2 Yorkies Shivering in the Cold
 

I'm annoyed at one of my neighbors. It's starting to get chilly here in NY and it's always more cold at night when the sun goes down. So Monday, hubby and I was taking the kids for their evening walk and we came across my neighbor and her 2 Yorkies. Keep in mind that it was windy and the sun had already set. The poor little guys were SHIVERING!!! It was so obvious that they were cold.

So I said to her why don't get get them a little sweather for the winter? And she went on this whole rant about how expensive clothes are and that they are DOGS and what a waste of money it is. I told her that I have a lot of extra sweaters and I would gladly give her a few because her boys look about the same size as my Codie. Seriously, it would not have been a hardship for me because my kids have such a excessive amount of clothes anway. But she said no, they are DOGS and they don't mind the cold. So I said to her well if they don't mind the cold, why are the literally shaking and SHIVERING? They looked so miserable and you know what, it's going to get even colder as we get deeper into the winter.

I feel so bad for those little guys. I can't imagine her walking them at night when it gets really cold. :(

I feel so unsettled about this. I see her walking them a lot and I think I'm going to offer her some clothes again the next time I see her. I just can't stand the thought of them being outside in that freezing weather with no protection from the wind. Do you think I should or should I just let it go?

I don't understand how someone could walk their dog in freezing winter weather and not put a little sweater on them. I'm not talking about spending hundreds of dollars or buying designer brands. Just a simple $5 shirt or sweater from Walmart or Target and I KNOW they sell them cheap like that because I've seen them in stores. They don't even have to buy multiple sweates -- just one would be enough. I think sweaters are a necessity with these little dogs because they don't have FUR or a double coat like some breeds do; they have hair similar to our hair and they DO get cold.

Poor little guys. :(

I let my boys out in the winter cold nekkid. They don't like clothes. I love my babies to pieces but if they dont like them I wont force them to wear them. I just make sure I watch them and when/if they start to look COLD I make them come in. I don't think you should worry about her dogs. It does not seem like they are abused or neglected. It was REALLY nice of you to offer her some sweaters though! :)

Pehaps if you explain to her that Yorkies coat's are different from other
dog's. It hair and not fur she might better understand the need to keep them
warm. Keep trying is all you can do.

It has been cold here also. I would do what carol suggested

That makes me sick. :( I'm in Maryland and its getting chilly here as well. All four of my babies have had close on constantly for the past couple weeks. Actually right now my girls have thermal pjs on and a hoodie over them. I can't imagine making them run around with nothing on. When they are sleeping I pile blankets on top of them and I'm always obsessing about them being too cold. I bet I feel their ears 100x a day to make sure they're warm. :p I'd like to stick that lady outside with nothing on and see how she feels. Poor little babies. :(

:yeahthat: Try, in the most un-attacking way possible, to explain to her that they don't have the undercoat like other dogs and even though they have 'long hair' it's not the same as other breeds. I might even go so far as to tell a little white lie :rolleyes: and say I didn't realize this either until someone pointed it out to me. Good Luck. :)

I agree with Carol....

Poor shivery babies. Mine start wearing sweaters when the temperature is in the 60's. I figure if I am cold....they are.

Our mornings have dropped to mid-60's. I can open the door and just let them out - but they're not staying out for very long. Except for Puddie, who feels it's his God-given duty to bark at the tree because he KNOWS the squirrels are up there, even if they're still asleep :rolleyes:.

When it gets cold, they don't stay out. That's all there is to it. And when it rains, they won't go out at all: they can make a U-turn back into the house faster than you can blink an eye. So I guess it's a good thing I still have piddle pads, huh?

Later this year I have to give some *serious* thought to walking (it's been too hot). When it's cooler, if it GETS cooler, they have sweaters and even coats. I doubt they'll need them, but they have them. If it gets too cold for them, I'll just tuck them between my jacket and blouse (it'll be nice and warm there :D)

I'm the same way. I leave the heat on during the day even though hubby and I both work because I don't want the kiddies to be cold all day long. I also leave lots of fleece blankets (all purchased from our awesome YT members!) on their bed during the bed. Cali especially loves to burrow undeaneath her blankets. I even leave them out in the summer for Cali because she gets cold with the AC on all day. She is, by far, my biggest snuggle bug. :D

Awww is Mr. Snooty wearing his thermal pajamas too? :p :p

And you know what was funny Dina, SHE had on a heavy coat and a scarf! So obviously she made sure she was dressed appropriately for the cold weather. What makes dogs any different (especially ones w/out a double coat)?

