None of my 3 wear coats or sweaters - the 2 adults hate them and won't move if you put one on them. I even went so far as to have a custom sweater knit for Ruby (crazy $130 but really cute - lying on the shelf :rolleyes:). Nor do they wear boots - I can't even imagine trying them - but do use Musher's Secret on their paws for snow and ice.
When pup Liyah arrived on the scene last winter, she was outdoors playing in the snow from 11wks of age. She loves it. I've thought of trying Rubys sweater on her, but honestly I've never seen her even shiver in the cold. She is such a busy little bee that I don't think she slows down long enough to be cold.
All 3 don't go out in the winter without me. Ru and Brando both do their business immediately and want back in - to lie in front of the woodstove in one of the 3 beds that we've placed there for their comfort.
We lived in an old house when we got our first basenji, the only heat was the fireplace in the living room. Pete had never been inside when we got him but he became a house dog pretty quickly. When the weather turned cool and I built a fire, he was terrified at first. He crept closer and closer,investigating the flames and crackling. Once he realized it was HOT in front of the fireplace, we could barely move him, I was afraid he would catch himself on fire he slept so close to it. We spent cold nights and days camped in the living room with a toasty dog!
Last year when one of our puppy people came over to visit the pups at my mom's it was cool out so my mom put their little puppy coats on them before putting them out in the yard. The little girl was ecstatic to find that basenjis wear coats. Her mom commented that now that her daughter knew they could wear coats the poor pup would probably end up with a whole wardrobe. Her pup adores his little girl and is a good sport about wearing his clothes.
@Forever:
on the subject of coats/sweaters my poor zoe is already shivering and last year I bought her some sweaters they had in clearance 3 for $10. But she did not get as big as we expected and they are a little large. Just to get an idea could you tell me what size you get and how much your Bs weigh. Zoey is only 16.5 pounds. I can still put her puppy sweater on her but it is very tight.
I get Fido Fleece for my guys, they love them, keeps them nice and toasty, they are cut nicely to avoid "male dog" things they are very hardy. I can be hard to find full fitted coats to fit basenjis, but these fit very nicely. They are a little more expensive that average ones, but I get them from www.sitstay.com and they are a little cheaper than any other place you can buy them.
Here is Tiggy in his, it's a size 16, Teddy (foster) is in a size 14. Tiggy is 2yrs old in pic and Teddy is about 6 months. Teddy is about 10 months now, and he still fits the sz 14 since he is still slow to develop and real lean. (Tiggy was the same way when he was a pup)
Basenji Fan, thanks fro that info..I have been looking at FidoFleece, but didn't know what size to get..
My Otis is 17+ (or so) in his withers, so tall, but really skinny about 23 lbs, so I am having issues finding some coats that fit him…
He is on a diet to fatten up a bit , so hopefully he will get "chunkier" ( in a good way) soon.
Basenji Fan,
That is an AWESOME sun room. We are wanting to put one like that on our house, but they are EXPENSIVE!!
I'm jealous of the neat sunny place for you and your Bs to hang out.
Basenji Fan, thanks fro that info..I have been looking at FidoFleece, but didn't know what size to get..
My Otis is 17+ (or so) in his withers, so tall, but really skinny about 23 lbs, so I am having issues finding some coats that fit him…
He is on a diet to fatten up a bit , so hopefully he will get "chunkier" ( in a good way) soon.
I'd get him the sz 16 then so that when he does fatten up he would be just fine in the fleece. Tiggy is the same height as your Otis
Basenji Fan,
That is an AWESOME sun room. We are wanting to put one like that on our house, but they are EXPENSIVE!!
I'm jealous of the neat sunny place for you and your Bs to hang out.
Thank you it came with the house 
but we are looking to get the glass upgraded because it's single pane glass and it gets grueling hot in the summer. We went to the fair here and Four Seasons Sunrooms had a "booth" set up. We were able to see the difference between single pane and the double pane under heat lamps that mimic the sun. :eek: what a difference
Lol! I know, it sounds very extravagant! :eek: Let me explain. It's is quite a large house (built as a vicarage), and is split into two households. My mum (the 'babysitter' :)) lives upstairs and myself and hubby live downstairs with the dawgs. Yes, lucky everyone! (It's oil fired and quite expensive to run though :()
We have one that runs on calor gas, you almost need a mortgage to fill up the tank! But the dogs love it. 
We have used the dog coats a few times recently, mine love them, we have coats for all occasions, Sally's knitted ones are the ones we use the most.
Fiji sleeps in my bed at night, the boys and Kia sometimes come up to bed with OH but they are just as happy covered up in front of the Aga.
AJ has his bed set up at the foot of mine. When it gets really cold outside, the bulkhead of the truck gets cold too. It's the only time he's allowed to sleep under my blanket.
I would like to try boots on him this winter. Since we are all over the country all the time, he never has a chance to acclimate to any specific area. He's most comfortable between 50 and 80 F(10-27C), but he can handle being outside for brief periods when it's really cold.
My concern, however, is for his feet when it's sub-zero F. (He only goes out on a leash) He goes to do his business, but on his way back to the truck, he starts picking his feet up like they hurt. (And gives me a pathetic "help me" look) I carry him back to the truck on those occasions.
I have a safety vest that doubles as a rain jacket, but he won't wear a coat that covers his legs or chest. He just hurries up when it's cold.
Mmmmmm…the smell of singeing dog fur - I know it well! Mine sit so close to the small fan heater in my bedroom, it makes their whiskers go curly! :rolleyes:
To keep herself warm and to be close, Shaye has always slept part of the night in her bed and the rest of it totally burrowed under my covers since I also keep the fan going all night. And since she is a hot weather dog living here in Florida, when the weather gets into the 50's she shivers and really does need her jacket when we go outside. If a dog is raised in a colder climate, I think they can adapt to it, but if they mainly know very hot temperatures, cool to us feels like very cold to them.
Mmmmmm…the smell of singeing dog fur - I know it well!
The basenji my brother had when I was in high school would sleep UNDER our Franklin woodstove in the basement - Franklin stoves have higher legs than regular woodstoves. When Zeke would come out for water, you couldn't touch him as his fur would burn your hand. :eek:
