Pooches: How to Dress your Dog for Cold Weather

As survivors of the polar vortex here in Chicago, we can now check off that we have had to walk our pups through nearly every type of weather condition.
Lately we've been getting a lot of questions about the type of gear we use to keep our large, short-haired, cold-prone pups warm; it really depends on the type of cold weather we are experiencing.
We know all dogs are different, but these are some things that have worked for us:
The Basics:

We have found a combination of a waterproof dog coat, a basic dog sweatshirt, and a dog snood can be used alone or together to help your pup stay warm in all types of weather.
If you choose to have just one item, we would recommend a waterproof dog coat. We wrote about coats we found for larger dogs here and here.
Our pups have several Zack & Zoey sweatshirts which are only about $18. Our 65lb pups wear size Extra-Large. We really like that we can customize them like we did here, here, and even here.
Snoods are like scarves for dogs, and they can be used for layering, or worn alone for a similar type of 1/2 coverage you might get from a puffer vest. Our pups' snoods are from here and here. 

Layering for the Cold and Windy Weather

For bitterly cold and windy weather our pups wear a combination of the above. Like urban teens, they layer a hoodie under their puffy coat. This eliminates gaping and keeps their core extra warm.We also add a snood which can be pulled up over their ears for more coverage.

Cold and Wet

We know it can be uncomfortable, and actually much colder, when cotton gets wet, so we don't have our pups wear their hoodies when it's raining or snowing hard when we leave the house. We usually just have them in their water-resistant coat  to stay dry. We also like how the Sirius Republic snoods are double-lined polar fleece which doesn't absorb wet snow, and they can be pulled up over their heads.

On Dog Hats & Snoods

We are often asked about the dog hats our pups wear. They are human hats from the kids' section at Old Navy. The hat Mr. B is wearing in the header photo is actually E's human hat.
The pups wear the hats for fun; they make for fun pictures. Though they are a bit unpractical for everyday wear. I don't know if dog hats really do make the pups any warmer, but if are you are looking for something cute that is still practical, we like the animal-themed snoods from Snug-A-Bulls. (More photos of the pooches in their mouse and gorilla snoods, here).

Too Hot

While we would gladly welcome warmer weather right now, during the summer we had to limit much of our walking for the extreme heat. While it seems counterintuitive to put them in gear during such extreme heat, we tried the Ruffwear Swamp Cooler cooling vest. The vests use evaporative cooling technology to mimic sweating and cool down your pooch. It's also really nice reflecting the sun from dark-colored dogs who naturally absorb heat. We wrote more about our experiences here.
We also found Musher's paw is a good resource for walking on extra-hot asphalt that might burn their feet.

We know all dogs have different needs and tolerance levels, and some dogs don't mind the cold and they don't want to wear gear. We know how important it is for dogs to be comfortable, and we wrote more about how to make sure your pup is comfortable wearing dog gear, here. 
Again, these are just things that have worked for us, but we would love to hear from everyone else:
How do you keep your pup comfortable in cold weather?

Also:
How the people prepare for cold walks
Our thoughts on Dog Boots
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