Category: ownership

Do Places have meaning for dogs too?

How does a particular Place fit into your dog’s perception of their world?

Last summer we had a break in Northumberland, a place close to my heart because of family roots. And I always appreciate being a couple of degrees cooler up there in these hotter summers! Of course, a long walk along part of Hadrian’s Wall is a must. This is a mainly on-lead excursion for dogs. But I knew mine would still appreciate the novelty of the wide, windy vistas, and for us humans the wild beauty of this landscape.

What did surprise me was my dog’s reaction when we came upon the famous Sycamore tree. It’s not that it (was) such a majestic, imposing tree. It’s also about its situation. It somehow chose to grow in defiance, in the most unlikely of places, next to an old stone wall in an otherwise bleakly beautiful and largely treeless landscape. Whether you approach from east or west, following the wall’s steep crest, you suddenly look down on this huge tree. It still takes you by surprise even if you know it’s going to be there. Our dog had never been here before so to him it was a genuine surprise, and his reaction was fascinating. He stopped his usual springer I’m-not-sure-why-but-let’s-keep-going momentum and seemed transfixed. You just don’t expect a huge tree to suddenly be there. Just in the same way your dog might fixate on a snowman, or a shopping trolley left in a field. Something has changed. Or does that belong there?

Of course, the tree is no longer there. This means something to me because for us humans Places familiar to us carry meaning. So I got to thinking, on some level can it be the same for dogs too?

Dogs remember places

Remembering is not the same as feeling, but of course they do. The short-term memory of returning home never leaves them when out on a walk. They know where home is, and (hopefully!) they are happy enough to return home. Because that is where they should feel their most secure. If you take them on holiday for a week or even two, their reaction on returning home should be the same, if not a little more amplified (in either direction in the case of the post-holiday blues!).

How about if you return to a holiday place after a year, or even two? Doubtless your dog will remember that place too. Watch their emotional response to when you get nearer to the special place. It is likely to be more elevated and exaggerated – I would hazard to guess they would “know” when you get quite close to the place. Pacing, tail-wagging, sniffing the air… “Oh yes, I remember this!” And how we delight in the arrival ritual and seeing our dog charge around sniffing every corner… perhaps to see if it was just like they remembered? A brand-new place of course holds excitement too, but I’ve watched the emotional response carefully and there is without question a difference. So how can we account for this?

A Place in microcosm

If you try moving your dog’s main bed (for a good reason – don’t take this lightly), the results can be mixed. After initial perplexment (something has changed!), they may take to the new location. But sometimes they simply don’t. Getting used to the new setting can be disturbing – the familiarity of the old Place has gone. And frankly you are better off putting things back to how they were.

Is it the Place itself, or the Event?

We should be careful not to anthropomorphise dogs – in other words, humanise them and interpret their behaviour accordingly. So let’s look at a Place on a bigger scale and break down the walk. Assuming there is no anxiety in the background, your dog should be “happy” to go for their walk because, and in this order:

1. They are with you (the Event)
2. It’s The Routine, and dogs love routine (the Event and Place)
3. They are anticipating the familiarity of the smells, sights and sounds, maybe even friends, which they find comforting (the Place)
4. They are going to release energy and toilet, (the Event)
5. They are excited by the novelty of new smells, sights and sounds, maybe new friends in a new place (the Place)

So where you go is always interlinked with the actual going. The Place itself doesn’t have to be “special”: it doesn’t matter if it’s a park or a couple of blocks of streets. What matters is it holds an emotional attachment for your dog.

Dog behaviour is shaped by Association

This fact underpins modern, scientific behaviour studies of how dogs learn. A dog learns to have a certain emotional response according to repeated stimuli in their environment. So it seems natural to assume that dogs associate places as well as living things in a positive, neutral or negative way, according to their experience of that place. For example, your dog might fear a particular spot where something unpleasant happened. Here, we would need to re-train their emotional response in that setting, so their world is back on its axis again when you cross that street. For anxious dogs, this could even mean the whole outside world. But the principle is the same, and behaviour modification regarding Place can work wonders. Likewise, every time you both have a good experience outdoors, you are reinforcing the association of that Place being a nice one.

Does the association carry Meaning?

