# How cold is too cold for golden pups?



## Winniedog12 (Oct 25, 2016)

hi! I have a 3 1/2 month old golden retriever puppy. She loves to go outside and sit in our sunroom. The problem is, it's getting cold and I don't know how long to allow her outdoors. It was 40 degrees this morning and she spent two hours in the sunroom. There's no heat in there and it was freezing. Every time I brought her in the house, she cried until I let her back out. How cold is too cold for Goldens to be outside? Also, should I limit the time outside? We have a dog door in the sunroom, so she sometimes lays on the cold tile floor or she'll just go outside. She loves it out there. We keep our house at around 68-70 degrees so it might be too hot in here for her right now. I just don't want her to stay outside in the cold for longer than she should. Thanks!


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Goldens love the cold. We brought Chloe home in the coldest part of winter. It was hard to get her to come inside. I wouldn't worry to much. 40 degrees is pretty warm.


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## Wolfeye (Sep 15, 2015)

I don't know about puppies. They tend to be less able to regulate their body temperature than adults. By 3-6 months of age though, they should be able to handle well below freezing as long as they are able to be active. Adults can be really impervious to cold. We had Fenris out for short walks at -7F and he did fine. He'd also willingly go swimming in any temp water. Never saw him shiver. Conversely, my puppy got wet in a cold stream and was shivering at 50F. It's hard to say if he was cold, as he was somewhat nervous about the whole first time splashing in the water thing.

I always followed the rule that if it was less than 20F I'd try and limit outside time for my adult dogs. Above that they seemed impervious to it. One thing to watch out for is snow/ice getting lodged between their toes. That was always a problem for Fenris. We had to stop innumerable times on Winter hikes and clean out his paws. It's not so bad when it's really cold b/c the snow isn't wet and sticky. That's the worst for paws.

Fenris enjoying a cold day romp (I still can't believe he's dead):


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

I think Goldens are kept so warm by their fur that they don't notice it. Its like the best blanket in the winter, and provides shade in the summer. It protects them against most temperature changes. Thats why you don't need to shave them (and don't want to) during summer time. 

I do think Wolfeye is right about puppies, they don't have the thick fur and huge undercoat that a young puppy has, and don't regulate their body temp as well. But I think as long as she has easy access to the heated parts of the house, and isn't locked up outside or in the sunroom she's fine. She probably likes the cool tile. As long as her fur isn't wet, she shouldn't get cold. When Piper was a puppy she ignored her dog bed and would walk from the living room (hardwood floors) to the kitchen to lay on the tile there. She also used to get too hot laying close to me at night time and would move away to sleep. It was summertime, but I keep my apartment pretty cool with the AC. Goldens tend to like the cold I think. Now that she has her adult coat, she's a little more protected from temperature changes (hot or cold), and so she snuggles right up next to me at night...She's so warm, sometimes I have to move to cool off!

Conversely to my best friend's husky. His absolute favorite spot is laying in front of the fireplace, at all seasons. He loves the snow though too and never gets cold in the winter.


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## B and G Mom (Oct 29, 2014)

Awwwww love that photo of Fenris! I am so sorry he is gone.

Funny enough, my boys had more of a hard time with the cold than my girls did... but my girls had thicker coats. Blossom lived for the snow, she would run down the deck stairs and make snow angels. If it was sunny your pup probably found the sun room quite temperate even if you found it cold. 

If it is very cold especially if the wind chill is bad I limit their time outdoors strictly.

And as Wolfeye mentioned you have to watch the snow between the toes!


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

I agree that your pup will be just fine with those temperatures! Here's mine, three months old, enjoying much colder weather!


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Chloe at about 11 months last NOV.


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## Winniedog12 (Oct 25, 2016)

Thank you so much for all the responses!! I'm glad to hear the cold doesn't affect her as much as I thought it would  I will definitely watch for snow/ice between her toes.... I never thought about that, so thank you for pointing that out. This is our first puppy and we absolutely adore her! Hopefully we won't be getting snow anytime soon, so she should be fine for a while enjoying the cold. I'll just be sure to limit the outdoors when it does start to get really cold and snowy.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

Agree with all the posts above and would also add to watch out for salt if you live in an urban area. I learned that lesson the hard way with Duke when he was about 7 months old and started limping 3 blocks from home. He was too heavy for me to carry at that time. I invested in some boots and make them wear them in the winter. Lets them stay outside longer, but I limit their time in the winter.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Winniedog12 said:


> Thank you so much for all the responses!! I'm glad to hear the cold doesn't affect her as much as I thought it would  I will definitely watch for snow/ice between her toes.... I never thought about that, so thank you for pointing that out. This is our first puppy and we absolutely adore her! Hopefully we won't be getting snow anytime soon, so she should be fine for a while enjoying the cold. *I'll just be sure to limit the outdoors when it does start to get really cold and snowy*.


Good luck with that! Goldens say, that's the BEST time of the year! 

Seriously, both of mine would go head first into snow banks, roll in snow, and happily spend hours out in the cold. As long as they are active, they stay amazingly warm. Even when it gets bitter cold (like minus 25-30 Celcius or minus 20 Farenheit) my last dog and current dogs are like little furnaces. I check their ears to make sure they're not getting too cold. And I use booties to protect against sidewalk salt - but also to prevent lots of snow build up between the toes. Best I have found are Pawz.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Some common sense is needed, but you realize that any animal is not going to voluntarily stay somewhere if it's uncomfortable and there's options to go elsewhere. 

If your pup wants to hang out in the sunroom - let it. But keep the door open.

40 degrees is nothing to worry about. I wouldn't consider that freezing.


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