Why Should Whippets Not Wear Coats

[Zolan]

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Thought I would open this up for discussion missed any previous to this. I am curious as to the reasons for not putting a coat on whippets. Please enlighten me.

 

[zilloot]

All mine wear coats as and when they need them for weather purposes. Outside only though. They run free with them on too. I make sure they are all velcro-fasteneing so that no-one gets caught on anything - they have come back out of the woods coat-less on occasion but I always find them again.

They wear coats out in winter. I'd rather replace a coat than have them cold, wet or scratched! :wub:

IMHO of course :lol: :thumbsup:

 

[Vicky]

Eh? I've never heard that before!

Mine go to bed in them when they're kennelled & i've never had no probs, they come out a bit wonky in the morning but they're always nice & toastie underneath!

Walking a whippet in the cold without a coat is a joke is you want to get anywhere fast, mine hate the cold & rain, but will go out in it no probs with a coat on, i wouldn't like to go out in crappy weather without a coat so why would they?

 

[Nightvision]

In Finland it gets so cold in winter that we have to clothe our whippets. My whippets love to wear their jackets, they know it's not so cold if they wear their clothes. The biggest problem is how to protect their ears from frostbites, because they hate their woolcaps.

Here is Nette wearing her winterjacket

 

[fallenangel]

my lot have snoods over there ears when its realy cold. peoepl lafe but iv had foster dogs in that have had frost bit on there ears with cold so im not risking it with my lot

 

[zilloot]

Nightvision - where do you get your coats please? That looks nice and warm for the Scottish winters we have been having.... (w00t)

 

[Nightvision]

Nightvision - where do you get your coats please?  That looks nice and warm for the Scottish winters we have been having.... (w00t)

I have made the coats myself, it's quite easy.

I use leggings to cover their ears, but they shake them off nomatter what I try.

 

[dawn]

Whippets have coats, the ones they were born with. :huggles:

We do not coat any of ours, they dont need coats!!!! The only time we would use a coat is if they were bathed on the morning of a show and they were still damp.

Did the miners ever coat their whippets? I dont think so. (w00t)

You may say well the dogs coat on an uncoated dogs will be woolly or harsh, none of ours have woolly coats or harsh coats and they have never worn a coat!!!!! :shaun:

 

[JAX]

Mine never wear coats unless we get to a show and its raining or mega cold

I often show at NEWARK ( as does Dawn ) and its often colder inside the halls than outside even in winter , There you get peps putting coats on whippets as they wait to go into the ring , and can they wear coats in the ring , of course they cant , so the dogs feel the cold even more !

My lot dont got walkies when its raining and they certainly wouldnt wear them for general walks , . If you do a good `brisk ` walk ( which is the only way to get a dog fit ) they they certainly DONT need coats .

Man evolved from having fur now that we live indoors , thats why we have clothes .

If my dogs didnt have the OWN coats they they would have some to wear too :teehee:

 

[Nightvision]

I quess it's different in GB, but in Finland coats are MUST in the winter! You really can't take your whippets for a walk without coats when there is -20 or even -30 decrees celsius outside... My dogs live in our home and they don't want to do their "business" inside the house, so even when there is really cold I have to take them out atleast 2-3 times/day. But luckily these really cold periods are short and usually we have from +5 to -15 decrees celsius.

 

[Yannods]

I agree with Minna, winter here is usually very cold and that is the reason why I clothe my whippets. When it is -10 or -20 C you cannot take them out "as they are"

Here is a photo of my "snowprincess" Sissi

 

[JAX]

Its very rare we have a minus temperature during the day , but I can understand you need for them Minna and fellow scandinavions(sp)

What sort of tempararures will I be having to put up with at the [SIZE=14pt]TAMMSVIK Show !!![/SIZE]

Not long to go now !!! :cheers:

 

[Strike Whippets]

All of my Whippets wear coats when it's cold on their winter walks :thumbsup: .....as they are out for a few hours aday and my old girls arthritic and Jacobs bald .........I know that dogs have fur coats (some breeds have more coat than others obviosly), but we put extra layers on when we go out in the cold so why not our poor thin skinned, thin coated Whippets ?? ..........Here's a photo of my gang modeling their coats