Do dogs dream of Places? I don’t know! But what I do know is that when us humans talk about the meaning of something, we are talking about emotion. And of course, dogs are highly “emotional” beings, (more so than us). Would Woody “miss” the Sycamore tree if we went back? Of course not, because that location had not been emotionally reinforced. Even if it had – does emotional attachment mean he would actually “miss” it not being there? Probably not, because dogs are dogs, but we will never know. But let’s phrase it slightly differently. Would he feel a different emotional response – to us, something amiss – if we stopped going through a gate to a field because they built houses on it? Or no longer walked around that oak tree by a stream because it was felled? Or never turned left out the front door again, just because we now prefer not to? Without question, he would remember these Places from the past. And without question, there would be a different emotional response on some level.

So let’s appreciate the things – the Places – we do have. Let’s embrace their meaning. Our dogs do. And hope they are always there.

I always welcome comments! Do you agree? What’s a special place for your dog?

Eat. Sleep. Play. Love.

There’s something about dogs which makes us live in the present tense. The routine rhythm of your dog’s day can be life distilled to its simplest beauty.

I love camping. Proper camping. Not the glamping variety where you can have a TV, wi-fi, fridge… I’m talking about a tent, no electricity. It’s not for everyone, I know, but bear with me here. I don’t go on camping trips so often these days, which I put down to getting older! And preferring the creature-comforts of a solid roof over my head. The jury’s still out on whether the dog agrees with this. And whilst I’m not pretending to be a wild camper (try doing that in the UK these days), alone with the elements on some truly wild mountainside, the dog and I do appreciate the quieter, off-beat locations. At least I’m sure he tells me he does!

What is it that drives this pleasure? Apart from being cheaper than renting a cottage, of course. For me it’s something about having to address life’s most basic concerns: where can we sit that has some nice shade to keep cool? Or how are we going to keep warm tonight? What are we going to eat – from where, and how are going to cook? Which direction shall we walk in? It’s distilling life down to its most basic, and during the process, modern life’s other worries seem to evaporate away. It’s about what I call living in the present tense. I’m not thinking about yesterday, or tomorrow, just today.

I was thinking about this when I had to move the (dusty) tent in the garage, and I was in a good mood. This was because I recently learned that one of the dogs I had been training (too briefly if I’m honest) has now embarked on training elsewhere to become a Therapy Dog. I was so happy about this. Not least because of the joy I know this very dog could bring, however fleeting, into the lives of some people less fortunate than me.

We always read about how dogs and other pets are good for our mental well-being. For someone enjoying a visit from a Therapy Dog, the physical connection – being able to touch and stroke the animal, reinforces the “feel good” chemicals being released in the brain. Just observing an animal go about their business or being goofy. Or just being endearing that happens to make us laugh or smile. These all have the same effect. There have even been studies on the chemical and hormonal release in your brain of making eye contact with your own dog. (Hopefully this is reciprocated!)

To these known chemical reactions we are also talking about the less tangible but very real emotional benefits of interacting with a pet. Here I’m talking about the heart, not literally the head! It’s a feeling. And that includes someone having a nice greet with the Therapy Dog, not just a dog owner’s daily interactions – the good ones, that is! But there is still something else going on, perhaps on a more primal level, that accounts for why we feel just that little bit “better” when we have a nice pet, hug, or playtime with our dog.

Sure, there is a benign Ego thing going on: “She’s always so pleased to see me when I come home!” But it’s a two-way relationship: a dog’s unconditional love brings out the altruism in us. I remember asking someone if they ever thought about having a dog, and their reply always stayed with me: “I’m not really a doggie person myself, but I think I’m more drawn to people who have dogs, because they tend to be nicer people!”.

But it’s something much more than this. It’s about the rhythm of the day, stripping things down to their primal basics.  

There’s something about dogs which makes us live in the present tense. To live for the moment. Or just to exist in the Now.

I wonder what my dog’s thinking? I wonder what she’s dreaming about? Where shall we go for a walk today? Do you need some water? Is that itchy?! Is it dinner time yet? Where’s your favourite toy? Now there’s an interesting smell!

Training dogs reminds me every day of the beauty of their complexity: the subtleties of their emotional signals. And yet, for all their intelligence, they are driven by the simplest of things: eat, sleep, play, love. These primal instincts conduct the rhythm of the day. Today. And by co-habiting with our dogs we share in these things and begin to replicate them ourselves. And when we mutter sweet nonsense to our dog, because we’re crazy humans – come on, we all do it! – suddenly our worries about tomorrow seem less important. Even in just the smallest way. It’s that serotonin and dopamine kicking in, you see.

