Husky with bare leg in the cold weather

[HuskyParent]

My Siberian Husky loves the outdoors (duh).  She has a dog door to go to the fenced in backyard and deck.  We live in a cold area, this morning it was -8 degrees; it is snowing right now.  She likes to sleep outside most nights for several hours at least.

She had knee surgery a few months back and the hair on the leg has not grown back, so the entire leg, except for a few random tufts of hair, is bare.  I am wondering whether she feels the cold on that leg and would come inside before getting frostbite.

I just saw her laying outside with a half inch of snow piled up on top of her entire body, except the bare leg was still bare. So, other than that leg she was completely white.

Do I need to force her to stay indoors at night? When I try this she paces around like an expectant father.

[HuskyParent]

Thank you for your ideas!  Let me give you some perspective about Laverne.

Laverne is 12 years old.  She has Hypothyroidism (or is that hyper?) and the speculation is that it is causing the hair to not grow back.  She also has arthritis in her spine, so she takes pain meds.  She is the only dog since her sister Shirley died 7 years ago.  They were nearly identical and very attached to each other. I have since come to realize that Laverne did some things only because Shirley did them.  Like chewing the stuffing out of squeaker toys, or getting up on the bed, or dragging the toilet paper through every room in the house without breaking it. Laverne no longer will touch a toy of any kind; she does like real marrow bones, though; there are many buried in the yard.

Laverne enjoys independence and goes in and out to the backyard many times a day or night.  We go on long walks every day (2 times for about 3-4 miles total) and unlike most Huskies she will walk off leash and stay within sight.  And, yes, she is a howler; all my dogs were. ("I am here, is anyone else out there?") She loves going to the Pet Store and announces herself when we get to the door.

She would not like being tied up outside.  It would be better to force her inside.  In fact, the spring on the dog door broke yesterday and I will be forced to keep her inside at night until the parts arrive (hopefully in a day or so) because the door stays open when she comes in now.  So, she'll probably settle down after a while when I lock the door at night.  I don't want that to be permanent, though.  

I do believe she either pulled the leg warmer off or chewed it off, but I can't find any evidence.  It was gone within an hour.  I didn't try vet wrap; I will give that a try. I doubt Bitter Apple would work; my Huskies (and the Malamute) never thought that was a barrier to whatever they wanted to get to.

[Margot49]

I am surprised the hair didn't grow back.  Odd

Is she on a tie down outside or just loose in the yard?  Don't know the dog or your set up.  Is she the only dog?

Any chance, when the weather is like this, you can set up a canopy with maybe hay or straw underneath for her  to lay on?  Would she tolerate a tie down under it, at least when it is snowing?

I was thinking of some type of protection on the leg also but you mean you
did that she took it off right away?  I just wasn't sure if a wrap would get wet and actually be colder.  Have you maybe tried a covering covered with Vet wrap?  She may chew that off too but you could try putting some Bitter Apple or vinegar on the outside that "might" keep her from chewing on it.

What a dilemma!  Have you tried keeping her inside more than once to see if she will settle down?

I wonder if she had something to keep her busy or some type of reward might entice her to stay in.  You know what Kong toys are?  Not cheap but you might try getting a large one and putting treats or peanut butter inside it and give it to her inside the house.  "Maybe" that might entice her to stay in.  

You have a safe garage or carport area you could keep her in?

Has she ever been in a kennel?  Not inexpensive, but you could build a chain link kennel with a chain link top on it covered by a tarp.  At least she would be outside but out of the snow.  Is she a howler?  :-)

Just trying to throw some ideas out there.

[HuskyParent]

That's what I have been doing.  I also bought some kid's leg warmers and put that on her leg.  It disappeared very quickly.

[shannon781]

I would monitor the leg closely and keep her inside if any damage occurs. You might try a thick knee high sock to cover the leg if she will allow it outside.

[HuskyParent]

Thanks for your reply.  

Yes, I have a wooden dog house that she has never gone into.  She prefers to lay out on the upper deck (open to the elements) and let the snow pile up on top of her.  I have had 3 Huskies and a Malamute; they all behaved this way. None of them ever went into the dog house.

The Huskies just seem impervious to the cold.  When we go on our daily walks I freeze while they just explore in the snow; I look closely to see if her leg shows any effect from the cold, but don't see any.

[shannon781]

Does she have access to some type of dog house/sheltered area where she can get out of the snow and lay in a dog bed? I know some dogs won't lay there even if available, but somewhere to start.