Hi, this is Lacy.
You wouldn’t think with all that hair she’d have no problem with winter weather. But she does have a problem. You see, Lacy is a Maltese and Maltese do not have a normal dog’s coat – no under coat. She has hair. Just like you and I have. And when the wind blows the hair lifts allowing the cold air to blow on her bare skin. So, dog clothes are a necessity.
Most of her wardrobe is for milder weather. She does have a red hooded parka that is OK – with long hair.
And the hood can be snapped under her chin.
I was planning on having her hair cut short and it was already November. Which meant her parka would fit kind of loose.
Adding her winter sweater helped. But there is one other issue with the parka.
When Lacy went out in the last deep snow (We live in Denton, Texas, so deep is 3inches.) the snow went in through her legs and packed up inside her coat. Should it snow again we needed to prevent snow inside her parka from happening. So, the search began.
We found many coats, jacket and parkas with front legs enclosed which would stop the snow from getting into the garment.
And then, BAM!
There it was! A camel-colored coat that resembles a Ladies over coat with leopard collar, no less, and front legs too.
Fitting, as usual, was a bit of a problem. Her girth is too large for the length of her back which means ordering the next size up, and, after grooming her hair was too short to fill in the coat. But Lacy had her winter sweater that was perfect under her new coat. The combination kept her nice and warm so long as the wind didn’t blow very hard. You see, the coat’s neck was to open, and wind could blow down the open neck. And, in our part of Texas wind is every day.
The solution, A doggie bandana worn as a head scarf with the tip ends tucked in the front of her coat kept the wind at bay. Cute too.
And if conditions weren’t too harsh, she had a delightful turtleneck sweater worn inside the camel coat.
The two combinations were viable alternatives to her red parka. Unless it is very cold.
And wouldn’t you know it. We were in for the coldest December in decades. Projections were for teens and single digit temperatures with winds in the twenties – wind chills minus zero. Neither coat provided much protection for her back legs and hips. A snow suit was in order.
Proper sizing continued to be an issue. Lacy’s girth for her body length is greater than most other dogs. That meant ordering the next size up. Many candidates were turned down simply because they would not fit. One possibility had promise. But it would need some alterations.
Some alterations? The jacket went all the way to her tail. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem. It provides more protection from the elements. But this suit had back legs zipped to the jacket and was too long when worn together. When worn intact she walked out of the back legs. The hood was a little large too.
Many fittings later Lacy was wearing a full-length snow suit with fitted hood and legs.
When worn with her sweater inside the snowsuit she is always warmer than I am.
Propicts4u 