Maintaining Dog's While Winter

Winter Season can bring cold temperatures, extremes in weather and can make it difficult for you to maintain daily outdoor exercise with your dog. Finding ways to keep your dog active during the winter months is therefore very important to ensure they remain healthy.

For extremely cold weather, it is important to keep your dog inside, and avoid long walks. Dogs can be prone to frostbite or hypothermia, and very cold temperatures should be avoided. Here, exercise around the home should be encouraged. Your dog may be wary to going to the toilet outside during extreme cold, particularly if they are puppies. Pet owners may choose to use newspaper or crate toilet training for the winter months until the weather becomes warmer.

When weather permits, continuing to maintain short daily walks can be helped with the appropriate preparations. Pet owners may consider using pet coats or booties to help provide warmth and protect their pets from the snow whilst outside exercising. This is particularly important for smaller dogs, short haired breeds, older dogs, or ill dogs that may not have as much body fat to insulate them. It is important to ensure your dog is leashed during winter months, as the cold weather can often lead your dog to lose its sense of smell, making it easy for them to become lost, particularly during snowy months when the landscape can look unfamiliar.
It is also important that you ensure your dog avoids licking snow from the ground. Some areas may have been treated with deciding or melting chemicals that can be poisonous to dogs. Anti-freeze may appear as green or yellow stains on the ground, and is typically found near cars or garages where they have dripped from radiators. Dogs are particularly attracted to anti freeze due to its taste, but it can be very poisonous. Ensuring your dog is thoroughly hydrated before taking them outside can help to minimize them wanting to lick snow. As many ponds and lakes may have iced over, leashing your dog can avoid the danger that they may roam to thin ice.

Ensuring that you thoroughly clean your pet after being outside is also important, not only to help dry them off but also to ensure that they are thoroughly cleaned if they have come into contact with snow which has been treated with de-icer. It is important to check their coat for any ice or remnants of rock salt that may have developed particularly between their toes. This can often lead to irritation to the paws, which your dog may lick, leading to further irritation to their mouth. In the home, ensuring that there are plenty of comfortable blankets for your dog can help them to help stay warm. Ensure there are slip guards on tiled floors, which can help prevent slipping and protect your dog from cold floors.

If your dog is exercising regularly outside, it is important to increase calorie intake, as they may use more calories during the winter months to help regulate their body temperature. With the correct preparation, it possible to help your dog to stay active during the winter months and to stay comfortable within the home.