# Which dog suits your city’s climate in Colombia?

https://casatrufa.com/en/guides/which-dog-suits-your-citys-climate-in-colombia

By Casa Trufa · Published: 2026-10-07 · For information only: it does not replace a visit to your veterinarian

In Colombia, altitude decides the climate, and it should decide the breed too. In the hot lowlands, below 1,000 m (3,280 ft), the only one of our seven breeds we recommend without reservations is the Australian Cattle Dog; small breeds adapt with a short coat, and we don’t recommend the Bernese. From 2,000 m (6,560 ft) up, all live well.

## In short

- Hot lowlands (0 to 1,000 m / 0 to 3,280 ft): Blue Heeler without reservations; Maltese, Maltipoo and Cockapoo with management; Bernese, no.
- Temperate zone (1,001 to 2,000 m / 3,280 to 6,560 ft): almost all; the Bernese with reservations below 1,800 m (5,910 ft).
- Cool zone (2,001 to 3,000 m / 6,560 to 9,840 ft): all of them; the small ones with thorough drying and a coat.
- This is a general guideline: the house, the shade and your routine count too.
- Look up your municipality in Delivery to see the table at your exact altitude.

## Why is climate in Colombia measured in meters?

Because we are in the tropics: there are no seasons here to change the temperature — altitude changes it. For every stretch you climb, the air gets cooler. That is why Barranquilla and Tunja, on the same day, live in two climates that have nothing in common.

The Caldas classification, which is the one used by [IDEAM](https://bart.ideam.gov.co/meteorologia/NOTAS_TECNICAS/NT_IDEAM-2025-003_ACTUALIZACION_CALDAS_LANG.pdf) (Colombia’s weather and climate institute), divides the country into climate zones (pisos térmicos):

| Climate zone | Altitude | Reference average temperature | Examples |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hot (tierra caliente) | 0 to 1,000 m (0 to 3,280 ft) | 24 °C (75 °F) or more | Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Villavicencio, Neiva, Montería |
| Temperate | 1,001 to 2,000 m (3,280 to 6,560 ft) | Between 17.5 and 24 °C (63.5 and 75 °F) | Medellín, Pereira, Armenia, Ibagué |
| Cool (tierra fría) | 2,001 to 3,000 m (6,560 to 9,840 ft) | Between 12 and 17.5 °C (54 and 63.5 °F) | Bogotá, Tunja, Pasto, Manizales, Rionegro |
| Páramo (high-mountain) | Above 3,000 m (9,840 ft) | Below 12 °C (54 °F) | High-mountain municipalities |

The temperatures are the reference values for each band, not measurements for each city. The examples are classified by the approximate altitude of their official point.

## Which breeds adapt to each climate zone?

This is the table we use when a family tells us where they live. It is not a veterinary traffic light: it is a breeder’s judgment, with the reason behind each cell.

| Breed | Hot (0 to 1,000 m (3,280 ft)) | Temperate (1,001 to 2,000 m (3,280–6,560 ft)) | Cool (2,001 to 3,000 m (6,560–9,840 ft)) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Maltese | Adapts. With a short coat, water always within reach and walks early in the morning or after dark. | Suits it well. No special care needed for the climate. | Suits it well. Dry the coat fully after a bath, and add a light sweater if it is clipped very short. |
| Maltipoo | Adapts. A short clip and no midday sun. At home, a cool spot to rest. | Suits it well. No special care needed for the climate. | Suits it well. Dry fully after a bath; a sweater if the coat is kept very short. |
| Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | With reservations. A fairly short muzzle and a predisposition to heart disease: only with a cool home, short walks at dawn and strict weight control. | Suits it well. The climate it lives best in. | Suits it well. It does well; dry it off after rain. |
| Cockapoo | Adapts. It has energy to spare: exercise goes early or after dark, and the coat stays short. | Suits it well. No special care needed for the climate. | Suits it well. Dry fully after a bath or rain. |
| Border Collie | With reservations. Workable on a farm with shade and water, working only in the cool hours. Hard exercise in the sun is a heatstroke risk. The double coat is never shaved. | Suits it well. A good climate for a breed that needs to move a lot every day. | Suits it well. Where it performs best. |
| Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) | Suits it well. The most heat-tolerant of the seven. It asks for shade, water and tick control. | Suits it well. No special care needed for the climate. | Suits it well. It also does well in the cool highlands. |
| Bernese Mountain Dog | We don’t recommend it. A double-coated mountain dog of 36–50 kg (79–110 lb): it suffers in the hot lowlands. We would rather say so than hand one over. | With reservations. Only with heat management: cool floors, shade, walks at dawn and after dark. Let’s talk it through first. | Suits it well. Cool weather, which is its own. It needs space and floors that are not slippery. |

The Bernese Mountain Dog has its own cutoff within the temperate zone: we recommend it without reservations from about 1,800 m (5,910 ft) up. It is explained, city by city, in the [Bernese climate guide](https://casatrufa.com/en/guides/bernese-mountain-dog-in-hot-climates-colombia).

