Hi Northern- I got your PM and found this thread.
I’ll post my response here so other folks can read it and either be helped also, disagree with my opinion or add to the info.
The simple answer is that Juneau’s climate is mild and a Dobermann will do fine there.
If you are ADD you can stop with that answer, if you want more read on…..
Based on my very limited experience with Vizsla’s, I think they are a lot like Dobermanns in their ability to handle cold. Activities and weather that your friends enjoy with their Vizsla’s will be fine for a Dobermann. Both breeds can benefit from a jacket or rain coat if they are going to be sitting or lying around much during inclement weather. For example, our Dog wears a jacket in the skiff, but not when we are hiking. When we are out in the woods I carry his jacket in my backpack along with my other emergency gear, just in case we get stranded overnight or something. I don’t purposely spend a lot of time in sub freezing temps. When I do, I use my hands to warm his ears periodically. I’ll warm his ears on long boat rides too. IF I were to camp or spend a lot of time sitting around in freezing weather I would put my neck gaiter on him to keep his ears warm. A “snood” made for dogs would probably fit better.
Puppies and young dogs do not handle cold like a mature adult. Even 60F might send a puppy into shivering, especially if it’s wet. Just be aware of that and take extra care to limit a young dogs exposure time, take breaks someplace warm, stick him inside your coat for a while, etc. Don’t expect a puppy or youngster to hold up to long hikes or ski trips without lots and lots of breaks and a moderate pace. A puppy may let you know it’s tired; a young dog might go and go and go until it has far exceeded a reasonable level of activity. Beyond the other problems it will cause, when a dog is exhausted he will have a more difficult time coping with the weather. It’s up to you to limit the dog.
Like Juneau, our climate is rainy so I try to have a full size bath towel handy in a dry box in the boat. I dry off the dog before putting on his jacket and running the boat through the cold air.
Our Dobermann does not have anything resembling a double coat. He has a fairly thin single coat. I have read that in years gone by there were Dobermanns who did have something like a double coat. Since S&R is on your to-do list, you might want to make inquiries or do research to see if there are any pedigrees or bloodlines still producing a double coat, or at least a thicker coat. I wouldn’t stress much about it though, and if it came to a choice between a thicker coat or the correct temperament of course temperament would win out. S&R is a huge commitment from the handler along with the correct temperament in a dog. Very few folks end up working as a K9 S&R team. I mention this not to discourage you, but just to point out that unless you are thoroughly dedicated to S&R, your dog’s suitability to handle long searches on snowy mountain tops in sub freezing temps is probably a non-issue.
Any more questions just ask. If you would rather PM, that is fine too, just let me know.
Good luck!
Here is a picture of Remy this fall. It's tough to see in the pic, but he is wearing a jacket under the floatation vest.