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- Following on from the harness for a collie thread can STW recommend waterproof jackets for Border Collies. We haven't had much success with purchasing jackets previously so recommendations would be great!
Do they need one!!? 🤔
Border collies. Obviously used to dry and sunny conditions, innit?
A border collie needs a coat like a penguin needs armbands
Non-stop make really good kit. We've had various coats and harnesses for ours and they last well (and the colour options are nice!).
no its a dog
We had a ruffwear, it was a sort of goretex. Very good for wet camping trips when you didn't want a sodden dog in your tent . Scottish winter Hill walking also excellent when the wind chill was mean. Collie will know when it wants it on
Iirc it had a hood. No self respecting dog is ever gonna where a hood. Luckily it unzips
I remember driving into the yard at my grandparents farm, there had been the lightest dusting of snow, but next to the front door there was a pile of snow.
I remarked to the wife that there must have been more overnight, but as i was speaking the pile of snow stood up and gave itself a shake.
so I’m in the ‘does it need one’ camp.
A good rain coat is essential if your giving the dog regular walks .. especially in the rainy UK. Nothing worse than a damp smelling dog - so much easier just having to dry it's head & feet.
I find the waxed coats are best. The nylon goretex ones are ok, but like the jackets they need regular treatment.
Seems most people like wasting their time having to towel dry dogs rather than chuck a jacket on it, or they're fair weather walkers. For Christmas my mum got us a ruffwear jacket which I'm extremely impressed with, not used it much but it'll come with me for van trips so any rainy walks the jacket will be a LOT easier to dry out than a sodden towel and my dog is pretty smooth coated.
I wouldn't use it for offlead charges around but when you're just pavement bashing for needs must purpose it will be perfect. There's no thickness to it but the water beads off and drops on the floor.
Border collies don’t need coats. A good stick will do.
I'm sure this was one of the portents fortold by Nostrodamus pointing to the end of the world in 2025
Giving the dog a bit of a rub down to dry him is a lovely bonding thing. As above, collies are pretty much designed for the outdoors.
A border collie needs a coat like a penguin needs armbands
Couldn’t have said it better myself! Their entire existence is to be outdoors in all winds and weathers to round up sheep!
I’m not sure if they have a double layer coat like my friends truffle hound, but they are pretty impervious to the sort of weather we have in the U.K.
The only reason a collie might need a coat, is if they’re a search and rescue dog.
Im pretty sure Bandit, our border collie came with one...
Some dogs apparently find coats like being held down, i.e. they don't like it and it may modify behaviour. Says my wife who has read a lot on dog psychology since we got our reactive hound.
Personally I'm in the towel dry camp and she even has a doggy dressing gown for after towelling down, never tried her in a coat, I can see it being convenient, but spoiling her fun a bit, she loves rolling in damp grass and couldn't give a crap about the rain. She looks like a collie but isn't one too. The point above about wet dog smell is fair though, both my house and my car have a damp dog scent when she's had a soaking, but that's part of owning a long haired dog surely?
Seems most people like wasting their time having to towel dry dogs rather than chuck a jacket on it
We've converted an old Belfast sink into an outdoor dog wash (complete with warm water!). Our Jack Russell bloody loves a shower-down when he's filthy - and then his favourite bit - the battle with the massive towel! 🤣🐶
Only time a jacket goes on is when it's very cold - he's not got much coat to keep him warm. 🥶
A good rain coat is essential if your giving the dog regular walks
Maybe on a whippet. No idea how all those dogs survived in the 70s when nobody ever thought of putting a coat on one.
We've got a Hurta Rain jacket like this for our Spaniel - https://www.mountaindog.uk/products/hurtta-monsoon-coat-ii-eco?variant=53283948167555&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwh_i_BhCzARIsANimeoG1vflKym_cYM0wJioIiQKLfiGvL8N3w4Q9VKexy4Lr9cLWH4NbXhQaArWrEALw_wcB
I agree dogs don't need coats - but it makes post walk clean up much qucker & saves her from trashing the house too much.
