Winter Care For Your Dog: Tips For You
When you are a dog owner and are experiencing your first cold winter with your beloved four-legged companion, you may be wondering what you can and should do to keep your dog as healthy and safe as possible throughout the cold winter months. There are numerous steps that you should take to provide winter care for your dog. Get to know a few of them to ensure that you and your pet make it trough the winter happy and healthy together.
Do Not Leave Your Dog Outside Too Long In The Cold
While dogs are usually more adept at being out in the cold and the snow than humans because of their fur, it does not mean that they are immune to the cold. Dogs experience cold just like humans do and many breeds of dog may live in cold weather that were not originally meant to do so. Breeds with shorter hair or low body fat like beagles, chihuahuas, pit bulls, and the like are not necessarily good with cold weather.
Be sure that you do not leave your dog outside for prolonged periods of time in the cold. If it is too long for you to spend outside, it is also too long for your dog to be exposed to the frigid cold temperatures. Generally, a quick break to do their business outside and limited periods of play and walking time are all the time your dog should spend outside to avoid cold-related illnesses and injuries and to keep you both healthy throughout the season.
Be Sure To Keep Up With Pet Grooming
Most people associate bathing and grooming their dog with the spring and summer seasons and tend to do less throughout the winter months. However, this can actually be detrimental to your dog's coat, skin, and nails.
Regular pet grooming for your dog throughout the winter can help them out in a myriad of ways. Simply brushing and bathing your dog will help to minimize skin irritation that can develop because of loose fur getting tangled into their coat and because of the cold, dry air of winter. Many dogs get severely dry, itchy skin over the winter if they are not regularly groomed. Moisturizing oatmeal baths will help to soothe your dog's dry skin and provide it with much-needed moisture throughout the winter. And healthy, moisturized skin will also keep their coat healthy and lustrous.
Another part of pet grooming is, of course, nail clipping and maintenance. This is especially important to keep up with in the winter as extremely long nails can cause your dog traction problems. When there is snow or ice on the ground in the winter, traction is already more difficult and untrimmed nails can mean that your dog may slip and injure themselves more easily than if their nails are trimmed for optimal traction and mobility.
Keeping these winter care tips in mind, you can be sure that you are doing the best you can for your dog in your first winter together. For more information, talk to a professional like Keshlyn Kennels.