Of course dogs may have their own anxieties, but things like our love, or training, or whatever works, can help bring them back to being a dog, which is all they want to do. To live in the Now. That, and being a part of us. And when we bond with our dog, we share in that with them. Life distilled to its simplest beauty. Just the simple things. Just Today.

Jog my Dog – good or bad?

Taking your dog with you on a run can be a divisive subject, let’s demystify what’s going on

Although more commonly seen in larger cities, you are likely to see someone out jogging with their dog pretty much anywhere. Especially when the days are longer. Sometimes the dog is tethered to the jogger’s waist, though it could be on or off-lead too.

To clear the air and to be fair, what are the benefits of this pastime? The obvious one is that it helps with your time management, especially if you lead a very busy life. So the scenario might be that the dog won’t get their exercise at all, unless you can both combine your exercise together. There otherwise just isn’t the time in your day. And the physical and mental benefits of a jog with your dog, in theory, are obvious. You are both outside exercising, and the very fact of doing this together reinforces your bond. Right?

Well, this is a dog blog, so you know where I’m going to go with this! But rather than berate anyone for doing it, I want to highlight why I don’t think it’s a good idea. And maybe I can suggest some alternative ways of time management if this is an issue. That’s important, because some people jog with their dogs fully believing it’s a good thing for everyone. This should be distinguished from those who know better but still do it!

Today we will look at three reasons why I am suggesting jogging your dog is not a good idea.

1. Your dog’s walk is for their benefit. For their wellbeing and health. Any undoubted benefit to you, the physical exercise and mental rest and the like, is secondary.
2. Unless you own a Husky, your dog is not physiologically designed to run non-stop and may indeed struggle to keep your pace over a longer run. So you are storing up a health risk.
3. You may be creating unwanted behavioural issues in other contexts by creating frustration and anxiety. Because they can’t stop and be a dog.

Let’s take a close look at these.

A dog walk is for their benefit

For our dogs, a walk is a highlight of the day. They of course can burn off some energy by physically exerting themselves. Equally the walk is their major point of contact with the outside world. They learn a little more every day to socialise and cope with different situations by seeing them or being involved in them. They can meet friends old and new. Or simply observe another person or dog – they are interested in all these things. They can (hopefully!) hear birds, see trees, or even just become sensitized to man-made sounds. It’s all so interesting for a dog. Sight hounds will love to look at potential “prey” in the far distance. Or a terrier might like to have a little dig. You know what your dog likes…

Above all, they want to smell the world. They use their noses to find out and recognise who has been where, and what a new friend smells like. And I am sure a lot of things are interesting to sniff because they are, well, interesting! So, a dog walk is enriching in so many other ways than simply physical exercise. And they will certainly need to stop to go to the toilet, if not just a desire to ‘mark’. Our Duty of Care to our dogs means we should give them the choice (within reason!) about where and when they do this.

Dogs are not designed to jog

Adding to the many other causes of joint failure, arthritis, or even heart failure, we can add non-stop running to the list. Apart from a few select breeds, your dog is literally not designed and built to jog. Depending on the breed, they are suited to a wide range of pace of movement, but all of these involve regularly stopping! If it’s a warm day or your dog is getting on in years or happens to be a flat-faced breed, we need to take this extra seriously. If you attend an accredited Canine First Aid course, you will hear plenty of horror stories about this. 

Creating unwanted behaviours

If we are inhibiting our dogs from going at their own pace, being allowed to stop and sniff at their pace, or greet other dogs, we are building a sense of frustration in them. And frustration will start to resurface in the form of undesirable behaviours. This could range from excessive sniffing and marking when on a genuine dog walk. “Better have a good sniff now, because I don’t know when I will be allowed to do it again”. To destructive behaviours in the house. “I am frustrated! Let’s tear this up”.

If you are jogging with your dog off lead, you are opening the door to creating anxiety. Your dog’s time to stop and sniff at something is compromised by their fear of not catching up with you. There is constant pressure to keep on the move. Creating anxiety is exactly what we don’t want to do on a dog walk, as this can gradually build into reactive behaviours that were never otherwise there.

What if you still want to jog with your dog?

