Learning to Love a Coat

BK and I have two weenie dogs that I lovingly call “the brown dog” i.e. Tanner, and “the fluffy dog” i.e. Toby.  They seriously could not be more different from one another.  I like to tell BK that Tanner is his dog, as he is a total pain in the ass, and Toby is my dog, mostly because BK got him for me for my birthday and he’s really laid back.  

Tanner is extremely high maintenance, high strung and absolutely the alpha dog in our house.  He is a short-haired dachshund who makes his presence known by barking incessantly at anything that moves or makes a noise. He’s hard not to love when he is just so darn snuggly all the time.  Toby on the other hand is super laid back, doesn’t bark if Tanner is not around and all he wants in life is to be with us.  Tobs is a long-haired dachshund who is a little bigger than the miniature than we thought we were getting.  He’s like the gentle giant, even though he does only weigh 16 pounds.  The other huge difference is that one loves the cold and snow and one despises it.  

Toby, assumingly because of his long, fluffy coat, loves the cold and even likes to go frolic in the snow (as evidenced by the picture with his friend, the snowman).  The snow gets all tangled in his hair because it's usually up to his body, which tends to happen when your legs are six inches long. I have no doubt that Toby will have no problem acclimating to a colder climate and will be great to have in a dog friendly culture (picture us on the tram, strolling around town, or eating at an outdoor cafe- all calmly with no barking).

On the other hand, I’m a little worried about Tanner.  He hates the cold, and not even just the cold, he does not appreciate when it rains and he has to walk in wet grass.  I keep telling BK that the dog is going to have to learn to love a coat.  Now, I’m usually against dressing pets, but I really think that Tanner is going to freeze when we move.  It’s not cold year round, but it’s a lot colder than it is in Texas.  Even in the winter here, he shivers all the time if he’s not snuggled up in a blanket or with someone…it’s that short hair.  

The problem is the dog is stubborn.  He refuses to keep a coat or any kind of sweater on that might keep him a little warmer.  Every time I try to put one on him it always ends up like a tube top- he manages to get his arms out so that then he’s just wandering around with a tight piece of fabric wrapped around his chest.  I’ll continue to try and “train” Tanner to wear a fleece or something that will keep him warm.  He’ll hate me at the time, but hopefully he'll come around at some point.

Next challenge: getting him to wear those little booties that will  keep his feet warm…