Cold Weather Friend

So I am moving to Alaska next year. I will be living in Fairbanks, where negative forty is fairly usual. I want to adopt a dog. It needs to be able to deal with either the cold, or it's walks being super short for at least a week at a time. It will have indoor play space, and of course be an inside dog. I already have a cat who will have her own vertical space, but the dog will need to share some space with the cat without eating her. Does anyone have breed suggestions or suggestions for making my apartment work for a dog to have enough space in the winter? I was thinking of lofting the bed to give the dog space.

 

Welcome to the forums! What size dog are you looking for? There are plenty of breeds out there which are better suited for cold weather - Husky, Samoyed, St Bernard etc are a few that spring to mind - but with a shelter your options are limited. I would have thought (or at least hoped!) that a shelter in Alaska will be mostly populated with dogs that cope well in the winter. However, if you fall in love with a sun loving dog then maybe get it some woolly outdoor gear!!

 

I really like large dogs. I grew up on a farm with working dogs. We had Australian Shepards when I was a kid and I adored them. They generally have a lot of fun, so that might not actually be a bad choice. I can always get them the gloves and bellywarmers that dogsledders use. I love Saint Bernards but they may be too large to be happy inside. I think you're right that it will depend on what they have at the shelter, although I am willing to keep looking until I find the right match. I bet though that there are a lot of retired dog sledders who are ready for an easy life, so maybe I should consider that instead of worrying about breed.

 

It was right that you can probably find your cold weather friend on shelters.
It was also right that older dogs prefer more relaxed life especially those retired dog sledders.