When the weather gets cold dogs don’t hibernate like some mammals do. Corgis need regular exercise and You must walk them everyday. Sometimes this means you have to walk your Corgi in the snow.
The photo above is our Corgi Teeny playing in the snow for the first time. During the winter months when it snows we are lucky enough to have an underground car park in our apartment complex where we can walk Teeny our Corgi if there is too much snow or rain outside. This isn’t ideal and we much prefer to bring her outside into the fresh air where she can sniff, explore and leave her scent in the snow. Before we took Teeny for a walk in the snow we did some research to try and find out whether she should wear a winter coat, how long she should be in the snow for and how we should dry her afterwards so she doesn’t get too cold.
In this article we are going to consider whether Corgis like snow, and share our findings with you so that when you take your corgis in snow, you’ll know how to prepare, exactly what to do and you and your corgi will have a lot more fun in the snow together.
Do corgis like snow?
Yes, Our Corgi does like snow. We can’t ask our Corgi Teeny whether she likes the snow but we did some research and made our decision to let her play in the snow based on our findings and how she reacted to the feel of snow on her paws. She loved running around, licking and playing in the snow.
Snow is cold, so whether or not your Corgi likes the snow depends on whether you have made sure they are warm and limit the length of time your dog spends in the snow. If you watch Teeny running around, sniffing and trying to eat the snow and ice off the grass as well as knocking over a snowman’s head, you’d think she definitely likes snow. Some of our friends Corgi’s are just as excited as Teeny is to explore the snow.
They don’t hesitate to place their paws into the cold winter snow but a few dogs in our community are nervous and approach snow more cautiously. Even though breeds of dogs often have similar characteristics and behaviours, they still have their own personalities, likes and dislikes, especially Corgi’s who can be bossy and strong minded. We pay careful attention to Teeny’s behaviour when she is in the snow and this can help us make the decision about whether or not she likes the snow. If a dog is too cold there are a number of ways they will tell you they are uncomfortable.
Signs your dog in unhappy in snow
Body language – We can learn a lot of information about whether our Corgi likes snow by looking closely at their body language in different situations. In the cold a corgi may shiver in a similar way to humans in the cold.
If your dogs body becomes tense and looks stiff, this can also be a sign of them being uncomfortable.
Sometimes a dogs body language can be subtle and difficult to read. A famous dog trainer wrote a list of Calming signals to help you better understand your dogs body language. These signals will give you some ideas about how you Corgi might be feeling in the winter weather, but mostly offer advice about when your dog is trying to deescalate a potentially difficult situation.
Facial Expressions – A dogs facial expressions, how they tilt their head, whether their ears are raised and how they wag their tail can all give us a good indication of how they are feeling.
There is a lot to learn about a dogs behaviour so let’s keep this article simple and I’ll show you some signs that they might be cold.
Shivering – When your dog’s body temperature drops they will shiver just like we do. Shivering helps to keep the blood pumping around a dogs body and raise their body temperature before it drops too low. If your dog is shivering in the cold weather or when swimming you should bring them inside quickly, dry them and use a dog blanket to keep them warm.
Reluctance to move – You will find dogs will stay put and refuse to move if they don’t feel comfortable doing so. Often Teeny will sit and when we try to encourage her to move she will look at us. It is clear that she is telling us she doesn’t want to move. When you take your Corgi into the snow and they sit and refuse to move, it’s a good sign that they aren’t happy.
One other reasons that could cause your dog to refuse to move is that you have put their leash or harness on too tightly or their dog jumper is too long has covered their feet, at least this has happened to me a few times because a Corgis legs are so short.
Are Corgis good in the snow?
Yes, Corgis have some characteristics that make them good in the snow, and others that make spending time in winter snow challenging for a Corgi. A corgi’s double Coat helps insulate them in snowy conditions, but there short legs and low height above the ground also mean that their bellies and under coat is more likely to come into contact with the wet snow and quickly become cold and damp.
Teeny often gets a wet belly, even if there is only a small amount of water on the ground, because she will crouch down when she needs to wee or walk across moist grass which rubs against her low body. Corgis have very short legs which means that when the snow gets deeper, Corgi’s hop and jump there way through the snow, making travelling any kind of distance challenging and tiring for a Corgi. Jumping and hopping through the snow a lot can also cause problems for a dogs joints, especially Corgi’s who are prone to arthritis and problems with the disc in their back.
