I don't live in the warmest place by far and kinda looking for a small mutt that would have a good home BUT it would not be a inside dog except when really chilly then be in my shop .Will cocker spaniel take cold ?My bird dogs and Airedale are long since gone and I am a bit missing them .I see in the papers and on line some unbelievable high prices for puppies .Forget that maybe some thing will show up . The pound seems stocked with big dogs and pitts.

Border collies should be able to handle cold. Maybe over 30lbs though.

Animals seem to be able to handle cold if they're fed a quality diet.

Don't get an indoor dog Now from a breeder Or pound and expect them to be ok outside

They have to have a fall acclimation period where their body puts on layers of fat ...then with that and a good Straw filled dog box it will do well. Water 2/ or 3 times a day and feed well.

We had a border collie that would rather sleep outside then in, was able to keep the peace that way, lol

He'd be a covered snow lump after a snow, never bothered him.
I'd guess a smallish sled type dog would do well outside

I’ve got a short haired Patterdale. Tough little turd, his home is an outside kennel, and never misses a beat. Hardly uses the dog house. Scott is correct, if they are climatized and fed properly, they can take pretty much whatever is offered by ma nature!

Much better than I can as I get older! LOL

I will 2nd a long haired border collie. Extremely smart and want to be with their people. But mine is a sight oriented dog. If I ever wanted her to find anything with her nose I'm out of luck. I think the cats use their nose better than that dog.

I will go along with the fact that a dog would need to be living outside from summer to now to have adapted...no way a pup should be kept outside now. jmo.

My neighbor has a sheltie that would rather be outside on the coldest of days. He has a doggy door into the shop and plenty of food and fresh water yet usually finds the shop too warm. Hates the summer heat even with a hair cut but has a dark, cool place in the shop to cool off in.

The Amish about 45 minutes from here have small dogs like you are looking for on many farms. They are mostly a mix of border collie, Australian cattle dog, English shepherd and jack russel terrier. They are usually around 30 pounds with long thick hair in the Winter. They blow their coats in the Spring. They are free ranging, protective of the farms and stock. They stay spread out around the buildings and often run around with the Amish children, when the children aren't working. The dogs are very smart. The pups are usually free to $50.00. There's usually 3 or 4 adult dogs like that on most of the farms. They kill vermin and keep away predators.

Keith

Sounds perfect

I house train all my dogs. We had American Water Spaniels for about 20 years. They all lived in the house and were easy to house train. For us, dogs are part of the family. They make better watch dogs in the house than out in a kennel.

I was in the sheep business until 2005 and sold out ,I had a border collie in those years and they were the finest dogs I ever owned ,however they need a job and I am down to horses now so they would be bored . The Amish dog sounds good . I have a brother in law in Amish Ohio and will check them out . My Border Collie was in the hay near the feed line when we were not busy but he always had his eye or ear out for me ,one whistle and he was saying I will do it ,just tell me ! We had some few -40 nights there I brought him in then ,the other 99% and he was out in the dog box . Vet bills are very few when dogs are outside . Thank you

The Amish dogs around Hepburn and Mt. Victory, Ohio are frequently listed in the County Classifieds:

http://www.thecountyclassifiedsonline.com/newspaper.cfm

There was some free pups listed a few days ago.

Good luck. I hope you get a great one.

Keith

Thank you Keith. Thanks to all who replied . Lee I had never heard of that breed .sounds interesting.I might persuade my kin to come and visit and bring a amish dog.

When I trapped in NE Wy, I seen -25 to -30 several times on real cold clippers. The ranch where I headquartered, had two outside boarder collies, both working dogs, and it was a hoot to watch them work sheep or cattle. They would get out near a quarter mile and watch for hand signals as to what they were to do. The younger one of the two even herded a coyote under my truck and kept him there while I opened the door and got a gun out! They had more horse sense than most humans I’ve been around. Bud and Busch, RIP!

You are so right about BC needing a job. If there was stock in a pen or trailer, they were always trying to herd them and being a royal PITA. They never lived to a ripe old age because they went so hard, they just wore their body out, but it was all about pleasing their master!

Bud was the older of the two, and the last few years, they would put him in the shop over night, but Busch was a different story. Can’t say haw many times he would bust out of a snow drift while still dark, if he wasn’t out herding something! Those were some great years!

You're welcome.

Keith

A good friend of mine from Miles City said when they ran 2 bands of sheep the dogs were fed ground corn and bacon grease ,in those days I doubt there was such a thing as dog food in stores. He said his mom would tell them in June go kill some antelope (according to her the best time for the meat )and she canned it in pint jars to send out with the herders in the sheep wagons .When I was inside anywhere I tied that dog or he was working the cows or sheep ! Good story Lee

I enjoyed your story too, Mr Smith! My patterdale eats any and all chicken food that gets spilled on the ground, and don’t even need any bacon grease! If your in the neighborhood of Miles City, that wasn’t far from where I used to headquarter. Had a rancher that leased the D Ranch on the D Road, about 35 miles north of Moorecroft. He got to be a good friend, but he bought a ranch up at Miles City, and never seen him again. That was prolly in the late 80’s or early 90’s. Sure miss that country! Wish I could remember his name!