If you are on your own, and your dog suffers separation anxiety for example, then this would be a good opportunity to start talking to a dog trainer or behaviourist. If you want to jog your dog but infrequently, at least have frequent stops. Or, let them have a short but proper walk over the same ground you would be covering before your run. That way they can at least toilet and smell stuff! If the issue really is time, it would be better to walk the dog for a shorter time. At least it’s their time, and it’s quality time. But it’s also an opportunity to evaluate our lives, and why we have a dog.

Training aside and within obvious boundaries, the bottom line is anything that let’s our dog be a dog, is a good thing. So, letting them have their own time shared with you on a dog walk is the way to go!

Dog Time

Your dog’s internal clock and why it matters

Ever wondered how your dog always seems to know it’s dinner time or walkies before you do? What can we learn from this to help them along?

We all know it, “The Look”. Your dog’s eyes somehow become larger and puppy-like, the eye contact is razor-sharp, and she is trying to tell you something. You haven’t noticed the time, but your dog of course doesn’t know what absolute time is and what it means. All she knows is that her internal clock is telling her that dinner is over-due. It’s not just a metabolism thing either. Dogs love routines and structure. Their day is parcelled up into the rhythm of doing and not doing: walkies, sleeping, going outside, changing the room. To some extent we also have an internal clock. But perhaps our natural reliance on this has subsided with having other gadgets help us.

The Circadian Clock

All living things are guided by the natural rhythm of the seasons. When the days are longer and lighter, we tend to wake up earlier and sleep less and be more active. A generalisation of course, but it more or less holds true. Jet lag for example is when our circadian rhythm is out of sync. Things like our metabolism have adjusted to eating mostly at the same times, and however care-free some of us think our lives are, our days are still quite structured. Dogs in the wild will have behaved differently as the day is solely structured around finding food. With domestication the food is largely provided for them. So, whilst eating is still the most important event of the day, it becomes combined into the rhythm of other activities that make up the day. So

time itself becomes access to one resource of many: food, you, bed.

In winter days dinner time may still be, say, 5pm even though it is dark outside, and the afternoon walk a distant memory. In the bright afternoon sun at 5pm on a summer’s day, maybe with a walk still on the horizon, it’s feeding time regardless. Therefore, we know a dog isn’t taking its cues only from its natural environment. It’s because their own clock is telling them that’s the way it is.

It’s Dog Time

So, my own dog has a biscuit at 7pm, a good two hours after his dinner, partly to break up the evening for him to have something extra to look forward to. And partly a relic of intentionally never completely phasing out the late dinner when he was a puppy. I know it’s 7pm because my phone tells me it is. Or if I don’t notice, my dog will sure enough come to my side and look up at me at 18.59. I always thought he knows it’s 7 o’clock because it somehow feels like it to him. The fact that he is bang on though, every day, without exception, I find extraordinary.

Dog Time is relative

So, when we all lost an hour recently with BST and the clocks going forward, it only took him a day to adjust. One day. He was a bit bemused and bleary-eyed when he went out in the morning at what felt like an hour early, but he soon adjusted. The next day at 7pm, (which should have still felt like 6pm), there he was again at 18.59: “OK I’m ready for my biscuit now”. So, from this unscientific test, we can deduce the dog clock works in relative not absolute ways. Sounds like Stephen Hawking!

For him, the day starts with the walk, and from that, everything is subconsciously but very accurately measured. So, he had his dinner at 5pm, and he knows exactly what two hours later feels like to him. Dinner at 5pm (which should have felt like 4pm) made perfect sense. Because it came correctly after the afternoon walk. Which in turn was exactly 3 hours after I normally have my lunch, and so on. But the point is these intervals are relative, but at the same time very real. How he knows this, I have no idea!

But here’s the rub. On a day that is not a routine one, this should all go out the window, right? If the weather is terrible and the day’s walks are all at different times, for example. Or when I am travelling with the dog and feeding as well as walking times could be completely different from normal. He won’t know when it’s 7pm biscuit time, surely. There has been nothing that day to measure relatively against. But at 18.59, there he is. “Ready when you are, bro.” It’s one of nature’s mysteries.

Clockwork Training?

