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Chomp09
12-27-2006, 19:16
Anybody take their dog hiking with them when the weather gets cold, I'm talking below freezing and colder? If so, how do you keep him or her warm at night? I have a lab, and have been carrying a blanket for him, but there must be better options. I would like to bring him with me later into November & December, but it gets pretty cold up here... Any ideas???

smokymtnsteve
12-27-2006, 20:54
we got dogs that sleep on top of thier dog houses when it's -25 F,,,and then some of them just curl up in the snow at -35F,,,

general
12-27-2006, 22:53
cheap childs sleeping bag or a couple of fleece blankets, and a short piece of ridgerest. if it's really cold pile your clothes that you are not wearing on the dog. the ridge rest is important, because it keeps em' off of mine.

SteveJ
12-27-2006, 22:56
Anybody take their dog hiking with them when the weather gets cold, I'm talking below freezing and colder? If so, how do you keep him or her warm at night? I have a lab, and have been carrying a blanket for him, but there must be better options. I would like to bring him with me later into November & December, but it gets pretty cold up here... Any ideas???

Hi, Dave. I have a siberian husky, and live in GA, so don't have much to be concerned about! She loves the cold. The few times we've hiked where I expected it to be between -10 and 10 F, I've tried to remember to bring a 3/8" CCF butt pad that she also uses to sleep on when she gets cold (she ignores it otherwise). The only time I've seen her shiver was on top of Shining Rock Mtn, under a BD Betamid, about -5F, with 30 mph winds, and I forgot the butt pad. I put my goretex jacket over her - she ended up sleeping on it, and we survived..... anyway, if you don't have a pad for your lab, you may want to consider a dual purpose butt pad / dog sleeping mat.....

trlhiker
01-02-2007, 21:57
we got dogs that sleep on top of thier dog houses when it's -25 F,,,and then some of them just curl up in the snow at -35F,,,
Those dogs are adapted to that kind of cold. Put one out in that weather that sleeps inside all the time and it could freeze to death.
If your dog is short haired, or not used to the cold then you have to do something to protect it. A fleece blanket and pad would probably help. I would not take my dogs camping in the winter.

The Solemates
01-03-2007, 00:20
Anybody take their dog hiking with them when the weather gets cold, I'm talking below freezing and colder? If so, how do you keep him or her warm at night? I have a lab, and have been carrying a blanket for him, but there must be better options. I would like to bring him with me later into November & December, but it gets pretty cold up here... Any ideas???


on our thru in 2004, icecold hiked with a yellow lab (they started NOBO Jan 10). his lab had a small synthetic sleeping bag (kids sized), but rarely used it. a thru hike may be different though....animals adapt amazingly quickly...much faster than a human does. for dogs that go on the weekends only, and who normally sleep inside otherwise, i would be more prepared. When it gets below 25F or so, my coonhound carries a small section of a sleeping pad and a fleece blanket. even then, i usually cuddle up with him real close to try to keep him (and me) even warmer.

superman
01-03-2007, 16:25
I carried a 20 degree down rectangular bag. When it was cold I opened it up and put it over both Winter and I. If a dog wants some warmth it will snuggle up. If it's fine it will give you space. It dropped to 15 degrees once and Winter was right next to me keeping me warm. I needed Winter more than she needed me. German Shepards have great fur coats.

doodah man
01-03-2007, 17:25
I grew up in Colorado and did lots of winter backpacking and usually with a dog. My dog was a German Shepard, and my hiking partner’s dog was a Husky and both were basically indoor dogs. (They both got to sleep in the house at night). Usually only took one dog or the other, but both did well outdoors in general. Overall, the husky was much more comfortable with all aspects of the wilderness. She pretty much preferred to take care of her own sleeping arrangements picking out her spot. On the really cold sub-zero nights, we had to force her to sleep in the tent and that was because we needed her to help keep us warm! She did not care for the tent much. On the other hand the Shepard preferred to sleep where ever it was we slept and was more comfy with his own small sleeping pad. Also, the Shepard occasionally would run out of gas (never a full bonk, but hints that he would prefer to stop for the day). As for the Husky, I never saw her show any fatigue issues. doodah-man

Cedar Tree
01-03-2007, 18:54
I didn't thru with my dog, mainly because he was a Pug. But when I hiked with him on section hikes, he was in my sleeping bag everynight. A dog in the sleeping bag in the winter is a good thing. Of course, he was in my bed at home every night too. He died the same day as Steve Irwin, and he is missed about 50000000000000000 million times as much. Kudzu the Pug, best dog I've ever known (especially now with this puppy biting my ankles).
CT

superman
01-03-2007, 21:46
Long live Kudzo the pug.

