Animal behaviour and ethics expert Susan Hazel told us “you get the full range with dogs , with some of them that love wearing a coat, some of them that are ambivalent but put up with it, and some that hate it”.
“Evie is a King Charles cavalier, and she loves wearing clothes in wintertime: jumpers or jackets on cold days and pyjamas at night.”
Joanna Smith lives at Brighton, on Meanjin/Brisbane's bayside, and says her cavoodle Romeo “loves to wear his jackets”.
“Some nights I have it on my lap and he sits down and waits for me to put it on. And other nights he wants to chase me around my table, but he's only playing, because then he lets me put it on,” Joanna says.
Missie, a 3.5kg fox terrier-poodle-cross, likes keeping warm in winter and doesn't have any issues wearing an outfit, according to her owner Chris Avakian. In fact, Chris says she “actually insists on getting into her bedtime jumper”.
Amanda Harker has a 13kg French bulldog named Ivy and leases an older house in Naarm/Melbourne, which she says gets as cold as 8 degrees Celsius in winter.
“I started to notice Ivy literally shivering while in the kitchen and being reluctant to leave the (heated) lounge room. I bought her a jacket for in the house and a water-resistant one for walks.
“She loves both of them and she's happy to put them on without any encouragement from me.”
Ivy has two jackets, one for inside the house and a water-resistant jacket for walks.(Supplied: Amanda Harker )
The haters
Some readers' pets prefer winter without extra layers, and Dr Hazel says she would “never, ever recommend trying to force a jacket on a dog that didn't like it”.
Jill Spencer, who lives in Ballarat, in Victoria, says she has tried to get her mini schnauzer Coco to wear a jumper in winter, but has given up.
“She hates wearing a harness or coat and if she sees me with one, she will go out her dog door and run away from me, so I no longer worry,” Jill says. “Obviously she doesn't feel the cold, she is mainly an indoor dog .”
Rescue greyhound Tara lives in regional Victoria and her owner Janet Dilley says Tara “hates wearing jackets”.
Tara hates wearing jackets and refuses to leave the house in one.(Supplied: Janet Dilley )
“I have had her for over six years and tried many styles of coat, but if I put a coat on her she refuses to walk past the front gate until I remove it. She loves romping through frosty grass and is happy to get wet,” Janet says.
“I do believe she is a bit different from most greyhounds and seems to have a double coat, which is uncommon in greyhounds, but she loves the cold weather.”
Mixed results
ABC journalist Luke Royes recently moved from Queensland to Sydney and says his dog , Ernie, now doesn't mind wearing a jacket, despite some initial reluctance.
Ernie loves the extra attention he gets when wearing a jacket or jumper.(ABC News: Luke Royes )
“Ernie's a two-year-old Maltese-poodle-cross who loves nothing more than spending a winter's day curled up in bed, cosy in a jumper or jacket,” Luke says.
“Initially he was a bit annoyed about having to wear one but now he loves the extra attention his outfits bring!”
Pamela Hanrahan lives in Eora Nation/Sydney's inner west with her greyhound, Louis, who “doesn't like coats much … but he will wear the one that makes him look like Sherlock Holmes”.
Louis isn't a big fan of coats but “he will wear the one that makes him look like Sherlock Holmes”.(Supplied: Pamela Hanrahan )
Donna Sayer lives in the Tarndanya/Adelaide Hills with her kelpie Billie and golden retriever Isla.
Her son's two basset hounds, Margarita and Paloma, are also regular visitors and all four dogs have coats.
“The short-haired dogs seem to like the coats … Isla is less keen, but we didn't want her to feel left out,” Donna says.
Billie, Isla, Margarita and Paloma live in the chilly Adelaide Hills and appreciate having coats to wear.(Supplied: Donna Sayer )
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