And what are the implications for training? When we start training our dog, they start to learn not just the thing being trained, but also its context. By this we mean literally the physical location and the time. It’s called contextual learning. And that’s fine at the beginning because we all have to start somewhere. If you are training your dog to walk nicely on the lead, this will often be along the same section of pavement. Or always in the garden, and usually at the same time of day. In time you will find your dog naturally starts to walk better in this particular location. Not so well at other times or in other places.

This is why it’s important to break things up – trying the exercises in different locations, adding distractions, and so on. But what is often missed is we should try to also do this at different times, to mimic real life. Every time we do a real-life (i.e. not training) Recall for example, there is usually one small but very real element of surprise to your dog – she was not expecting it. So before she starts to learn 3 o’clock is always training time (and by implication other times it’s okay to pull on the lead), remember we need to keep surprising our dog when training.

It’s difficult for us because our own lives can be busy enough. But wherever possible, it will help you to set aside your 5 minutes a day at different times, even if you can only occasionally manage it, because

we want our dogs to learn something, not the context when they are supposed to do something.

We’re working against Nature in a small way, up against the dog’s powerful internal clock. But that’s okay – a lot of training is un-natural in this way: not pulling on a lead is the best example. It’s not remotely “natural” for a dog to do this. But it’s possible of course to teach them that it can feel natural. So if you can, mix it up, surprise your dog, and break out the training treats when they are least expecting it!

A Dog Day

For everything else, we are coming back to the R word: routine! If your dog doesn’t have to worry about when the next meal or walk might be, you will be helping to nourish a calmer environment. And keeping them regular will keep you happier!

Interview with a Dog Groomer

This month we ask Charlotte Taylor of Hair & Hounds in Dunmow all about what it’s like to be a professional pet groomer.

Ever wondered what makes a dog groomer tick, or what goes on behind those hallowed doors when you drop off your pooch for a haircut or a bit of TLC? My dog is always so relaxed, happy and looking smart when I collect him from Hair & Hounds, so Charlotte was the natural choice for me to ask all those burning questions…

DC: Hi Charlotte! So what made you decide to be a dog groomer?

CT: I have worked with animals all my life, coming from a farming family and surrounded by animals of all shapes and sizes. Dogs were the next step for me to get into.

What would you say are the most important character traits for someone in this business?

You need a keen interest in animals, a sense of humour, to be calm and patient and have a strong spirit.

Do you have a favourite type of dog to work with, and why?

I don’t have a favourite breed. They are all so lovely in their own right. But I do have a soft spot for the older dogs, “OAPs” – they are so calm and love the attention they receive and they run around like puppies again because they feel fantastic!

What’s the most challenging or unusual request you have had?

The most unusual request I’ve had was a teacup micro pig called Penny. She came in twice a year for a deep clean and ear wash.  Unfortunately she is no longer with us due to old age. To be honest every groom is a challenge, you have a living, breathing animal on the table that could do anything and I have to be ready for anything or any situation that could arise.

And how do you go about handling a dog that doesn’t like being groomed or has anxiety issues or is just simply afraid? 

My answer is PATIENCE. I never go bounding in with any animal nervous, anxious, afraid or even happy to see me, because they can turn just like that without any kind of warning. An animal that is put into a new situation can either like it or hate it.  Dog/animal groomers have to learn to read a dog’s body language to determine if they are okay or not. I could touch one paw and it would be okay but touching a different paw could not be okay. So when I get a dog that doesn’t keep still and doesn’t like the dryer I slow everything down, talking to the dog, reassuring it, having lots of breaks and having lots of tasty treats helps! Sometimes I have to work on the dogs for several weeks so they learn to trust and tolerate the process. 

Are other pets like cats or rabbits generally more or less challenging?

Rabbits and Guinea pigs are a lot less challenging as I find that they love the whole process form bathing to clipping the nails. Cats on the other hand are a different kettle of fish!  Most of my cats have been coming since they were kittens so they are completely comfortable with water, drying, brushing, clipping and cutting nails.  And then you get the cats that only come when it’s necessary i.e. matting of the coat, nails are too long and they are feeling uncomfortable in the first place. These grooms can become difficult to do!

The good people of Dunmow love you. But what do you enjoy most about your job?

Yes I love my job, I love making all the animals look and smell amazing but I love that I can make an animal feel good about itself and be happy. This job has its ups and downs –  it’s a physical job and can sometimes be very emotional, not very glamorous and can be quite smelly! Some animals don’t always get the best start in life and I have unfortunately seen animals in a bad way from nails curling back on themselves to matting to the coat that causes skin sores and haematomas….

