Dressing for the Winter

As the harsh Canadian winter nears its peak, temperatures that drop into the negatives on the Farenheit scale are all too common. Now perhaps St. Bernards or those Old English Sheepdogs, with their long, thick coats, can handle a certain degree of chill, but what about our tiny, low bodyheat-generating, short-haired Jack Russells? At what temperature do we dress them up to go outside?

For our little Skippy we have a few sweaters (jumpers) that she wears when the temperature gets anywhere approaching -10C (14F) mark. We put her sweater on and she prances around the house eagerly anticipating her walk. This works only down to about the -15C mark and then it doesn't matter how pretty the sweater is; she eagerly runs down the stairs, waits, then tries to run back up the stairs.

Obviously, little dogs like this need some extra protection when the temperatures drop. But I'm wondering if the cold just an excuse for us to dress up our dogs?

We get a lot of snow here, too, between January and March, which raises another issue with the tiny stature of the Jack Russell. This morning we easily got 8" of fresh snow. Skippy is about 12" tall, just enough for her head to crest the top of the sea of white. But as funny as it is to watch her bound through the snow, it's very difficult for her relieve herself when it's that high. Yes, I had to shovel out a poo-path this morning.

I also dub this the Yellow Brick Road; I don't recommen following it, though.

Is the cold just an excuse for us to dress up our dogs?