Too Cold To Walk Your Dog?

[frozenchief]

I saw this today and was frankly a bit perplexed. There's a saying up here: "The Arctic favors men and dogs and frowns on women and horses." If I followed this, I'd never walk my dog. In fact, I see a lot of people up here who skijor (cross-country sled while being pulled by a dog) or run with their dogs or do stuff with their dogs when it is way colder than this. The Yukon Quest is run at temperatures way below this.

I would not let a short hair Chihuahua out at those temperatures but that's not a good dog for up here anyway. Dogs that size are eagle bait. Literally. But I've got an Aussie shepherd/mastiff pup who's about 5 months old and about 35 pounds.

We've had a rash of early cold weather so 10 has been about the high for the last week and a half and yet I go walk the dog or let the dog out. Last night I walked the dog at about -5. We were out for about 30 minutes and he did just fine. Ran up and down the trail.

What do you all say? Is it me? Or is this chart too restrictive?

[Sassy Squatch]

Doesn't make any sense unless there's separate charts for regions. My dog was bred in Texas so he seems to absolutely hate the cold. Cries like a bitch when it's time to go outside.

[Jewish Rabbi]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Doesn't make any sense unless there's separate charts for regions. My dog was bred in Texas so he seems to absolutely hate the cold. Cries like a bitch when it's time to go outside.

No, all dogs are the same. They don’t evolve to their surroundings. /jj

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi

No, all dogs are the same. They don’t evolve to their surroundings. /jj

I guess I'm canine then because anything colder than 65 pisse me tf off!

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi

No, all dogs are the same. They don’t evolve to their surroundings. /jj

They haven’t had time adapt to our square.

[Grim]

Seems like some pretty small windows.
An 18° temperature swing is all it takes to go from "No Evidence of Risk" to "Potentially life threatening cold"?

[Otter]

Short haired fawn boxer owner. There's some truth to this but I'd go more with exposure time than just temperature. I think they're over-simplifying.

You're not dipping them in liquid nitrogen by taking them outside.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Otter

Short haired fawn boxer owner. There's some truth to this but I'd go more with exposure time than just temperature. I think they're over-simplifying.

You're not dipping them in liquid nitrogen by taking them outside.

Got any pics? I love Boxers.

[wazu]

I always find it interesting to think about all of the animals out in the wilderness when it's sub-zero temps. If these temps kill a dog, why do so many other mammals thrive and do just fine in this climate? I'm sure breed plays in, but even if it's a dog with thick fur how much can that really matter?

I'd imagine if you're dog is excited to go on walks, and seems to be enjoying it while being out, there probably isn't a lot to worry about.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by wazu

I always find it interesting to think about all of the animals out in the wilderness when it's sub-zero temps. If these temps kill a dog, why do so many other mammals thrive and do just fine in this climate?

Any wild animal in a region is going to adapted to the climate while dogs have been bred for all kinds of weird, stupid shit. A chihuahua is just not equipped to handle a Minnesota winter.

This chart is bullshit, though. They're ****ing dogs. They aren't going to die after 15 minutes of walking outside.

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Just another example of people acting like dogs are children.

They are hardier than this chart suggests.

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by Carr4MVP

Just another example of people acting like dogs are children.

You have no idea. My wife and I own a pet sitting business. It amazes me how much money people are willing to spend on their dogs and how much they spoil them

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by FlaChief58

You have no idea. My wife and I own a pet sitting business. It amazes me how much money people are willing to spend on their dogs and how much they spoil them

I am not spending 1200 on a doggy appendectomy.

[Monticore]

Going to be my first winter with a dog , Shih-poo will let you know what his no go temp is so far no issues at 0 celcius with rain, supposed to hit -12 this week.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by FlaChief58

You have no idea. My wife and I own a pet sitting business. It amazes me how much money people are willing to spend on their dogs and how much they spoil them

I never understood the people who treated their dogs like kids but then I became one. Dogs are things that love you unconditionally. Dogs act like permanent 3 year old kids. They depend on us for everything.

Hell my dad's shepherd would come down stairs and scratch on the door right when he was first starting to get a seizure. Sometimes he'd still be talking normal when we got there and then he'd stare off and we knew.

I became one of those people. It may not be a human life but my two dogs are lives I'm responsible for. I hope I never become the kind of person that judges the value of a life based on how much money they cost...