 

[whippetmad]

mine lot also wear coats in the winter.i agree with strike whippets we wear extra layers in the winter,why can't they :wub: when they see their coats they can't get them on quick enough :huggles:

 

[janfiers]

I agree that in the countries where the weather is very harsh then coats are required, but I do agree with Dawn about English Whippets. I once put a coat on a whippet that had been a bit poorly. Coming from a good old mining community, where whippets were a common site, I met an old miner, who said to me,

"Wha's tha doin' wi a cote on t'dog missis?" When I explained why he turned round and said to me, "if God wanted um to weer a cote, e'd ay gee um one"

Which translated into English, Why is your Whippet wearing a coat, followed by, 'If god wanted them to wear coats he would have given them a thick one"

All our dogs have got sleek silky coats and none of them sleep with a coat on, even in winter, and including the Iggies.

I do take coats though if I'm ever stupid enough to enter at Newark after September each year, because as Jax says, it's colder in than out and that is when the dogs are likely to pick up a chill because they are not especially active whilst waiting their turn in the ring.

On another note, my girl is now looking worse than Billy Bunter as her puppies are due any time now. 5 times she got me up last night for a wee! Today she hasn't eaten her breakfast (not Asharna like at all) so that's the sign that we might be in for an all night session. Temperature has dropped too, so we are definitely on our way. Fingers crossed she won't need a Ceasar this time.

Jan

 

[janfiers]

Forgot to say that Newark is dead draughty too!

Jan

 

[whippetmad]

hope everything goes well janfiers :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :wub: :wub:

 

[Zolan]

Having been brought up in a mining family and a mining community I think I know just a little more than some about miners and their whippets. To say that a miner never wore a coat on his dog is wrong, at least it was where I came from. Granted they did not have the fancy coats that we have to-day but an old blanket or even a piece of sacking was used by many to keep their most precious asset warm and dry. I've even seen miners carrying their whippet under their jacket to keep the dog and themselves warm after a days coursing or racing.( Of course they wouldn't admit to this)

Because of the low percentage of body fat they carry, whippets have very little natural insulation against the elements. They do overheat rather easily and I'm sure that many of you have placed a damp towel over your dog on a very hot day to cool them down. I'm sure that any one who owns a whippet knows how they dislike the cold, wind, rain and winter showers. In the winter a coat should be worn You would not go out in the howling wind, rain or snow without a coat or sit in the house without heating would you? So why should our dogs? There are many times during the winter months here where the temperature does not go much above freezing and I'm sure the English whippet is no more hardy than the Wesh , Irish or Scottish whippets in the Great British winter. Mine always wear their coats in the cold weather and actually look for them when it is wet or cold outside.

 

[whipowill]

:unsure: Oooh this is an interesting thread!!!!!

I'm afraid I'm going to go with those who coat and i live the Queensland (the Sunshine State) of Oz. It was bloody cold here last night forecast was for 4 degrees celsius. So guess who put a coat on her whippet who immediately settled down and went to sleep.

I also have a theory about coating at a show before going in the ring. When the wind blows or it's really cold I think you should coat your whip but keep it moving so that it's muscles stay warm. Time the removal to a couple of minutes prior to entering the ring but continue to move the dog around to keep it's muscles warm.

So the cold won't affect it's movement.

I'm believe if it's cold enough for me to reach for a coat then the whip deserves one as well.

 

[aslan]

Ditto! And I'm a Queenslander too - from the tropics and even though we're renowned for our tropical heat it does get quite cold on some nights in winter. My dogs wear coats when it's very cold.

My whippets hate the cold and wet - I can't imagine how whippets cope in countries with freezing temps and snow! And I certainly couldn't imagine making a whippet go out in the snow without some kind of extra warmth. Their poor feet are bare - imagine having to walk in snow in your bare feet!!! Brrrrr !!!!

We need jackets because we don't have much hair covering our bodies - agreed - but whippets don't have a lot of hair and they don't carry much body fat - and you can see how they hate the cold - they SHIVER. Why not be kind and give them some extra warmth. It certainly doesn't HURT them.