How to Protect Your Pet from Winter Cold

Protect your pets from the many dangers lurking both indoors and out during wintertime. Follow these steps.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Schedule a vet checkup before temperatures drop below freezing to rule out any health issues. Some chronic illnesses like arthritis, which causes stiffness and pain in joints, can worsen in winter. Very young, old or ill pets with medical conditions like diabetes or serious wounds are more susceptible to cold and injuries.

2. Complete a winter home maintenance check including your furnace and test for carbon monoxide leakage, which is an odorless and invisible killer of both pets and people.

3. Keep your pet indoors when the temperature drops below freezing (32 degree F). If they must be in the cold air while you are away from home, provide shelter, warm bedding and a water source that is not frozen. Proper hydration helps pets regulate their body temperature.

4. Check your pet's paw pads after walks. Embedded snow can cause frostbite, and sharp ice can wound delicate paws. Ice crystals can quickly form in paws and ears damaging the tissue, and you won't see signs of the resulting frostbite until days later. Be careful with any frozen tissue and don't rub. Instead, simply soak in warm (not hot) water to try to restore circulation and wrap your pet in a warm blanket.

5. Wipe paw pads with a wet cloth to remove any antifreeze and salt residues after a walk. Pets will lick this and possibly be poisoned or damage their delicate digestive tissues.

6. Learn and watch for the signs of hypothermia or cold injuries. Shivering, whining, limping, slowing down, laying down or burrowing are signals that your pet cannot regulate his body temperature. Carefully check him all over and wrap him in a warm blanket to help ease his discomfort. Take him to the vet if you suspect hypothermia, frostbite, injury or illness due to exposure so the vet can assess any damage and treat for pain and infection.
   

7. Protect your pet's underbelly from snow and cold with a sweater. It's not a cure-all, but it will protect that delicate skin!

8. Supervise your pets at all times! Dogs that are off the leash around an iced pond can fall through the ice and be lost forever in an instant. Cats are very clever about finding heat and can curl up against a car engine and get wounded or killed. Cats can also get caught in dumpsters, doorways, snow banks and cracked open windows looking for shelter. Indoors, unsupervised pets can knock over space heaters and start a fire or, at the very least, injure their tails and get burned near a fireplace.

Tips & Warnings

• The smaller the pet, the quicker she is affected by cold. Keep a close eye on his behavior whenever exposed to freezing temperatures.
• Some breeds do better in the cold, such as thick-furred Huskies and long-haired Collies. Short-haired, small dogs and cats can suffer freezing injuries quickly.
• Always honk before turning on engines and moving your car in the winter to scare off any huddled animals from under your car.
• Don't leave water bowls outside to freeze! Pets cannot just lick the ice to get water as it can harm their tongues, plus water can be easily polluted. Pets that don't have access to clean, fresh water are more likely to drink out of dirty puddles full of poisons that could cause death.

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