If it was a search and rescue Collie wouldn't it have a back pack
Cass slept for the first year of her life on a pallet in a windy barn. She's 15 now. I put a coat on her once this winter when it was peeing down and got this look from her as if I'd run over her favourite toy. It went back in the cupboard of useless tat.
Jake has taken to lying in the grass in all weathers.
Working breed dogs really don't need coats. Chihuahuas and greyhounds perhaps, but nothing with decent fur. Try not to shampoo them though as it'll remove all the natural waterproofing from their coat.
Lola does have a couple of coats.
She only gets them if there is a convience factor required.
Ie wet walk stop for coffee removel jacket.
She has a thick double coat. Which means she doesn't need one but also towel drying is only so effective she does love it though.
Both our dogs (Lab/Retriever) have post-walk coats. We use them after wet walks especially if they are in the car. Tend to give them a quick towel dry and then into the coats. They both seem to like them especially Roxie. Never considered a on-walk coat.
Our collie was happy in the hills in all weathers without a coat. But in the city, the dachsunds and pugs would look at him like he was born in a barn (which he was). It became such an issue that he'd not want to go to the city at all. We ended up getting a nice leather jacket, as the colour matched his fur nicely. It was expensive, but then your throwing your money away on stuff is worth it for your pet, as they're like a member of the family.
Don't wash your dog and let nature's oils do its thing. I wash Bert maybe once possibly twice a year at the very most. Mud falls off him, water beads off his outer fur and his skin is perfect underneath.
I guess it comes down to liking the damp dog smell or not then. I prefer the house without a doggy aroma so will try to minimise it best I can. Yes we didn't see so many dogs wearing waterproof coats in the 1970s .. dog owners didn't used to pick up the dog mess either; I guess some dog owners are just getting smarter ..
dog owners didn't used to pick up the dog mess either;
They now bag it up but hang it from trees and fences for 'collection later'!
...so getting dumber! 🤣 💩
He doesn't smell or have any damp dog odour.
... some dog owners got smarter; unfortunately not all.
A damp dog smells just like a damp dog. Maybe your just used to the smell. Unless of course, in true STW fashion, your pooch smells of roses after a good soaking ..
Maybe your just used to the smell.
All dog owners are used to dog smells - even dry dogs have a smell - if you don't think your house smells even a bit of dog then you are kidding yourself! 🤣 🌼
Muttlee has Hugo & Hudson jacket purchased from the local boutique pet store. Vastly over-priced but in a sale and I could check it fitted her.
Useful during the winter when we exercise on a flooded path and it stops her getting caked and knotted in mud from the field.
Certainly doesn't need the coat for warmth as I've seen her fur caked in ice but she does take hours to dry otherwise. Hates wearing it though and gives me a look of complete disdain.
I agree there will be a certain level of doggy smell in the house that I'm not aware of - but I don't want the increased level a damp dog provides.
Why the hostilities for avoiding a dog getting wet on a walk? It's a bit nonsensical to point out a dog is waterproof or that it survived before without needing to wear one .. same could be said for humans!
equifleece are pretty good ime. useful either to keep them from getting sodden or to package them up and dry themselves off when you're throwing them in the car or house. my spaniel made good use of hers and my partners two do too. haven't got one for the lab but with all of them i fine a cheap scrubbing brush handy for taking off the worst of it.
Waterproof jackets on pretty much any dog, let alone a border collie is entirely for the owners benefit, not the dog. It’s a ridiculous thing people do to make their pet more human or cute. If you know about border collie’s you will know they run hot all year due to dense water resistant fur. All the border collie working dogs I know sleep outside in all weathers and are very comfortable and happy. Think about why your border collie prefers the cold hard floor to the expensive soft bed you bought them. You will seriously overheat and stress your dog out with human style coat nonsense.
I can't believe the cruelty of people towelling their dogs!
Surely they have their own blow dryer for such circumstances.