# Is my dog cold at night?



## Alex927

When I wake up every morning, the first thing I do is to say goodmorning to Wade and then I feed him and walk him.

When saying goodmorning I'll naturally pet Wade and it feels like his body and ears are cold. I'm in the nyc area and we generally do not turn on the heat unless absolutely necessary but my wife and I are usually cold in the house unless under some warm blankets or wearing a fleece of some sort.

If we are cold, is the dog cold?

Additionally, when I wake up and jump from under the covers I feel that the house is freezing. If I feel like this in the mornings then has my dog also been cold all night?

For some reason I assumed that dogs can handle cold better than we humans but upon touching Wade the last few mornings, I'm starting to question that.

Wade's around 52 - 55 lbs and his fur is pretty short (like a lab's). The house thermostat is telling me its 63 degrees in here right now but I think it's actually colder.

So what do you guys think? Is my dog cold at night?

ok, I'm off to walk the dog now!


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## Herrick's Mommy

I would think that your dog is cold, based on what you described the temperature in your house is like. We live in an apartment and recently, the temperatures have dropped here as well. When I've touched Herrick or his ears and I feel that they're cold, I always put on one of his sweaters on him and at least cover him with a blanket. I always tell myself that if I'm cold, then he's probably cold too. There have been times though, when I wake up and he'll be sleeping without his blanket and I'll cover him again to make sure he doesn't get cold. We don't turn on our heater, but we do close our windows and try to make it as warm as possible for him. I think that you should probably get him a blanket or a sweater that will fit him, just because if he really is cold, at least you're taking the initiative to keep him warm.


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## Independent George

In general, dogs do handle cold better than humans, but have a lot more trouble dissipating heat. The fact that you find the house freezing in the middle of the night does not necessarily indicate a problem with the temperature. When you sleep, your body temperature drops as your metabolism slows; it's a perfectly normal response in mammals. They may well be getting cold in the middle of the night, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. 

A blanket might be a good idea, but I wouldn't recommend a sweater; Wade can decide for himself if he wants to stay under the blanket, but he's stuck with the sweater until you wake up in the morning.


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## Labsnothers

I think dogs like it a little cooler than we do, but not much. If they are free to move around, they will OK in much cooler temperatures. I think dogs that sleep outside will get up and run around to warm themselves if the cold wakes them. I would guess that shut in a bare crate, the temperature needs to be at least 65 or maybe closer to 70. 

We keep our house around 72. When our of the crate, the dogs seem to alternate between a soft bed and the cooler hardwood floor. 

If you can, I would try to let your dog choose between a soft, fluffy bed and a cooler spot.


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## alphadoginthehouse

I think a blanket would be nice. Mine are small dogs and at night are usually under the blanket. During the day, they will alternate between under and on. Your dog needs the option of having something to sleep on or under, or not at all.


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## Dog_Shrink

My 80 pound boxer/am bull gets really cold at night.

This is how he spends his night 










Maybe something like this 








or this









would make one happy bully dog. A lot of people on my pitbull forum use these.


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## Alex927

cool...thanks everyone.


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## DalmatianMama09

Our pup will sleep right in front of the heater. Over the summer, he'd lay next to the bed under the blanket. So, in answer to your question, yes, I do feel dogs get cold.


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## KBLover

I give Wally a blanket, but half the time he probably isn't cold since I see that the blanket has been kicked out of the crate 

I think he ends up getting hot, but he does have a lot of hair (it doesn't seem thick, but maybe it keeps him nice and warm).


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## hbark

We used an old metal lawn sign frame to hang a sleeping bag over her dog bed -- like this. She likes it, and it looks like it should help to keep her warmer:


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## hanksimon

Dogs are hotter than we are. I let one dog sleep outside in a warm doghouse, and he dragged the blanket into the middle of the yard to sleep on it.

My suggestion is that you take an old blanket and crumble it neatly (not folded) on the floor for him to sleep on. Then watch what he does.

Dogs like to sleep on softer surfaces, but may or may not want warmer areas.

- Hank Simon


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