# How cold is TOO cold?



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

As long as she is dry and moving around she is fine to be out there as long as you are for a walk or exercise. If it is raining or snowing, be sure to towel her off when she comes indoors. Be sure to give special attention to getting any snow or ice out from between her toes if it appears to be caked.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

She's a doll, you may want to keep an eye on her paws if you've got her out in snow and ice. If you're walking on sidewalks or roadways that use salt to melt the ice, it can burn her paw pads. You may want to wipe them off when you get home.


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## Mirinde (Jun 8, 2011)

There are a few charts like this floating around https://i.pinimg.com/564x/0e/12/ae/0e12aebf2689c0734e6532b768cf4c28.jpg
Your vet may have one that they prefer.

It's mainly paws that you need to be cautious with. Musher's Wax is pretty awesome. We stop walking at 30F if it's wet, 25ish if it's dry, but we still play outside and pop into the house every 15-20mins or so for a quick warm up and then back out. Might adjust those slightly for a purebred golden (he's half siberian husky so we can play it pretty loose with cold weather). As winter progresses, we stay out longer. Always take it easier in the first weeks of summer and winter while they acclimate, and be cautious if they are getting wet.


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## Macca (Aug 11, 2011)

I agree with the above posts about watching for snow and ice build-up between her toes. Hopefully you won't be dealing with that for a while though! But that can be uncomfortable for the dog and you will know it because she will start to pick up her paws and maybe try to dislodge the ice herself.


In general I think Goldens prefer cold weather to warm. Mine will happily sit outside, even on top of a snow pile, in our Midwestern winters when the temps are below freezing. If she is with me when I am outside shoveling, she doesn't even go into the warm dry garage, instead prefers to sit right in the snow. 


As far as your question about a coat, to be honest I don't think I've ever seen a Golden here wearing a coat. Actually mine was "gifted" a coat, but she looked comical in it as though she was embarrassed. Kind of like putting a puffy coat on top of a woman already wearing a mink coat. 

By the time real winter settles in, your girl should have a heavier coat as well.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I'm going to fair and say it probably depends on how much or little coat your dog has. And how much fat.

My pup has a healthy layer of fat + thick coat already - so I have the opposite issue. He is always warm. 

I just came home from dog class... 38 degrees or so. 

I had the windows open an inch or two on the way home - just because pup gets warm. 

I wore a hoodie and shorts (I get too hot working the dogs and it was just gorgeous earlier today - just perfect fall weather), so just had the floor heated while I had the windows open to accommodate the dogs. 

Um this is my first "summer pup" in a long time. Other boys ( Bertie and Jacks) were winter pups - so there WERE periods where they would get shivery out in the cold too long. I think it's their bare bellies and they are babies too. You just play it by ear. 

In winter - generally it's salt and slush between their toes which bothers them. Wet snow especially. I generally hold off and wait until the roads get plowed before resuming walking the dogs - but others get booties. There's no need to get dog blankets. By winter - your dog should have a bit more coat going on. Especially if you are active and walking every day right now while it's not really that cold.


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## daisy1234 (Jun 17, 2018)

I'm in Mn. It gets cold here as well. I can see your Golden doesn't have as much fur yet. I have a Beagle who is freezing all the time. She has to wear a sweater and doesn't like to be out in the cold. I can't walk her very far in the Winter. She is happy to get out and just sniff a bit. My Golden though is 6 months and has more fur than yours. She LOVES the cold. I have never seen a Golden with a coat either. lol Just play it by ear. Short times outside until her fur grows more. You can get a sweater if you feel you need it. Most Goldens love the cold. Hopefully that nasty W word won't be here so soon yet. We had snow yesterday though. YIKES!


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## brownerin513 (Sep 8, 2018)

Thank you so much for all of the responses... I figured a coat may be overkill but she is my first golden so I really wasn’t sure. She seemed content and happy yesterday with the cooler weather. 
I already have some baby wipes that are safe for dogs for wiping her paws off this winter! Hopefully it stays away until the holidays and then goes away quickly afterwards!


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

I've never been too concerned about the cold. When it gets into the teens or below zero, we limit time outside. Ours have always loved the cold. They come alive the colder it gets it seems. 

We've never used coats or booties or anything. Henry wore booties for a short period when he was tri-pawd, but not for the cold.

Years ago with our first couple Goldens, we walked every day of the year multiple times per day no matter the weather - unless it was pouring down rain. As I get older and become a bigger and bigger cold baby, I'm not so eager to go walking in cruddy weather...  

That said, if there is snow on the ground, it's not knee deep, and it's in the 20's, a mile or two walk is not out of the question. We watch their paws and avoid rock salt and so on. Even skinny little Sandy, who similar to your pup, at almost 3 she doesn't have a ton of coat yet. She's fine.

I read once, probably here on GRF that if it's too cold for you, it's too cold for them. 

I live in a suburb of Cleveland. Weather changes instantly depending on how the wind comes off the lake (Lake Erie).


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I agree about amount of fur and body fat. 

