Preparing For Winter
 

Hopefully there isn't already a thread for this, (I looked at the stickies too!) but does anyone have advice for keeping warm in the winter? My baby will be 5 months October 22 and is still just under 2 pounds. I wasn't quite expecting him to be this small! What temp would you guys think is too cold for the little guy to be outside? I have been taking him potty outside, but if it's too cold I can put puppy pads down. I just don't want to confuse him. I will be buying him hard sole boots, I bought a coat for him, and he has plenty of sweaters. Just wondering if there is anything specific I should make sure of for the outdoor gear. Also I just bought a self warming blanket. He wants to snuggle on a heating pad but obviously that's too dangerous, are there any other doggie safe alternatives? I will be keeping him inside in the warm as much as possible obviously, and again sorry if this has been asked a jillion times. Just want to make sure he stays safe!

Well, here in Houston, our winter temps usually crash below a staggering 40* in winter....maybe in a really BRUTAL winter, we will freeze our butts off as the temps plung to a bone chilling 30*....and I can remember a couple of freak winters where the entire city was immobilized with temps that plunged to 18-20* for a staggering 14 days in a row!!!! I am envious of those of you with cool days experienced these recent days...we are still in 88-96* here in Houston!!!

Needless to say, I can not offer any valuable information on how to ready yourself for brutal winters....but I enjoy reading all the information that is absolutely stunning to me!! Who in the world knew you had to shovel snow off the ROOF of your house and garage!!!!!!! Who in the world ever thought you had to unearth your ENTIRE car, buried totally in snow!!!! AMAZING!!!!

I'm in Ohio which isn't the coldest or snowiest around but definitely colder than Texas! I haven't had to ever remove snow from my roof thank goodness! But watching the news I feel bad for those who do. And my car I do have to dig out but again thank goodness it's not completely covered!! The past couple years we've had temps drop below zero so I'm interested to see what this one will be like! It's interesting til about Feb. Then I'm ready for summer lol.

I have a wood platform that raises the doggy bed up off of the floor a couple inches. I have a heating pad, which is specially (very low temp) for small Dogs. I just slip it under the platform and it works well. It sets on the floor and never touches the platform or bed material.

Also, they have devices which plug into an electrical receptacle, that sense temperature. Plug it into the wall, and the heating pad into it. You can set any temperature you want for it to come on and energize the pad.

We have a special doggie heating pad that lays inside the doggie bed with fuzzy blanket on top of that. Buddybear is now sleeping on my bed so this will be for his day use if I have to go away from the house for a little while.
It sounds like you have everything planned out. Buddybear doesn't take to the puppy pads, he chews them and shakes them to pieces..........which I wish he would use as he Hates going out in the rain and snow. He doesn't understand and I don't know how to get it through to him.

They sell dog warming pads on Amazon, I am sure Pet Supplies Plus, PetCo and Pet Smart also sell them. I do not use warming pads, I have a big boy, 12 lbs. Here in N.E.Pa, our avg. winter day temps are below 28 degrees to -7. And yes I have had to have my roof shoveled a couple of times lol. You can use T-shirts to keep your baby comfy indoors. I keep my indoor temp at 75 (I like it warm) I also use a humidifier so my boy's skin doesn't become dry. I suggest start now getting your baby use to wearing the boots. Cody uses the back yard to potty unless snow has accumulated to a foot or higher, in those cases he has to use the back deck, I walk him for exercise only. No walks if temp is 30 or below. I am sure others will be along to offer up suggestions on the warming pads.

Living in FL, I have some sweaters for Bella, but that is about it. We will see how she likes the cooler weather as it gets here.

We have spent the last few winters in NC with minimal snow. When we lived in Michigan, we shoveled an area for Dinky outside. he was always fast, hurried back inside and burrowed under blankets.

Same here. We're not known for winters in Mississippi; however, it has gotten really cold (0-20) degrees these past couple of years for about a week (the dreaded polar votex). This causes major problems here with the pipes in homes -- they are just simply not insulated for that type of weather. We have to leave all the doors to cabinets open, leave water dripping in the sinks, and insulate the spigots outside. Our Zeus LOVES cold weather and despises the heat. It snowed a little here last year, and we couldn't get him back inside. He ran from us. He absolutely loved it; then he would stand at the window and whine to back out. We have several sweaters for him. I also bought a "winter" harness for him. It has sherpa on the inside and wool on the outside. I also bought him a doggie "coat." It has sherpa on the inside and weatherproof material on the outside. I don't think these two would suffice for the north though. These were in a Tuesday Morning here for $6.99 and $8.99, respectively. But honestly, I think people up north would laugh at my "winter" coats! I, myself, wear shoes with no socks all year and don't own a coat, so I just can't understand. Good luck!

A picture
 

Here is Zeus in our winter snow last year!

Definitely Jkpal! Double trouble for sure!

If he is doing well w/ potty training and is going outside potty really well, I would truly *not* risk confusing him by introducing the pads...bc you could regret this. I think you sound really well prepared for winter and it will go great.

One thing I'd like to recommend for winter is either doggie boots or paw wax. Personally, I like using "musher's secret" because neither Magnus/Zoey will put up with doggie boots. This is also to protect their pads from the salt that'll be spread to melt icing on sidewalks/roads.