## Which dog should you choose for a hot climate?

It depends on what you want the dog for.

- **For a farm:** the [Australian Cattle Dog, or Blue Heeler](https://casatrufa.com/en/breeds/australian-cattle-dog). It was developed to herd cattle under the sun and is the most heat-tolerant of the seven. It needs shade, water and tick control.
- **Small, for a house or an apartment:** the [Maltese](https://casatrufa.com/en/breeds/maltese) or the [Maltipoo](https://casatrufa.com/en/breeds/maltipoo), with a short coat and walks at dawn and after dark.
- **With more energy:** the [Cockapoo](https://casatrufa.com/en/breeds/cockapoo), exercised outside the sunny hours.

Two come with reservations: the [Cavalier](https://casatrufa.com/en/breeds/cavalier-king-charles-spaniel) — a somewhat short muzzle and a predisposition to heart disease — and the [Border Collie](https://casatrufa.com/en/breeds/border-collie), which in the hot lowlands we only recommend on a farm, working in the cool hours. The [Bernese](https://casatrufa.com/en/breeds/bernese-mountain-dog), no.

## Which dog should you choose for a cold climate?

In the cool zone every breed we raise lives well, and two are in their element: the **Bernese Mountain Dog**, which comes from the Alps, and the **Border Collie**, whose double coat is made for cold and rain.

Small dogs — Maltese, Maltipoo, Cavalier — adapt without trouble, with two points of care: dry them completely after a bath or rain, and give them a light coat if their hair is kept very short or they are very small. A 3 kg (7 lb) dog loses heat far faster than a 40 kg (88 lb) one.

## What about a temperate climate?

It is the most comfortable climate zone for almost any dog, and for the Cavalier in particular. Medellín, Pereira, Armenia or Ibagué let you keep any of the small and working breeds without special precautions.

The exception is the Bernese: in the lower part of the temperate zone it comes with reservations and needs heat management — cool floors, shade, early walks. In the upper part, from about 1,800 m (5,910 ft) on, it is comfortable.

## What care changes in the heat, whatever the breed?

- **Schedule.** Exercise at dawn and after dark. From mid-morning to mid-afternoon, shade.
- **Asphalt.** If you can’t keep your hand on the ground for five seconds, their paws can’t take it either.
- **Water.** Fresh, clean and always within reach; on walks too.
- **Car.** Never inside a parked car, not even for five minutes.
- **Coat.** Short in breeds with continuously growing hair; never shaved in double-coated breeds, whose coat also insulates them.
- **Parasites.** In the hot lowlands, tick and flea control is year-round.
- **Weight.** A lean dog tolerates heat better.

## How do you find out which climate zone your municipality is in?

In [Delivery](https://casatrufa.com/en/delivery) there is a search box with every municipality in Colombia. The page for your department (Colombia’s equivalent of a state or province) gives, for each one, the approximate altitude, the climate zone and our recommendation on the Bernese; the large cities also have the full table for the seven breeds.

> The altitude we use comes from an elevation model queried at each municipality’s official point, and it is approximate. Within a single municipality there can be rural districts (veredas) that are much higher or lower. If you live in one of them, tell us.

## Frequently asked questions

**Which dog breeds are good for hot climates?** Of the ones we raise, the Australian Cattle Dog is the most heat-tolerant. The Maltese, the Maltipoo and the Cockapoo adapt with a short coat and walks outside the sunny hours. We don’t recommend the Bernese Mountain Dog in the hot lowlands.

**Which small dogs can handle a hot climate?** The Maltese and the Maltipoo, with a short coat, water always at hand and walks at dawn and after dark. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel comes with reservations, because of its somewhat short muzzle and its predisposition to heart disease.

**Which dog breeds are good for cold climates?** The Bernese Mountain Dog and the Border Collie are in their element in the cool zone. Small breeds live well there too, with thorough drying after a bath and a light coat if their hair is kept short.

**Which dog is right for a farm?** It depends on the farm’s climate. In the hot lowlands, the Australian Cattle Dog. In a cool or temperate climate, the Border Collie as well, if there is work for it. Both need a daily job.

## Sources

1. [IDEAM, Nota Técnica 2025-003: actualización de la clasificación climática Caldas-Lang (Colombia’s weather and climate institute, update of the Caldas-Lang climate classification)](https://bart.ideam.gov.co/meteorologia/NOTAS_TECNICAS/NT_IDEAM-2025-003_ACTUALIZACION_CALDAS_LANG.pdf). Altitude bands of each climate zone (piso térmico)
2. [DANE: proyecciones de población municipal 2020-2035 (Colombia’s national statistics office, municipal population projections)](https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/demografia-y-poblacion/proyecciones-de-poblacion)