I can imagine. So the health aspect is really crucial?

Yes exactly, this is why it is important to get your dog groomed on a regular basis. A good dog groomer will check your dog over and if he/she sees something that isn’t  right, they will advise to get it checked. We groomers see everything on an animal, we look at every inch of the body.

A really important link in dog care generally, then. So what would be your advice for someone looking to start a career in dog grooming?

My advice to anyone that wants to become a dog groomer would be:

1. Get as much experience as possible with all animals, not just one type.

2. It’s not all fun and games you will have to get your hands dirty.

3. Be prepared for any situation. Every animal is different, every groom is different.

Oh, and have the patience of a saint and enjoy your work. You can change the way an animal feels by doing simple or big things and they will love you for it.

Sound advice! Finally, as a dog trainer I have to ask this! In your opinion what percentage of dogs do you see that could definitely benefit from some form of training?

Puppies!!!! Puppies need training from the day they are brought home. Every day that pup needs to learn something new or old. Also socialisation is a huge factor, I don’t just mean meeting other dogs, I mean socialising in every aspect in a dog’s life, travelling in a car, meeting different people and animals, traffic noise. I have meet so many “lock down” pups and they have no experience of the outside world and what it can offer.

Couldn’t agree more. It’s the ideal learning time, though it’s never too late, however old the dog! Charlotte, thanks for your time!

Does my dog need a coat?

Gimmick or necessity? As always with dogs, it depends …

The choice for doggie accessories has never been bigger, and “clothing” is no exception: from traditional quilted country coats to hoodie raincoats to onesies, any dog owner could be forgiven for being bewildered by the choice while also wondering if these garments are a must-have.

The obvious answer to the question is that your dog already has one anyway, right? Being cheeky aside though, this is the first question you need to think about, because obviously dogs have very different natural coats, some single, some double, some none at all. We can knock off a few breeds straight away: if you have a Chinese Crested, you will already have a coat anyway, and if you have a St Bernard, no you don’t need a coat. But for the majority of us, who may not even know if their dog has a natural double coat, there is a grey area where the answer is not as obvious as you might think.

Let’s look at each of the four most popular reasons you might want a coat for your dog:

1. To keep them dry

2. To keep them less muddy

3. To keep them warm

4. To look killer

1. Keeping your dog dry

So having done your quick search engine research on your breed or cross (or best guess for some rescues), you can make the first assumption about just how waterproof your dog naturally is. The answer should normally vary from quite a bit to a lot. Then what about the conditions you are happy to walk your dog in: do you still go for it in the pouring rain? Or no more than a little drizzle?

I have been caught out once in a deluge with my own dog when on a long walk – who is a hardy breed with a double coat – I was shocked to see him shivering a little later. So, if the coat gets wet enough for long enough, and don’t forget the effect of wind, your dog can indeed feel (and suffer) the cold just as a wet and cold “you” would. Therefore, a doggie raincoat, even for a hardier breed, is not always a bad idea.

Personally, I would not consider it for just going on a walk, and if it’s heaving it down, we will wait it out anyway. But if we’re off to go somewhere where I know we might have to queue or not move around so much outside, and it’s a constant drizzle, then why not?

But here’s the thing, and it’s a big thing – raincoat or none – getting your dog dry after your walk is important, because your dog’s welfare is of course the first priority. Because:

• You don’t want a wet dog sitting and lying around on your furniture (if you let them anyway of course)
• You wouldn’t like to walk around the house in a heavy, soaking wet towel-for-your-skin either, you are going to be miserable
• Prolonged wet coats can encourage parasites and infections
• Most importantly… recent research has been consistently linking early arthritis in dogs to having wet limbs for too much of their younger lives. It is now thought moisture is just important as cold in effecting joint health in the long term.

So, save yourself from storing up a big problem: when you dry your dog, leave them for a few minutes and then go at them again with another towel. They will thank you for it! (And those towelling robes or gloves work well too.)

2. Keeping your dog cleaner

I sympathize with this, but my bugbear here is when outdoor conditions are fairly benign. Sometimes making your dog wear a coat simply to save you a little extra cleaning off is more about your needs rather than the dog’s, when you think about it. We met a hound in the park once who was wearing an outdoor onesie when it was, ooh, a humid and balmy and unseasonal 15C after a little rain. The owner exclaiming how proud they were of the coat which “saves so much cleaning off!” Puurleasse!