SteveJ
01-03-2007, 22:27
clip On the really cold sub-zero nights, we had to force her to sleep in the tent and that was because we needed her to help keep us warm! She did not care for the tent much. On the other hand the Shepard preferred to sleep where ever it was we slept and was more comfy with his own small sleeping pad. clip

that's pretty much my experience w/ Phoebe. The one night she did get cold, I tried to get her to lay down across my feet (it had nothing to do with the fact that my feet were cold :rolleyes: ), and she wouldn't. When I woke up the next morning, the only warm spot on me was the middle of my back where she had curled up beside me and stuck her nose in my back! I knew she was cold if she was cuddling!

frieden
01-10-2007, 02:52
There is a stretchy dog suit that can keep them warm. It has been posted on Whiteblaze, but I can't find the link right now.

Ed loves cold weather, too. In the tent, he has his own pad, and we share the quilt. He's worse than a woman, though. He'll cuddle up with me, because he's cold, and then 30 seconds later he's pushing me away, because he's too hot!

LIhikers
01-11-2007, 09:25
My wife and I often hike with our 80 pound shephard who carries his own gear in a saddle bag style pack. He has a pad to sleep on, an insulated coat that covers his body and then we cover him with a "space blanket". Not one of the real light weight ones but what I'd call a medium weight space blanket. Then if he's still cold we have him sleep between us and with the blanket over the 3 of us.

Fiddleback
01-11-2007, 12:23
Intuitively, some breeds will do better in the cold than others. Also intuitively, the breeds that will take the cold are the breeds you see backpacking.:-?

For years, if I was on the trail so was my Samoyed. He camped with me in the -20s and did walks and hikes in the -40s (short walks;) ). My Lady and I provided no cover or pad for him but then he did kinda 'share' the body heat in the tent (as was his due...he carried the tent). Back at home he always demanded to be outside and would sleep curled up and covered by snow. Pretty hard to see a white dog in the snow sometimes...

As with people, what temps the dog is adapted to will have a lot to do with its success at winter camping. My current Sam was born and raised in Texas but he is more than adapted to western Montana and we have to restrict the time he spends outside. Still, this morning he started his two hour shift of barn chores and morning walk in -1°. But Sams are a breed from Siberia and were originally used as sled dogs, for reindeer herding, etc. For other breeds, YMMV.

FB

http://mud.mm-a6.yimg.com/image/3460818570 (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0Je5mkyY6ZFFH4BKIuJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBkYTNuNGk 0BHBvcwMxMARzZWMDc3I-/SIG=1gtdm1r0h/EXP=1168618674/**http%3a//images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view%3fback=http%253A%252F%252Fimages.search.yahoo .com%252Fsearch%252Fimages%253Fp%253DSamoyed%2526f r%253Dyfp-t-501%2526toggle%253D1%2526cop%253Dmss%2526ei%253DUT F-8%26w=300%26h=271%26imgurl=www.westminsterkennelcl ub.org%252Fbreedinformation%252Fworking%252Fimages %252Fsamoyed.jpg%26rurl=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.hav hav.com%252Fforum%252Fviewtopic.php%253Ft%253D1130 1%26size=15.8kB%26name=samoyed.jpg%26p=Samoyed%26t ype=jpeg%26no=10%26tt=37,131%26oid=88f38d68bd33b91 2%26ei=UTF-8)(typical Samoyed - not my picture...not my dog)

Tacoda
03-16-2007, 01:01
Take special care of your dogs feet. Watch water and food intake before the hike and measure it carefully against on your hike. Consider carefully mineral supplement for your dog in tablets. Watch carefuly how your dog walks. If he seems to limp or slower than yourself, you have already created a problem. take a dog on hikes and remember you are entirely responsible for him. If he runs away and you can not find, it is your fault. If he starts a hip, leg or foot problem, it is your fault, not the dogs.

You have a great responsibility when hiking with a dog. embrace this ideal and your dog and you will be fine. If not, be prepared for the consequenes. good luck.

shelterbuilder
04-08-2007, 12:31
Years ago when I was hiking with my first Siberian, I cut a section of wool blanket for him to sleep on. He knew that the blanket was HIS space (although if he was wet, he'd try to dry off by rolling on MY sleeping bag!:( ). As a matter of self-preservation, I bought him a raincoat and he wore that on rainy days...kept him mostly dry except for his legs and some underbelly, but he used to dry himself off by licking like a cat!!!