cdombrowski

We have yet to experience winter in New England with our basset, but she already seems to be having problems with being chilly (she lost a lot of hair since she was constantly scratching for years before we got her. Her previous owners never treated her or the cats in their house for fleas!). She tends to start shivering, her whole body shaking. We tuck her in with a blanket at night now, but she's still shaking. I asked the vet and she seemed to feel it was that she had so little hair on her underside, but I'm wondering if anyone else has a chilly basset. I never thought I would get my dog a jacket but I Bailey might need one since it's not even that cold yet!

clare

Dozer-Digger

Niether of mine like to be covered up in a blanket. And after last winter, I'm glad I don't have a "chilly" basset. I actually have a hard time getting them to come in from the cold. I even had to coax Dozer inside last year when it was -10F with 8" of snow on the ground, and he was out there for 30 minutes.

Here's a picture from last January:

__________________
Darrell and the Boys. Dozer, Digger, & Dudley.

bcc11

Does your vet suspect at all that she is in pain? I know that dogs sometime shake when they feel pain. If she stops shaking once she is all snuggly, then perhaps a wool sweater would help!

José

Is she outside a lot, or are you saying she is shivering inside when it's a bit chilly? I agree, shivering is a sign of pain, José was shivering when he was suffering from cancer at the end. But then again, that big baby would insist on being covered up while on the couch but especially at night. We actually tucked in a blanket between the top of the couch and the wall, so José would just go underneath it and be covered up without needing assistance.

__________________
Lisa
Remembering José 2001-2007

Elvismom

I would make sure that it's not pain. Dogs often hide the fact they are in pain and we have to pick up on signals.

Mine love the snow but when they've had enough they want to come in and get toasty warm. Usually by getting under the bedcovers.

During our big storm last winter they had a blast playing in the snow and digging tunnels.

__________________
Chris
Foodslave, chauffer & doorperson to Elvis, Georgia, Ginger & Maggie, Crissy & Dart

murraysmom

This is just a thought based on once having had a dog with hypothyroidism: cold intolerance and hair loss can be symptoms of this problem- has the vet checked her for that?

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/dog-hypo.htm

cdombrowski

Thanks for the responses! I was worried it might be pain, which is why I asked the vet, but now I might push a bit more. She does seem to be better when she's tucked under a blanket (she loves it and will actually wake us up at night to put it back on her). I think I might have the vet check for hypothyroidism since she has been getting these rashes on her belly and chest that the vet just thought were allergy related, but could be something. The only thing is that she is REALLY active and loves to run and go on walks and is a really trim weight, but it's worth a go if it is her thyroid.

love the snow pictures!

clare

Rubydoo

We got Ruby from the breeder in mid December when she was 11 weeks of age. There was snow everywhere and we drove home from the breeder in the midst of the blizzard.

Ruby was born in Massachusetts (I call it "Bassetchusetts") and she'd shiver when she was cold but she loved undulating in and out of the snow.

It sounds like your basset might have a medical problem. The hypothyroidism that someone mentioned, was something I thought of too, along with pain.

Does your basset pant when shivering?

Hope you find out whats going on real soon.

Janice and little Ruby

__________________
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...w/IMG_1340.jpg
Take a basset hound to lunch today!
--Bassets rule....and drool!

cdombrowski

Well, another update. Bailey had a really bad case of the "shivers" last night and it was so bad that we called the vet's 24 hour service because something was not right. I took her in this morning and the vet did find a tender part on her back and has put her on anti-flammatory and "bed-rest" (which is going to find really hard since she's so active!) for a week. It could be she had an old injury that has been bothering her and she might have reinjured herself somehow yesterday. Hopefully, we'll be able to get her out of pain and hopefully it's not a slipped disk or something.

Clare (and a tired Bailey)

susie

Hi Clare -- we live in Maine. Both Lucy and Ellie are affected by the cold. Lucy's jaws actually clack (not chatter) when she's cold. They sleep in the garage when it's warm and in the house when it's below 50. They seem to be fine during the day -- except when it's snowing or very cold. I have one coat -- but never got a second for Lucy.

I've found that I need to watch the shivering -- because Eleanor shivered when her Addison's wasn't diagnosed and/or treated. They seem to shiver when they're sick or in pain. But if nothing else is going on -- then Clare is simply cold! Ellie lost much of her hair when she first was diagnosed with Addison's -- I started putting Dream Coat on her food and her coat miraculously reappeared and is quite beautiful now!!

Good luck!