Dog in House w/ No Power- How cold is too cold? archived

What breed is she? It might help to leave a nice warm bed she can snuggle down in. She should be fine for the next few days, since the temperatures are in the 40s and 50s again.

If this was mid-February, I'd say take her somewhere warmer, but for now, I have a feeling she'll be OK, unless she's one of the very delicate breeds. 50 lbs. doesn't sound delicate, though.

Is your dog allowed on the furniture? I ask because our beagle knows to snuggle up under the covers of our bed, and we put a little jacket on her too.

She's actually at my parents' today, since we're staying there while the power's out, but we keep the house pretty cold when we're at work anyway.

Duh, I don't know why I didn't think of a jacket... do you have any doggy clothes for your furbaby? Since she's furry herself, she probably doesn't need it, but a nice fleece jacket might be a good thing to have on hand for future outages.

She's a labradoodle (no comments about the breed, please) and very furry. She does have her bed and I'm thinking of buying her a sweater. I cannot believe I just wrote that since I am against doggy-clothing but I think this is a unique situation! We keep the house at 62 normally when we're at work but it's lower than that now.

I know, I've always thought doggy clothing was pretty silly, but sometimes it's very helpful, especially for smaller breeds or breeds with very short hair. I say having one sweater can't hurt too much.

Our dog has a crate that he usually sleeps in, or goes to when he wants to take a nap - I keep a quilt over the top and back of it in the cold weather to block drafts, and he has a nice, thick and fluffy mattress inside it. With the no heat situation, I put a blanket down for him to snuggle into if he wanted to (he has to stay quiet and preferably in the crate for a few more weeks for a back injury, so he couldn't come up on the bed with us this time). He seemed fine in his crate and didn't seem to want the blanket. He's a pug, and double-coated, so he's pretty well-insulated by nature. Perhaps a dog with a shorter coat or less body fat might need more warmth.

Just saw that your dog is a labradoodle - they usually have pretty good coats, no? She's probably fine without a sweater unless it gets quite chilly. But a sweater wouldn't hurt, if she'll tolerate it. I had one dog that hated coats or sweaters of any kind, no matter how bad the weather was. Only dog I ever knew that preferred to be soaking wet rather than wear a sweater (and she wasn't a retriever or water-loving breed, either).

PeggyC said:

I know, I've always thought doggy clothing was pretty silly, but sometimes it's very helpful, especially for smaller breeds or breeds with very short hair. I say having one sweater can't hurt too much.

Come on Peggy, this is not silly at all )

I know what you mean about doggy clothing but for Ashley (the beagle) it's really necessary. She shivers even when the temperature feels okay to us! She has a little fleece sweater thing we keep on during the day, and then we also have an L.L. Bean fleece/waterproof coat that we add for walks in the cold weather.

Of course, this is a dog that not only sleeps on the bed, but sleeps all the way at the foot of the bed, completely under the covers. She really, really likes to be warm

That's totally a beagle thing- sleeping at the foot of the bed UNDER the covers...My sister's beagle does it too!

We don't allow animals on the furniture in OUR house )

Dogs can be fine in cooler temps inside--say 50 degrees.
Where the problem lies is if you've left your dog out in the elements--without proper food and water.
If your dog has a bed, and maybe a blanket to curl up on, and is properly fed--she should be fine.

It's not freezing outside, so your home will not be freezing.

I would consider a sweater for dogs without a lot of hair, very old dogs or tiny dogs. Also PUPPIES are still too young to be able to have their own bodies regulate their body heat--and usually would need a heater, a hot water bottle, or their moms to stay warm.

FYI I have a coat for our female beagle--but not for the male--who seems to enjoy the weather--whatever the temp.

Our female beagle ...is a princess..she gets cold if she sees snow!!
She also DOES NOT LIKE being wet--so walking her in rain--or snow is a challenge.

my poor guys are soooo cold. i left them in the house today. it was 50 this morning when i left. i left their dogs beds on the couch, and some blankets, so i'm hoping that they will burrow.
poor little things. at least we let them sleep with us at night.

It's funny, my boyhood beagle simply would not tolerate being indoors. He lived outside 99% of his life - though his dog house was fairly sturdy. Denny only came inside on especially terrible nights (and cried himself to sleep every time).

Guess it depends on the animal.

I should add, this was northwest of Boston - so the weather was a bit worse than NJ.

I'm a total mush for a shivering dog so I wrap both of mine in their own little down comforter and they stay warm. I hate to see my dogs shiver. And the cold ears get me crazy, like I'm a bad daddy.

My stupid neighbors leave their puppy outside 24/7. I saw the poor thing outside in the snow yesterday. She's only a few months. There is a doghouse and last time I checked there was water and food but it just seems too cold to leave her out there all the time. I spoke to pixi about this but she said there's nothing I could really do. It's breaking my heart! :-(

(Sorry for the drift!)

Oh, that's just cruel.

wallflower said:

My stupid neighbors leave their puppy outside 24/7. I saw the poor thing outside in the snow yesterday. She's only a few months. There is a doghouse and last time I checked there was water and food but it just seems too cold to leave her out there all the time. I spoke to pixi about this but she said there's nothing I could really do. It's breaking my heart! :-(

(Sorry for the drift!)

They should be sentenced to spending a night out in the cold

I covered up my 15 year old spring spaniel with a blanket last night, bedroom 48 degress. I got into bed, he looked at me, shook it off and went back to sleep. I agree with RobB, it depends on the dog, until my dog got to be almost 14, he preferred hanging outside anytime of the year.

I'm afraid those people might come home to a dead puppy some day soon. That's horrible. And you really can't call someone like the ASPCA?? I find that a little hard to believe.

@Metalart:

As I understood it, they have a right to leave their dog outside as long as they provide food, water, and shelter. I also asked a neighbor that is a detective in town but he didn't think there was anything we could do. I will look further into it today while I'm at work and have Internet access since mine is still out at home.

Wallflower, just give me the address ;-)

Seriously. I'm in favor of a puppy-napping. Get that pup to a kinder home.

The thought has crossed my mind. My boyfriend wandered over there the other night but thought better of it..

I was thinking since they clearly don't pick up after the dog and the smell is grossing out the neighbors (me included), we could file a complaint with the town but that might not help with getting her inside. I also don't know if she'd be better off inside with these people. I don't know why someone would get a dog if they're not going to look after it properly!

Wallflower, seriously, I'm up for a little adventure. I bet Peggy would help.

It is abuse and you can report it here:

http://www.njspca.org/report-abuse.htm

Thanks, Dave. I will report it as soon as I have the exact house number.

My neighbor used to keep his dogs out all year round, they loved it and the dog houses were heated. Is that animal abuse also? No different than leaving chickens outside in the chicken coop over the winter or are they any less significant to all the animal lovers out there.

The dog does not seem happy to be out there all the time. She is crying whenever I walk by and usually has her tail tucked under.

My dog cries when she's outside in the yard and see's people, does that mean i'm abusing her? If your walking by there all the time it sounds like an obsession and your determined to do something no matter what. Why not just ring their bell and tell them how you feel.