Winter Health Tips For Dogs!

As dog owners bundle up for the cold winter temperatures, it is important to also keep in mind that our furry little friends need some seasonal adjustments to their environments too.

Here are four winter health tips for you as a dog owner to help make your pups a little more comfortable during freezing temperatures:

1. Good shelters: If you have outdoor dogs, be sure to place them in a warm, dry, and wind resistant place. Portable heaters can be useful as long as they are safely installed and out of reach from your mutts so they won't get burns from the heaters. 
2. Fresh food: Leaving your dogs' water bowl outside to freeze into ice is not a healthy option for your mutts. Neither is letting your dogs eat snow when they are thirsty. Always have a fresh, clean, non-frozen bowl of water and food for your dogs if they are outdoors, which means you may have to check up on them more than usual.
3. Avoiding frostbites: The tips of your mutts' ears, tails, and paws are very susceptible to getting frostbites in cold weather. Keep an eye out for symptoms like firm waxy skin and/or blisters. Dog booties and coats are good ideas to avoiding such pain for your dogs. For more information on dog paw care, take a glance at the previous blog post "Best Winter Tips for Your Dogs Paws."
4. Proper dietary needs: During the winter time, dogs tend to sleep more and exercise less as a way for them to conserve energy for their bodies. So adjusting their food amount is also critical to the health of your mutts. You don't want to feed them too much compared to summer time when they may be much more active. 

Keep your mutts happy, healthy, and hearty!