We need to remember dogs overheat a lot quicker than we do: they can only sweat through their mouths and paw pads, and this particular dog breed naturally wears a thick, wire-y sheepskin coat, basically. It would have felt rather hot in that fetching red onesie. And only a small step to being dangerous: heatstroke is a serious condition for dogs whose onset can be rapid.

Having airflow over the dog, especially if they run about (which they may feel less likely to do wearing a tracksuit), is good for their skin and keeps mites and other parasites at bay. Ooh, it airs things out a little too! I’ll take a dog smelling of fresh air over a dog unwrapped from polyester any day! There’s also a reason they roll around, which is actually to do with cleaning and feeling good. (Okay, I admit rolling around in something smelly can be for a whole lot of reasons – not one for today!) My answer to this one is let your dog be a dog, and is taking an extra 90 seconds afterwards to towel them over really so bad? But if we’re talking about the odd occasion where it’s cold, rainy, very muddy, and you two gotta go out, well okay then, I hear ya!

3. Keeping your dog warm

Some of the same things apply here, but it could be you do need to consider keeping your dog warm, especially these days if they are coming back to a house that might be a little cooler than it used to be, as most of us are being careful with the central heating these days. Short-haired dogs, obviously, will naturally feel the cold more than their shaggier cousins, so when it is properly cold outside, I would say a warming coat is a must. Consider quilted varieties where warmth is more important than outright waterproof qualities.

If you’re not sure about your particular dog, watch their behaviour when they are out and about and when you get back home. Extremes apart (shivering, looking miserable), you know your dog better than anyone – does their body language and behaviour suggest they are feeling the cold? It touches on a really important point – that your dog is an individual. Sure, they may be a certain breed with a typical coat, but just like humans, some of us feel the effects of cold or dampness more than others and may be more predisposed to medical issues that arise from this.

So how cold is cold?

Because your dog is an individual and of certain breed characteristics, it is impossible to generalise, but a good rule of thumb is below 10C is when some dogs can feel the cold. Freezing (don’t forget “feels like” temperature – a must for any dog walker’s app) or windy or wet conditions such as snowy ground even on a less freezing day would make a coat a no-brainer for many dogs. It is also thought smaller dogs generally feel the cold more than larger varieties, although those with longer hair less so.

And this brings us to our second point – consider the age of your dog. Puppies and especially dogs who are getting advanced in years will almost certainly need a helping hand with the elements. More so the skinnier varieties. Older dogs are not generating their own heat as efficiently, and nor are they running around so much to help that along.

4. Looking Good

Having a dog should be fun and if it makes you happy to see them happy enough in designer gear, then that’s fine. There’s a lot of fun on Facebook to be had too! But please just keep in mind everything already touched on – your dog’s welfare is the priority. They can feel the physical effects of their environment, just like you. And give some thought to how other dogs behave around your dog when wearing a coat – body language is far more important to dogs than to us. Coats can mask important signals between dogs (such as hackles) which can lead to problematic interactions. Even certain colours might be a trigger for another dog who may not be so happy to see you bounding over.

And does your dog run about and seem as happy-go-lucky as when they are not wearing a coat? Do they like to swim a little and would otherwise feel hampered doing so? If we are still okay on this, I would always recommend giving them some naked freedom some of the time anyway, let them be dogs!

In conclusion

Hands up a who owns a hunting hound or a genuine husky? And there are other hardy breeds too for whom a coat is probably never needed. And sure, your grandparents may have always kept their dogs outside at all times, and many farming dogs still are. Thankfully though, we now know so much more about dog physiology, medical needs and emotional welfare. So keep in mind, just because a dog is “tough”, think about what that actually means to the two of you? Does that mean your dog enjoys being cold and wet? Nope! And does that mean you should without question part with your hard-earned cash and invest in a doggie Barbour? Not necessarily so.

Like I said at the very beginning, with all things dogs… it depends.

To conclude, gen up on your dog’s breed(s), consider their individual needs and traits, certainly their age. Even then, if you think you need a coat, consider what it is actually for. My mission is accomplished here if I have at least given you some pointers as only you can answer the question for yourself. It really will depend on your particular dog. After all that, if you’re still unsure, it probably means you should get one!