How to Keep Dogs Warm in Winter
Knowing how to keep dogs warm in winter requires more than common sense and lots of doggie care. But keeping an outside dog warm in winter is different than keeping an inside dog warm while they are outside outside or going for a quick when toileting outside or going for quick exercise walks. Kind of a tongue twister, isn’t it? Maybe it depends on whether you have teeth or not.
A lot of rules about keeping dogs warm in winter depend on many things:
- What breed of dog do you have?
- Is your dog short-haired, medium-haired, long-haired … or is it a double-coated dog?
- Is it a dog that has been raised outside for a long time?
- Is it an indoor dog that has been raised indoors?
- Even if the inside dog is large, it still needs to be considered an inside dog due to being climatized to the indoors.
Ways to keep dogs warm in winter
At our dog shelter, we have all types of dogs. The outside dogs are the Miniature American Eskimos, Shiba Inus, and Cocker Spaniels. Dogs with lots of heavy fur are good outside dogs, especially the ones with double-coats referred to as the “Northern Dogs” (Eskimos, Huskies, Samoyeds, Chows, Elkhounds, Akitas, Iceland Sheepdogs, Chinooks, and Wolf-hybrids—to name just a few. But basically, outside dogs have similar care.
Hay is a top priority in winter for our outside dogs. We stock up as early as we can, with many neighbors donating prairie hay when it gets down in size in the fields. We stock up with all colors and sizes of blankets for the inside dogs. We find them snuggled down in blankets all over the house to keep their feet and tiny bodies warm. on the ground in their pens so the pads of their feet will not be directly on snow or ice. Also, be prepared to break ice two to three times a day in their bowls of water to prevent dehydration.
Dogs who are outside will usually begin gaining weight. They will begin eating more food and adding weight more food in the late summer and early fall to add layers of fat to keep themselves warm during the long winter. Feeding another half-a cup or so of food a day will help this layer build up before winter arrives, which won’t be hard as the dog instinctively will become hungrier at this ti
Keeping their heavy fur brushed at this time will prevent knots from forming. And in the long run, it will increase their ability to stay warm, as heavy knots will bare their skin to the elements and have a tendency to pull the skin loose and tearing it.
A couple other important things regarding outside dogs is to keep their toenails trimmed routinely so they can walk adequately on the snow and ice. But even more so, to keep fur from building up with ice balls deep within the core of their pad keep the hair trimmed and check it, especially after heavy snow storms, sleet or ice. This build-up will eventually begin to lame the dog and throw his walk off, permanently injuring his foot and legs for life if not caught in time.
How to keep inside dogs warm in winter
Inside dogs are very used to living in a nice warm environment while happily snuggling under their favorite blanket most of the time during the winter.
For a fact, inside house dogs cannot be placed outside very long in winter weather or any bad weather, or they can easily freeze to death very quickly or get pneumonia.
Winter boots or winter coats for dogs who are exposed to the cold and raincoats for dogs who are in stormy weather are important for small dogs to wear have in environments with severe weather drops or bad snow storms. They need to be protected and cared for by a caring and loving pet owner, especially if they are small dogs who are short-haired— such as chihuahuas or rat-terriers with very little built-in natural protection.
The feet of dogs during the winter
The same rules apply to inside dogs as for outside dogs for keeping their feet clean from ice balls or fur knots on the body if they have hair which hangs in the snow or ice, such as the long-haired dachshunds, Yorkies, Scotties or Cairn Terriers. Weighted down long ears with excess hair, such as Cocker Spaniels, are a severe winter problem with ice balls and matted hair.
Many dogs who are inside dogs should not be shaved down or clipped short in the fall unless they have very caring owners who do not leave them outside very long. The subject of dogs warm in winter cannot be overstated enough. This is a time of the year when dogs can lose their lives.
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