Keep Your Outdoor Pets Safe During Cold Weather

It is important to keep your outdoor pets safe and warm during the winter months. They are vulnerable to extreme conditions just as humans are and it is your responsibility as a pet owner to protect them. The following tips and information can help you to provide a safe winter for your pet.

Bring Them Inside

The easiest way to ensure the safety of your pets during the winter months is to bring them inside. It is understandable that some people are not always able to bring their pet indoors. However, when temperatures are extremely cold or below freezing, it is crucial for you to provide some form of shelter for your animal. If you can't bring them indoors, bring the pets into the garage or provide a well insulated house appropriate for the animal's size.

Provide A Shelter

If you can't bring your animal indoors, provide them with an outdoor shelter. You can purchase dog and cat houses at almost any pet supply store. If you are handy, you can build your own with wood. If possible, provide a shelter for your animal in the garage. If you do not have a garage, make sure you place the shelter in a place that is sheltered from the wind and other elements. Check for leaks and seal them.

Insulate

When temperatures are extremely cold and the winds are high, a shelter is useless without insulation. Line the floor of the shelter with blankets or old pieces of clothing. Straw is very good floor insulation for dog and cat houses during the winter. Cover the floor with a thick layer of straw and tuck a blanket over it so that no straw is visible. You are creating a straw bed. You can roll up old towels or clothing and press them up against the walls of the shelter to create a nest for your critter.

* Note
You should change the straw every few weeks. If the straw is wet, replace it with new dry straw as soon as possible. Mold can grow in the damp straw.

Water

Always check your pets water bowl during the winter. It will freeze quickly. Make sure you change their water frequently and ensure that they receive enough to drink. Don't use hot water! It will freeze too and be too hot to drink! Snow is not enough to sustain a dog or a cat! Please check and change your pets' water frequently.

Extra Tip

During an extremely cold night or day, provide a little extra heat for your dog or cat. You need about 4 potatoes for dogs and 2 for cats. Microwave the potatoes as if you making a baked potato or until hot to the touch. The potatoes will remain hot for a long time and radiate heat. Wrap each potato separately in a rag or towel and place in the corners of your pets' shelter. Make sure that the rag or towel is thick enough to prevent burning of the skin. If it is not too hot for you to touch for 5 seconds, it is okay.

Cover the wrapped potatoes with more blankets if you think your dog might be interested in eating them rather than staying warm.

If the potatoes didn't get eaten and you don't mind sacrificing a spud or two for the good of your pet, you can go back after the potatoes have cooled and replace them with fresh ones. You might even be able to re-heat the first batch if they aren't too soft already.

*Note
Do not try this with a water bottle! It can freeze and cause your pet to experience hypothermia. Don't use a water bottle.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about how to keep your pet safe. Please make all of the effort that you can to help them through the cold weather.

Stay warm!