Dogs and cats are very sensitive to the cold and winter weather. When letting your pets outside during the winter season, you need to take some easy precautions to help protect them from the cold, ice and snow.
7 Important Winter Weather Safety Tips for Your Pets
1. All pets need to be properly fed and hydrated so that they can retain body heat. Feed them smaller meals throughout the day and keep their water dish filled.
2. If you have a pet that spends time outdoors…make sure that they have a proper doghouse or other outdoor shelter that will keep them dry. It should be lined with warmth material on the floor and around the sides. If you live in a super cold area of the country…consider purchasing a heated doghouse.
3. If you let your animal friends go outdoors to do their “business” or to just play, limit their time. Take them out for shorter periods and more often. Don’t let them outdoors for hours on end.
4. This may sound silly to you…but invest in warm pet clothing! You can find sweaters, bandanna’s and even booties to help protect their paws. If you’re investing in booties, look for ones that provide warmth and are water resistant.
5. Do not bathe your pets and then let them go outside. If you plan on bathing them, let them outside to do their “business” and then bring them back in. Waiting 20-30 minutes for them to warm up and then you can bath them.
6. If your furry friend gets wet or is shivering when they come indoors, warm them up with some heated towels or blankets. It’s important to dry them off and warm them up as soon as possible.
7. During the cold weather season invest in toys to occupy your pet’s time indoors. You don’t want them getting bored and ripping up things inside your home. Look for toys that are interactive and one’s that will hold their attention.
Our beloved pets can’t protect themselves so they rely on us to help keep them safe. Please do your part this winter season.
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These are wonderful tips for keeping one’s pets safe during the winter season. I don’t think people are aware of how sensitive a dog or cat can be to the cold. Thanks for this list and I shall pass it on to my son.
These are some really good tips! My bulldog spends most of his time indoors but he loves going on his daily walks. I do worry about the cold and his little paws. How cold is too cold for them? It doesn’t seem to bother him yet, but our temps have been so mild for this time of year. It hasn’t been a problem yet.
Our dog loves the snow. Not staying out in it but digging and playing and such. I only worry aaout him with salt.
One of the things people might not realize is that salted walks will ‘burn’ animals pads. If you walk your dog, clean their paws when they come in. There are animal friendly salts you can use or other de icers on the market.
Keeping hydrated is a HUGE one I feed a cat colony and if cats/dogs dont have water and they eat snow their core temps plummet,
Our last dog was a Doberman/German Shepherd mix & he just hated when we brought him indoors for long period. So, in Winter, we had to force him inside, lol. He would stand at the door & howl like we were punishing him. (Well, the backyard was pretty much his playground, so he loved it.)
Thank you for another great post. I am such an animal lover and nothing gets me mad quicker than animal neglect or mistreatment. Last year it was below zero here at our house for a few days and I could hear a poor dog barking all night outside in the cold off in the distance that still bothers me wish I could have turned them in! It also makes me Crazy during the summer when people leave their pets in the car with the windows up and go into the store. I have called the police before on that especially when it’s over 100 degrees outside!!!! Our animals are super spoiled and sleep in the house. The other day we had snow and we let our little chiguagua out to do her “business” she ran out, saw the snow and ran back into the house it cracked me up so much! Animals make life so much better and I believe in smother love – heck they get tons of presents under the Christmas tree.