That being said, I have a very petite Golden, with not much undercoat and very little body fat. Winters here can get as cold as -20 to -30 Celsius (-15 to -20 Farenheit), but usually hover in the mid-minus-teens for most of January and February. I've never put a coat on her (but on the extreme cold days, I always make sure she is moving a lot, and I check her ears and body regularly). Truthfully, she is always like a little furnace. She loves rolling in snow, even on super cold days. It's about 10 degrees Celsius here this week - heaven to her. (50 F)

Goldens ARE meant to be outdoors all day hunting water fowl with their people. That means in and out of water in cool weather. So they do have the build and fur to support that. But a dog raised in Texas or Florida is absolutely going to have different thresholds from a dog raised in Toronto or Edmonton. 

I don't think you need to worry about winter where you live. If your dog lives there, they will be fine. A move in the winter from Florida to Michigan, I'd want to acclimate the dog.

We use boots, but only because of the salt on the sidewalks here or snowballs in the parks when there is new snow. I'm sure they give some protection against the cold, but that's not the primary reason I use them.


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## CoveredInDogFur (Sep 17, 2018)

Phoebe has absolutely insane cold tolerance. Last November, she went swimming in frigid 40 degree water. She thought it was great, she kept hopping back in to swim more! During the cold snap in January, when temperatures hit the negatives and it was dangerous to stay outside for any length of time, she would lounge in the snow and get annoyed when we called her back in. Charlie never enjoyed the cold nearly as much as she does, so it varies from dog to dog. In my experience, they let you know if they’re uncomfortable and are done with the cold. 

I’ll also second the notion about making sure to pick the snow out from between their toes. Not only can it be uncomfortable for them, but if you don’t get it out it will melt and leave mini puddles all over your house. You’ll be surprised at how much snow they get in there!


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## Cody'sMom (Nov 7, 2010)

Hudson is my 2nd golden and 3rd dog. Our dogs have never worn a coat here in mid-Michigan. We put boots on at 10 degrees or less only if there is snow on the ground. Their warm paws melt the snow then it chunks up between the paw pads and freezes. Goldens LOVE winter and rolling in the snow - so don't block your girl's fun by putting a coat on her. :grin2:

Connie and Hudson :wavey:


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

I'm in Illinois so I know exactly what you are talking about with drastic weather changes! My goldens have always loved playing outside in the snow. Those days where its like -5 and 40 mph winds, I open the door to let her go do her thing and she runs and grabs her frisbee and looks at me like "why won't you come out and play?" as I'm standing in the doorway shivering! I'm also crazy enough to keep exercising my horses throughout the winter (most people who don't own indoor riding arenas stop riding in winter-I don;t own an indoor arena and I keep riding) and my golden would be heartbroken if she didn't come with us! I do use Musher's Secret on her paw pads and I keep her foot hair trimmed short to help prevent snowballs from forming. Its not fool proof, she does still get some snowballs, but it helps. The worst is when you have wet snow it it balls up in her feathering-I end up carrying her to the bath tub and melting them off with warm water. I did put a coat on her for some of those super windy negative temp days, but I felt kinda silly doing it cause she really didn't need it. It was one of those things where my mother in law gave it to me so I might as well try using it. As long as your pup isn't just sitting still out in the cold, she'll be fine.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Goldens&Friesians said:


> I'm in Illinois so I know exactly what you are talking about with drastic weather changes! My goldens have always loved playing outside in the snow. Those days where its like -5 and 40 mph winds, I open the door to let her go do her thing and she runs and grabs her frisbee and looks at me like "why won't you come out and play?" as I'm standing in the doorway shivering! I'm also crazy enough to keep exercising my horses throughout the winter (most people who don't own indoor riding arenas stop riding in winter-I don;t own an indoor arena and I keep riding) and my golden would be heartbroken if she didn't come with us! I do use Musher's Secret on her paw pads and I keep her foot hair trimmed short to help prevent snowballs from forming. Its not fool proof, she does still get some snowballs, but it helps. * The worst is when you have wet snow it it balls up in her feathering-I end up carrying her to the bath tub and melting them off with warm water. *I did put a coat on her for some of those super windy negative temp days, but I felt kinda silly doing it cause she really didn't need it. It was one of those things where my mother in law gave it to me so I might as well try using it. As long as your pup isn't just sitting still out in the cold, she'll be fine.



Been there! Those are the days I kick myself and ask myself for the millionth time why I haven't called the plumber to come and install a warm water hose outside! I guess I can't complain too much - my bathroom with the big tub is downstairs, right inside from the garage. Shala is actually really good about walking in and going right into the tub on her own.


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

The only time I don't take the dogs outside in the cold is when it is dangerous for me. I live in South Dakota and that would be around -20 to -30F outside. Otherwise my dogs have always been fine in the cold. My red girl has minimal coat and she was swimming last week when it was 44F degrees here. She wasn't even shivering. These dogs are bred for waterfowl hunting in northern climates. My blonde boy would probably throw a fit if I tried to put a coat on him, but he has lots of hair and gets warm really easily.


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