Looking for Canadian Owners Comments please

Sadly, winter is coming and as I watched 6 mnth old Maisy shivering this morning on the frosted lawn I realized I might have to get her some winter clothing.

For those who brave extremely cold winters (I live in Ottawa), what do you recommend to keep my little cavie warm this winter? For example, would it be necessary to use dog boots for walks or is this just silly?

Thanks for your responses

i have read that it's beneficial for dogs to wear shoes in snowing area. So their little paws don't get burn by the defrost chemical.

They definitely need winter clothes here. I found that even the typical jackets carried by most pet places weren't warm enough for here on most days. I went through about 3 different jackets before I found one that actually kept her warm enough. I ended up getting a dog coat from an Equestrian tack shop. Its made exactly like a horse blanket and really really heavy. There were finally no shivers! I also got a size bigger than she needed and added velcro so it would strap up further. It then completely went around her. The other plus is that they are MUCH cheaper than what you can find in the pet stores. $30.00 and they are extremely well made.. although not exatly stylish, they are very practical for our Canadian winters! http://www.greenhawk.net/cgi-local/...90.html?L+scstore+mhrs6410ff29f029+1222206023

It also depends on how much you are planning to be out and about. We're out pretty much everyday sun, rain, snow, cold, etc. I also highly recommend getting a pair of Muttlucks (the fleece lined ones). They are expensive but well worth it. Last winter Zo got snowballs stuck inbetween the pads of her feet. The salt and all the stuff they put on the sidewalks and roads is also awful on their poor feets. XXS seems to be the right size for Cavaliers. They fit my two great.. they weigh 18lbs, and 12lbs. On the smaller girl I have to really make sure they are strapped on securely. The itty bitty were just too small. http://www.muttluks.com/our_products/muttluks.php

Hope this helps some and saves you some money on experimenting!

I should add that I have a bunch of sweaters etc too. On the really cold days Zo wouldn't go outside to do a quick potty without a sweater or coat on. I can't say that I really blame her. It was easy enough to keep one of the lighter coats that didn't work for walks by the door for potty times and just put it on before she went out. She also got really good about me dressing her. She lifts her paws for me one at a time.

Hi,
I'm originally from Ottawa but now live in Kelowna, BC, where the winters aren't nearly so harsh. Winter clothing isn't as necessary here, but I do have a lovely fleece hoodie that I put on Maggie on the colder days. It seems more than adequate. She's a fairly small girl so I have to be careful of anything too heavy or bulky because it impedes her movement - plus she has difficulty going for a pee!

I highly recommend booties of some sort because the amount of road salt they use in Ottawa is ridiculous and it really does burn their tender pads. They don't use the stuff here, but homeowners sometimes buy the bagged stuff and spread it on the sidewalks in front of their houses. I got booties after one incidence when Maggie started crying and limping after walking through a short section spread with salt. It had never occurred to me before as my other dog has a really tough set of pads. It took some getting used to the booties for her, but now they don't seem to bother her at all plus her paws are nice and clean when she comes in the house!

For those of you who use muttluks, do you use the fleece-lined or the all-weather? Am thinking of getting some for my group as Illinois can get really cold and snowy.

Bev, Oliver (7 yr old blenheim), Riley (6 yr old black & tan),
Madison (5 yr old ruby), and Oz (14 month old tri-color)

I got the fleece-lined one because the colour selection was better...lol

Besides, I thought they'd be more comfy

I was looking on another site for knitting patterns and came across this, total useless but it did make me laugh :lol:

Doggy mukluks

Oh those are cute Davy!

Awesome responses! Thanks guys.

I live in south east Wisconsin and I have cheap fleece lined boots for maverick and he loves them since he knows he won't get snow balls in his toes. I also sew so he have like 3 fleece coats for him. I make them with long sleeves so that no arm pit snowballs and long down the back. He seems to enjoy them.

Here's a pick of one of his coats.


Here's one with him and his boots