ShareThisYou've poured antifreeze in your car, installed storm windows and had your furnace serviced. But have you winterized Fido for these frosty days?
It's only fair that your four-footed friends enjoy frolicking in the ice and snow, too.
Dr. Porge Nakovich, director of veterinary medicine at Animal Friends, the no-kill shelter in Ohio Township, Pa., has several suggestions on how to keep your dog warm and healthy in the winter.
"If it's too cold for a person, it's probably too cold for a dog," she says. That's her guide in determining when she'll change the routine of her daily walks with her Rottweiler mix, Patches, and her Chihuahua, Taffy. When she's freezing herself, she takes shorter walks more frequently. "If I normally take the big dog for 3 1/2 miles, I might take her only for a mile," she said.
If the temperature drops to zero or below, or the wind chill makes it feel that cold, Nakovich does not take her dogs outside, and she advises that you don't either.
When leaving her home, she sprays her dogs' paws with cooking spray. This prevents ice balls from building up between their pads and gives them some protection from the rock salt, too.
When she returns, she washes the dogs' paws to dissolve any salt that might be on them. She keeps a spray bottle with water at room temperature near the door.
If temperatures are hovering above zero, she checks for signs of frostbite.
"Dogs shake when they get chilled," she says. "Their extremities will feel cold. If you come in the house and you notice that their ear tips are swollen and red or absolutely white, those are different degrees of frostbite. It's painful, and it can cause sloughing of the tissue."
If you see these symptoms in your dog, you can gradually warm up the area, but do not rub it vigorously.
"Some of these areas that lose blood supply because of the swelling are susceptible to infection. If they are severe, they need to be amputated," she said, adding that it's best to have your pet checked at an emergency clinic.
Coat or no coat?
"It's more for us than for them," she says. "We think that they're warmer with it on. I don't know. A coat will not protect ears or the tail. If you're getting cold, they're getting cold."
Mary Beth Close, founder of Canine Kingdom in Gloversville, N.Y., a national company that provides information about dogs' behavior and products, agrees that dog coats or sweaters are more fashion than function.
Because of winter's shorter days, you may be walking more often in the dark. For safety, consider putting a reflective vest on your dog or use a reflective leash, collar or any of the collar LED lights now on the market.
If your dog returns from a walk, don't let them get close to a fire in the fireplace.
"They're cold," she says. "They may not feel the intensity of the heat, and they could get close to the fire and come up with a thermal burn."
If your dog spends winter in a doghouse, make sure the ceiling and walls are properly insulated just like a regular house.
Water for a dog who lives outside should be changed three to four times daily because it freezes quickly.
Nakovich said that you also should increase the dog's food intake so he can maintain body weight and better regulate body temperature.
Dogs get less exercise in colder weather (probably because their human companions don't take them outside as often).
Both women believe interactive toys, which stimulate a dog's mind and use their physical energy, are helpful when pets have cabin fever.
(E-mail Marylynne Pitz at mpitz(at)post-gazette.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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