I have heard people state that it is better to keep your labs in cooler conditions to allow them to build more coat in response to the cold.
Does anyone know how much cooler the temp needs to be (how much lower than typical house temp of 65-70 will actually make a difference)? Is kenneling them in the garage at night a good start?
I have found that there is nothing that will build coat. It comes and goes with the seasons and hormones and if they have the genes for better coat, then it will show itself.
I rotate dogs from kennel into the house. Once it's below 50 degrees the ones in the kennel start building coat. The coat of the kennel dogs is always heavier and thicker than that of the lucky one who has time in the house. I have to put heat on the one who has been in the house if it's below 50 degrees as they cannot tolerate the cold due to less hair.
The one then coming in the house starts a bit of shedding and after 2 weeks has less coat than those in kennel. So location does make a difference.
Be careful of putting dog in a too cool of garage if they haven't had time to grow coat.
Egg and flaxseed oil also help to build coat in some dogs (and humans, for that matter:).
Jackie's bitch, Maggie, was here in NJ last year. When she got off the plane from Hawaii, I was amazed to see she was carrying more coat than all but one of my dogs. Her coat was better than the coats on most dogs I saw in the ring.
