I said, dogs don't know any better, they were still wanting to linger in the snow and sniff trees, etc., I had to keep pulling them to keep walking, trying to get them to run the rest of the way home, I didn't want their feet to freeze anymore.

I later read that in the cold wetness the fur on the bottom of a dog's paws between the pads can form ice crystals and then each time the dog steps down on that paw it is like stepping on broken glass. Also the salt that is scattered on the ground to melt snow is HORRIBLE for their paw pads - it can cause them to burn. Some people recommend trimming down the hair between the pads, but newly educated I think if it's so cold and wet that there is a risk for that hair to freeze, it's too cold anyway!

Yes you are supposed to walk your dog, but only when it's "weather appropriate". I mentioned the breed and weight of my dogs because your little guy sounds like he's probably kind of tiny and you can see how my dogs reacted. And since he's probably tiny he wouldn't require as much exercise / walking as a larger dog anyway. But also since he's probably light, if you take him for a walk and you think he's too cold or his feet are freezing you could pick him up and take him back home. Or when you walk him just don't go too far in case he gets too cold - the farther you walk, the farther you have to walk to get back home. I think in severe weather, whether it's severely hot, wet,or cold, you should either wait for better weather or break up the walks - instead of one long walk - go for a 5 - 10 minute walk a few times a day.

As far as cute clothes for him, it depends on his size - sometimes it's hard to find tiny clothes, it is especially hard to find tiny toys / treats for tiny dogs. My Pug is 18 pounds but she has a small mouth and huge underbite and will only eat / chew tiny things - it's hard to find tiny balls for her to play with too. A lot of times I buy her cat toys because they are smaller - I just make sure they don't have catnip! PetSmart and Petco have CUTE clothes - I could spend thousands in those stores - but other stores like Target, have less expensive cute things. It is probably best to get him used to clothes / accessories now so he will learn to like them. I wish my dogs would wear clothes but if I put ANYTHING on them they just stand there, they will not move, they look so uncomfortable like "Get this thing off of me!"

Answer 2

Chihuahua's cannot tolerate the cold weather at all. They also get cold inside, and that's why you usually see them with some type of clothing. I have five Chihuahuas and what I do when it's raining outside, or if there is snow outside ,is litter box training or puppy pads, and you can crate train them if you want to, for when, I can't take them outside to do their duty. Also, if you have to take them outside, make sure they are kept nice and warm, a sweater, and even little booties help. You can find clothing and all types of accessories in just about any pet store. Just remember, if it's too cold for you, then it's definitely too cold for them too.

Answer 3

By negative three, I'm assuming you mean celsius? I'm in Idaho, U.S.A. Right now on my farm is is 12 degrees fahrennheit. That is -11 celsius. Of course this is the daytime high temperature for us. After the sun goes down it will get cold. Probably down to -20 fahrennheit, which is -28.8 celsius. Of course if the wind starts up, and i need to factor in wind chill, then it will get even colder, very, very fast. Last year with wind chill factored in, we had -68 fahrenheit, which is -55.5 celsius....we had that for about a week strait. I just checked....we have a 7mph wind. So that effectively brings the outside temperature down to 1 degree fahrenheit, or -17 celsius. Winds are suppose to pick up tonight to about 35 mph.....going to be a VERY cold night in my neck of the world. ~Garnet Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 4

Any small breed like the one you have, should be protected against the outside elements. I own Rat Terrier that is only 1 yr old and 6lbs. I don't walk her that much in this weather as my vet said she can get sick.

Sweaters can be found at any leading pet store or try ebay. I bought a brand new lot of 4 X-Small sweates for $8. Not bad. I don't go over board and get the booties, etc, but its out there if youi want to go that route.

Good luck with your puppy and please remember to keep him warm! Its like having a little baby

Answer 5

I have a Chihuahua, too. Yes, I really think it may be a little too cold for him, since of his size and the type of pooch that he is.
I don't usually take my dog outside unless the temperature outside is in the high 50's or higher.
To find the shirt, go to PetCo, or PetSmart, any of those.

Answer 6

You really shouldn't keep small breed dogs outside especially when its 30 degrees outside! You need to put him inside your house or at least put lots of covers inside his house to stay warm. And when to weather reaches to lower 30 degrees outside you should let the dog go in. If not he will get frostbite or hypothermia. And if you just got the dog and its a puppy he shouldn't even be outside. That's like putting a baby outside to freeze to death! Puppies need to be inside the house and not outside were its freezing!

Answer 7

You could check at Wal Mart for shirts and sweaters for him or you can try www.petedge.com.
When it is so cold out side, take him for several short walks rather than a few long ones.

Answer 8

Make sure that you put a sweater on him or something like that and see how he reacts to the weather. If he can tolerate it, great, if not then you know he can't tolerate it.

Target has really cute doggy clothing and so does eBay.

Answer 9

take him for a walk dogs will stay warm and why do you need shirts he has a coat

Answer 10

He's prolly a lil chilly. Take him to your local Pet Smart and try on some jackets.