This is my thinking exactly. :thumbup: If I'M cold, they my kids are cold.

Good idead. :thumbup: Since she already seems on the defensive, I will have to do it in a VERY nice and neighborly way lol She is a nice lady but she only just got her dogs this summer (I remember when she brought them home). So maybe she hasn't had them long enough to really know a lot about the breed. They are very sweet little guys.

That's really good advice. :thumbup:

You could offer her clothes, but she might get offended. But it's SO sweet of you - you have such wonderful intentions, so it breaks my heart that it might not be received well on the other end :(.

People like that bother me - we always think of our babies' comfort, if it's too hot outside, we won't take them out - duh! When we had Wylie in MN when we lived there - he had a fleece coat and we'd only take him out if appropriate.

HELLO COMMON SENSE, nice to meet you! Ya know?? :rolleyes:

HAHAHAHAHA lolol I love that hello common sense :D But you are so right. If YOU are dressed in a heavy coat and scarf because you know it's freakin COLD outside, then why make your dog go out naked?

I hope I didn't offend her by offering to give her a few sweaters. I said it in a very nice way and I even told her that I was lucky because I just have way too many and I've been looking to give them away and it's perfect because her 2 dogs are about the same size as Codie. I don't know any other way I could have worded it. :confused:

That's a great way to put it...I'd go for it. :):):)

Sweaters in the cold
 

i have to agree, I think that it si so important to watch these little guys when it is cold outside. We live in Montana and my little Dash loves the snow, but he will stay out until its freezing and he is shaking so bad if i let him. They are like little impulsive children and need to have someone looking out for them because they do not have common sense. Although last cold snap my little guy with the silky hair ended up with hair mats so bad my groomer was ready to kill me. I watch how long I leave those little sweaters on now. matting can be so painful for these little guys. I bought little pillow pet warmers for them so they can go warm up whenever they want too. I think being as careful as you can in words and maybe have Santa leave a present on her Step. haha poor little guys.

It really is getting cold here. The other day when it ws realy chilly i tried to walk the girls but London didnt want to walk, and she had on a sweater and her coat over that. She just hates the cold and she was shivering so i had to carry her and take Sophie quickly to pee. I think you should give her the clothes if she will take them cause they can get arthritis. My last dog used to sleep on the cold floor cause he liked it, we had beds for him and let him on all the furniture but he loved the floor and he got arthritis:( They can really suffer from the cold

Maybe you could explain it to her by telling her that yorkies have hair like ours, not fur, and just like we wear hats to keep our heads warm, they need sweaters to keep themselves warm. I don't think there was a reason for you to have offended her by offering her sweaters! It was very kind of you! :)

My thought is to give her this address to the website. Maybe she does not realize that they are a delicate breed with single coat/hair like us?
Maybe she just does not realize?

Even though you tried to explain..possibly if she got here and just started reading........ it could help?

That is my only offer of help, other than Yorkie-napp them? LOL

some people are just stuborn. We don't know her situation maybe just make the clothes a gift from your kids for her dogs. Sometimes we do buy things for our dogs to please our kids and not just for the reason it may be a good idea anyway. Who can refuse a gift from children?

I think some people may be just ignorant about it. Before I had a yorkie, I never realized that they need to wear clothing during the winter. However, after doing lots of reading and especially joining YT, I found out so much information about this breed. Now that I'm fortified with the information, my little girl Cassi always goes outside with a shirt and a sweater when it's chilly out. I've also purchased a few jackets for her to wear in the winter as well. At home, she has her PJs (which we just recently purchased from another YT member) and a nice comfy bed/blanket from diggy4. Before, I go to bed I always make sure that Cassi is covered with her blanket. :)

So I definitely think it wouldn't hurt to mention this again to your neighbor (and offer clothes, which I think is extremely considerate of you). After all the little furbabies needs someone to speak to their owner since they can't. :aimeeyork

I would be more then glad to send you a few sweaters & coats to offer her. Or maybe I could send them to her & put a nice note saying Thanks for being a Yorkie mom & maybe send her a gift card to Starbucks or something. Anything I can do to help Please just let me know.
HUGS
Debi:animal36