December is Winter Weather Safety Month, making it a good time to remind pet owners about the dangers that come with the cold months. From hypothermia and protecting sensitive paws to leashing your dog and providing shelter for outdoor cats, there are a number of precautions worth taking so your pets stay comfortable and safe through the season. Here are the top tips to keep in mind as winter sets in, so you can avoid a cat or dog emergency.
1. Consider Your Dog’s Breed & Age
Depending on their breed and age, your dog may feel the cold far more than other dogs you’ve had. Short-haired dogs, thin dogs, puppies, seniors, and dogs with arthritis or a chronic illness all lose heat quickly, so keep their time outdoors short when it’s bitter. A sweater or coat helps a good deal for these dogs—look for something that covers the chest and belly, since that’s where heat is lost fastest. Thick-coated northern breeds cope far better, though even they shouldn’t be left out indefinitely.
Hypothermia and frostbite are real risks for dogs, just as for us. Signs of hypothermia include shivering, lethargy, stiffness, weakness, shallow breathing, and pale or gray gums. Frostbite typically affects the ear tips, tail, and paws, and the skin may look pale, gray, or bluish and feel cold and firm—it often doesn’t become obvious until hours later, once the tissue starts to change. If you suspect either, wrap your dog in warm dry towels or blankets and call us right away. Don’t rub or massage a frostbitten area, and don’t use hot water or a hair dryer, as both can cause further damage.
There’s no single safe temperature for every dog, so use their behavior as your guide—a dog lifting their paws, shivering, whining, slowing down, or turning for home has had enough.
2. Protect Their Paws
In winter your dog’s paws take a beating from cold surfaces, ice, and the chemicals used to treat sidewalks and roads.
Some things worth doing to protect them:
- Try dog booties, and let your dog get comfortable with them indoors before venturing out on a walk—most dogs need a few sessions before they’ll walk normally in them.
- Be aware that your dog’s paws pick up salt, de-icers, and sometimes antifreeze on winter walks. Ice-melt products are irritating to paws and cause stomach upset if licked off, and some are considerably worse than others.
- Wipe or rinse your dog’s paws, legs, and belly after every walk, before they have a chance to lick anything off.
- Trim the fur between their toes if it collects ice balls, which are painful and can cause the pads to split.
- Paw balm applied before a walk helps protect the pads and reduces cracking.
Pet-safer de-icers are available, so check the labels on what you use at home. Bear in mind you can’t control what your neighbors or the city use, which is why wiping paws matters regardless.
A word on antifreeze in particular: ethylene glycol is extremely toxic and tastes sweet, and even a small amount can cause fatal kidney failure. Clean up any spills or puddles in your garage or driveway immediately, and if you think your pet has had access to any, treat it as an emergency and call us straight away—treatment works only if it starts early.
3. Always Use a Leash
Pets are more likely to get lost in winter, because snow covers familiar landmarks and makes scent trails much harder to follow. Keep your dog on a leash on walks and when they go out to eliminate, and use a fixed leash rather than a retractable one on ice—you’ll want the control if either of you slips.
Make sure your pets’ tags are on and readable, and take a minute to check that your microchip registration details are current with the registry. A chip with out-of-date contact information can’t bring your pet home, and a lost animal in freezing weather is a situation where hours matter.
4. Provide Shelter for Outdoor Cats
In winter, all pets are better off indoors. For cats who genuinely won’t settle inside, and for the community cats in your neighborhood, adequate shelter makes a real difference.
Build or buy something dry and draft-free, raised a few inches off the ground, with the entrance facing away from the prevailing wind. Keep it small enough that the cat’s own body heat warms it. Line it with straw rather than blankets, towels, or hay—straw repels moisture and insulates, whereas fabric absorbs damp and then holds the cold against the cat. Cover the doorway with a flap of waterproof material.
Leave out more food than usual, since cats burn a lot of calories keeping warm, and check the water often, as it freezes quickly—a deep bowl in a sunny spot, or a heated bowl if you have power nearby, helps. And do bring cats indoors when temperatures drop below freezing, regardless of how reluctant they are.
5. Avoid Walking on Ice
Owners sometimes assume their dog is light enough to venture onto a frozen pond or lake. This comes up particularly with people who take dogs along while hiking, snowshoeing, or skiing and let them run ahead. But you can never be certain ice is thick enough, and a dog moving at speed puts far more force through it than their standing weight suggests.
If your dog does go through, please don’t go in after them. Ice that gave way under a dog will give way under you, and every year people drown trying. Call 911, stay on solid ground, and try to encourage your dog toward the edge—dogs frequently get themselves out, and emergency services are equipped for this in a way you aren’t.
It’s also worth keeping dogs away from snowbanks along roads, where they can pick up road salt and antifreeze, and away from storm drains and culverts.
6. Check Around Your Car
Before you set off, take a look around your car for cats. In cold weather it’s common for them to seek out the warmth of a recently driven vehicle, whether stretched out on the hood or curled up in a wheel well, and to shelter underneath for warmth and cover.
Take a quick walk around before you get in, and bang on the hood to startle away anything you might have missed. It takes ten seconds and it’s saved a great many cats.
A Few Other Winter Hazards
- Space heaters and fireplaces. A cat or a wagging tail can knock a heater over, and pets will settle close enough to a fire to burn themselves. Use a screen, and don’t leave either unattended with pets in the room.
- Never leave a pet in a parked car. A car acts as a refrigerator in cold weather, holding the cold in and getting colder than the air outside.
- Watch their weight. Dogs walked less in winter often gain a few pounds without anyone noticing, so adjust portions if activity drops off.
- Arthritis gets worse in the cold. If your older pet seems stiffer or more reluctant to move once the weather turns, let us know—there’s a good deal we can do to keep them comfortable.
- Dry indoor air can leave skin flaky and itchy. Regular brushing helps, and don’t bathe more often than necessary in winter.
As winter settles across much of the country, a few precautions go a long way toward protecting your pets and the animals around your home. Spending a few minutes adding a layer of safety to your routine could genuinely spare a life. Contact us if you'd like to talk about winter safety, or if your pet is overdue for their next wellness exam.