How to dress your corgi for winter weather
This is a picture of Teeny wearing one of her winter jumpers. Corgis are herding dogs. herding dogs often have a double coat of hair running across their body because they would spend a lot of time outdoors herding cattle. This double coat is made up of two different types and lengths of fur that cover your dogs back and help to keep them warm even when the weather gets cold.
Corgis can wear Corgi snow boots and winter coats to help them stay warm in the snowy weather. I like to dress Teeny in a coat to keep her chest and belly warm. The only downside we have found when dressing Teeny in warm winter clothing is that the wool or cotton fabric gets wet quickly. We tried dressing Teeny in a warm dog jumper and raincoat over the top but it restricts her movement a little and she didn’t like walking far in it.
How cold is too cold for a Corgi – Signs to look for
Making a decision about what temperature or weather conditions are too cold for a Corgi can be difficult. Here a few ideas for you to think about that will help you find out whether it is too cold for your corgi to be outside.
In our experience with Teeny we have found that even after a little while in the snow she doesn’t show us many signs of being too cold. Usually we feel too cold or we bring her inside just in case, we don’t wait until she shows us signs of being too cold.
Body temperature – You might think that you can feel whether or not your Corgi is cold. A corgi’s body temperature, when healthy should be 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This is higher than our own body temperature so it can be difficult to know whether a Corgi’s temperature has dropped.
Even so, when it’s cold outside I like to feel our Corgi Teeny’s belly and fur and try to get some idea of whether she feels cold. Corgis don’t feel cold at the same temperature as humans, but if your body is feeling cold, even when wrapped up warm, it’s a good idea not to spend too long outside as your dogs body temperature might begin to drop.
You might be wondering why two coats of fur is better than one in winter weather. Well, to put it simply, the top layer is made up of longer and thicker hairs that act as a barrier against dirt and a rain repellent. The undercoat helps to regulate your dogs body temperature in winter and summer. In the summer when it’s really hot we also use a special coat that can absorb water and help keep your dog cool.
How to check whether your Corgi is too cold
To check whether your Corgi is too cold, feel your dogs fur, along their back, around the top of their legs and most importantly underneath the belly where their fur and skin is most exposed to wet snow on the ground. It is possible to buy a dogs rain coat that only covers their belly and chest area to help stop this area of skin that isn’t protected by fur from getting wet and causing your dog to feel cold quickly.
Dry your Corgi after walking in the snow
When Teeny’s fur gets even a little bit wet we always make sure to dry her thoroughly. Teeny has had skin conditions on a few occasions so we make sure to use a hair dryer on a low heat setting and an absorbent towel to dry her. Then we let her sit under a warm blanket for a little while and we make extra sure she’s completely dry all over, especially checking her double coat because it can feel like her hair is dry but underneath there is still some moisture.
Final thoughts about whether Corgis like snow
Just like a child, our Corgi Teeny loves to explore in the snow. It doesn’t snow often so on the several occasions her paws have left footprints in the snow, she jumped around with a mixture of excitement and curiosity about the unique snow experience. For me it reminded me of the first time she stepped on the grass as a puppy. She took a few steps on the grass and as soon as she felt the new slightly prickly texture on her paws she jumped and rolled on her back and it felt like one of the most exciting experiences of her puppy life.
Not all Corgis will be so excited to explore and walk in the snow but if you want your corgi to enjoy the experience it is important that you take all the above points and ideas into consideration. You now know that a Corgi has 2 coats of fur on their back and that this does provide insulation, but once soggy and wet after time spent in the snow it isn’t going to keep them feeling warm for long. One way to help this, is to dress your dog in a winter coat or dog snow boots.
This article was written by Adam. Adam has owned a Corgi for 27 months and has previous experience with dogs. The information in this article should be considered carefully before taking your Corgi into the snow and if you have any concerns, contact your vet before you let your dog walk in the snow, we do not take any responsibility for any problems that occur so please be sensible. We compiled information from our own experience, articles written by the PDSA, world renowned dog trainer Turis Rugass, the American kennel club and other veterinary and dog related articles to try to bring you an easy to read article about how Corgis react to the cold conditions in the snow.