Staff at TagsforPets.com
on June 03, 2014
Originally posted: April 8th, 2008
- Provide adequate shelter to pets that are frequently outside in cold weather. These should keep your animal warm, dry and protected from breezes or drafts. Animals with finer coats should wear sweaters.
- View things from a pet's perspective. Concrete, brick, tile and linoleum floors may become extremely cold. Padding, throw rugs or blankets can help. Restaurant pads, used in work areas of busy diners, can be thrown down as good insulation, too.
- Be careful when walking or playing outside where road or sidewalk surfaces may be slick. Slipping can injure your pet. Also, watch for frozen water in streams, ponds, lake or rivers where your animal could fall through the ice.
- If your pet walks on salted pavement, remove the salt by washing the bottom of his paws gently with warm water to prevent irritation.
- Clean animals are warm animals. Hair, feathers and fur insulates and the cleaner it is, the better job it does.
- Increase food quantity, particularly for very active pets. Provide plenty of water and try to prevent it from freezing, or change frequently if it does. Snow is not a substitute for water.
- Do not keep animals in the back of a pickup or inside the car with the engine running. Wind chill can freeze your dog and carbon monoxide can swiftly kill your pet. Keep your pet away from antifreeze that may collect on driveways or roads. It's lethal.