Yeah, this. Or maybe still have an "outdoor" place to put the pads to differentiate from going "in the house" like a garage, porch, patio, or mud room area.

But Jackson has never been one that would take to pads. He potty trained outdoors at a young age and has always needed lots of space and sniffs before he will pee or poo.

He's a bigger Yorkie but even as a youngster he went out in the snow. I think it's best when they're young and adapt to it quicker. I know a lot tinier Yorkies than him that do fine outside in cold for quick potty trips with no coat or anything on. For long trips outside, that's why they make boots and coats etc! ;)

I will definitely try to avoid changing his routine, I was just concerned cuz with a sweater on and under 70 degrees he shivers after going outside so I just wanted to be safe! But thank you everyone for all the input! :)

Where is Alaska yorkie for his input here? :) I'm afraid that I also live in a pretty non dramatic climate. It rains all winter but rarely gets below 35 degrees. We might have a couple weeks in the year that get about there, very minimal snow if any (omg! It dusted!) it does get really windy out where I live in the gorge, like news worthy car door ripping off windy And it rains ALOT. I love potty pads and will never regret my decision to go that route, lilah is perfectly happy with them and they meet our needs well- but if we were outside potty only, I would be hesitant to cause confusion. We have lots of sweaters and dresses- I have such a hard time keeping track of dog shoes and want to try some cute ones from alldogboots.com (one of our members I hear can keep shoes on an octopus!) we have rain jackets and coats too. Can't imagine Lilah being very comfortable without those. Also looking forward to hearing the stories from people with 'real winters'

Do you happen to know if anyone has tried alldogboots.com? I just looked after reading your post and I found some super cute ones like you said!

I believe quite a few members bought from there and were very satisfied!

Most likely, your pup's not going to react positively to the boots/shoes at first so you'll need to be patient. My two wouldn't move in them which is why I went with the wax.

Thanks! I'm sure he's not gonna like it too well at first, but I've been putting socks on him hoping that will get him used to it. So far with the socks the worst part is putting them on and after that he's fine. Hoping for similar results with the boots!

Hello! I'm still laughing at your comment about keeping shoes on an octopus!

I'm happy to help anyone with their shoe needs. All shoes on the site that will fit your dogs have been tested by my little guys. Feel free to PM me or contact me through the website if you need any help.

Hello! Did not realize you had an account here! Will definitely be buying those converse styled shoes when I get the bills taken care of lol!

I've been here for 5 years :)

Let me know if you need help with sizing and PM me for your YT discount when you are ready.

My yorkie love love loves being outside and the great outdoors. She is a terrier through and through and needs plenty of exercise and fresh air. Since I live in a place with cold winters (NYC- this will be Moxie's 2nd winter with me as I rescued her last Feb) I've had to find a way to keep her warm since indoors all the time is hard for her. I have musher's secret for her paws and always wipe them when we come in from the snow. I have a variety of options for clothing, including light sweaters, a hoodie, fleece coat, wool sweaters (I LOVE chilly dogs brand for wool sweaters),
this coat
Skyline Puffy Vest

and this coat for when it's really cold
Pet Life Ski Parka Dog Coat | Sweaters & Coats | PetSmart

I got legwarmers from etsy but they weren't custom ordered, turned out to be too big and fell off, lol. If it gets as cold as it did last winter, I will order her a snowsuit so she can go out and I don't worry about her leg muscles freezing.
They have great dog clothing and shoe options at
Dog Clothes, Dog Clothing & Dog Fashion at BaxterBoo
and a ton of sellers on etsy make dog sweaters, scarves, leg warmers, etc

I am sorry I did not see this :embar: yes, I am sure she has many reviews on yorkie talk- I think we even have a thread specific to sellers reviews and they are all very positive. She does just have the cutest shoes!! i know my Lilah needs a pair :love: if you buy some please post pics! :)

I don't look forward to winter. Neither Duke nor Mya like the cold ground, and Mya absolutely hates snow so I end up shoveling my back porch and spraying it down pretty much everyday. Duke will atleast go to the edge and use a bit of grass as quick as he can, but Mya is all "heck no the porch is just fine" with her little prissy self.

Oh to add they both have winter coats now. Last season Duke wore his coat and Mya is small so I carried her in a bag/purse that was sherpa lined when we go places, and put a fleece lined hoodie on her when she went outside because it stretched better over her long hair.

I have winter coats for all 3 of my Yorkies. They wear clothes in the winter a lot as well so the coats will go over their clothes. I have no idea what the puppies will think of snow! On really bad weather days I might just take them to the enclosed patio (no heat) and see if they will use a pee pad there or just let them use the pee pads inside. They only use the pee pads if they have to go between outside trips right now but in really bad weather I would love for them to use them all day.

I don't want snow, but at the same time I can't wait to see if the puppies like it!

I feel so bad for him. As I was putting on his sweater and coat this morning he started shaking like he knew the cold was coming! It's 32 degrees and I'm so glad I have his coat, but I need to get him boots and quick! I was going to order some I found online, but I think I might just have to make a trip to petsmart. He holds one paw up after feeling the cold ground like "really mom, you're going to make me do this?" Lol poor Chewie.