Logic question for pet owners?

Hi everyone I am new here, I stumbled upon this site and find myself here more then I should be. Anyway my wife and I got into this discussion last night concerning our two labs and I could not come up with a good answer to her questions hence me reaching out here. I live in PA and it has been cold here for the past few days, between 20 and 40 degrees. She asked me if I thought the dogs were cold when they were outside. I naturally responded; no look at them they want to be outside and lay in the snow. She then said if that is the case they must be hot when they are inside. I could not agree to this because when they are inside and I have a fire they lay right by the hearth until the coat is hot to the touch? The logic of her statement that; if they are not cold outside then they must be hot when inside makes sense to me because they are not regulating temp through any artificial means (i.e. clothing or artificial heat source). Can anyone offer an alternative to this statement? Thanks for your replies, I just wanted to introduce myself and ask this crazy question.

I got a chuckle out of how you decided to first participate.

I have to admit that the whole subject is quite a mystery. I do believe that for a normal size dog, people worry way too much about them being cold outside. They can really take some pretty severe cold and be OK.

Dogs may just be closer to being like wild animals, which clearly have to adjust to huge ranges in temps whether the means of doing so are clear to us or not.

While I live in a rather temperate climate, I've owned several small dogs in the past. I've noticed a few things:

1) despite laying on the sunlight for hours, no dog of mine ever suffered heat stroke or dehydration (of course they always had a water bowl in the shade when they were outside)
2) if the dog isn't shivering, it probably isn't feeling too cold.
3) You can put a sweater on a dog, but she will figure out how to take it off.

Overall heat is more of a problem for dogs than cold. The fur or hair keeps them warm in cold weather, as it is a most efficient insulator (think of how warm fur coats are). On the other hand, dogs get rid of body heat mostly by panting and sticking their tongues out, which is highly inneficient.

What I've learned is dogs like to be comfortable. if they're cold theyll come inside. if they're hot they'll go outside. they can take being wet, but most will want to come inside if it's raining. Ask your vet what to watch for in either case and they'll be fine.

How does insulation know to keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer?

Dogs don't have sweat glands over most of the body the way a few species (inc. humans) do, so prolonged "wet" heat is a problem for them. A fireplace is "dry" heat, and it's not a prolonged enough exposure to heat the body through.
As for cold, it's pretty obvious that fur does the job of insulating the body. Heat loss is much lower for holarctic species such as dogs than for humans, who are afrotropic and only adapted to temperate climates through fire and apparel.

BTW, while talking about humans, we also can be comfortable in the same clothes at a relatively broad range of temperatures between 50F and 80F.

Generally any species that is native to regions with climate similar to yours should be able to handle most of the entire range of temperatures from winter to summer, except when paired with other harsh conditions (winter storm). Trying to dress animals up, other than decorative breeds, is just antropomorphism (though not the worst of it).

I read about this sometime in the last year. I don't recall all the details, but dogs don't get really cold until it is VERY cold. A search would probably turn up the answer.

Quote: SlackJawYokel

The logic of her statement that; if they are not cold outside then they must be hot when inside makes sense to me because they are not regulating temp through any artificial means (i.e. clothing or artificial heat source). Can anyone offer an alternative to this statement? Thanks for your replies, I just wanted to introduce myself and ask this crazy question.

Animals do not have a "perfect temperature" above which they feel hot, and below which they feel cold. They have a temperature range that they can accommodate by thermoregulation.

The natural process of thermoregulation include shivering, panting, sweating, movement, etc. Humans have a relatively small temperature range by which they can thermoregulate. Our natural habitat before artificial means were developed is very limited. We burn too easily, and we freeze too easily. In addition we all have lived for our whole lives with artifical means of controlling temperature, so that most of us would die even if we were in our natural climate.

A naked human will feel cold at 77 degrees Fahrenheit. It wouldn't take much cold before the human body begins to sacrifice it's extremities to cold (fingers and toes).

The dog has a much wider range. They burn a lot of calories in the cold, because they are capable of a higher rate of sustained activity than humans. Likewise they can regulate a dry heat in front of the fire fairly easily. Wet heat does mean they need a lot of water.

Dog fur is an insulation against both cold and heat, keeping their core temperature much more uniform than a human.

Thanks for the answers; I completely agree that heat is a major problem for any long haired dog due to an inefficient cooling system.

KP - I think that insulation works by slowing the transfer of heat / cold from one place to the next so it would not matter if it was heat or cold that you were trying to facilitate or prevent. My question was more along the lines of an immediate 60 degree change in temp and how they do not overheat or freeze when exposed to this for a long period of time i.e. 8 hours or more.

P90 - I completely understand what you’re saying but do not think that other harsh conditions (winter storm) have an impact as you suggest. These dogs regularly go into the water to retrieve in the winter and the hair coats freeze solid on the outside with no noticeable effects on performance.


I guess the hair is an excellent insulator from the cold and they are able to tolerate a wider range of temps then most animals

Quote: SlackJawYokel

My question was more along the lines of an immediate 60 degree change in temp and how they do not overheat or freeze when exposed to this for a long period of time i.e. 8 hours or more.

I think it's been answered, thermoregulation. Evaporation from the mouth can cool the body. Shivering and activity can produce internal heat. Insulation prevents it from being exchanged too fast.

Quote: SlackJawYokel

P90 - I completely understand what you’re saying but do not think that other harsh conditions (winter storm) have an impact as you suggest. These dogs regularly go into the water to retrieve in the winter and the hair coats freeze solid on the outside with no noticeable effects on performance.

Native animals do freeze to death in temperate climate sometimes, so the protection is far from perfect. And they seek shelter against the worst weather. But low temperature alone is not so dangerous.

Quote: pacomartin

Dog fur is an insulation against both cold and heat, keeping their core temperature much more uniform than a human.

What he said.

This is why you don't want to shave down your dog for the summer because it actually allows the heat to get to them rather than protecting them from the heat.