[dw1]

I has a black lab that was trained for duck and goose hunting and I was often amazed at the enthusiasm that dog had for jumping into cold swampy water. A friend had a Newfoundland that was the same way - it was a hoot watching that big (but gentle) dog enthusiastically jumping into and swimming in literally icy water. There are plenty of on-line references that explain how the dog's coat, skin and physiology are adapted for this.

By contrast, my parents has a short haired dachshund and she hated to get her belly in contact with snow. Watching her technique for running in deep snow (porpoising up & down) was quite funny.

Seriously, my lab's enthusiasm sometimes outweighed his common (?) sense. After he got out of the water in sub-freezing temperatures, I found that it wasn't a bad idea to towel him off so the water didn't freeze on his coat.

One more example: I had a neighbor with 2 Husky's and in weather well below freezing those dogs liked nothing more than to lay on the front porch concrete.