Dr Catherine Donworth is a small animal vet at the Animal Medical Center on Romany Road. She kindly sat down during a recent snow day to share some helpful advice on how to keep our four legged friends safe and warm.
“First, most simplest rule is if you're cold, they're cold. So if it is too cold for you to walk with your hat and gloves and coat on, it is too cold for your dog to go out. So bring them out, short breaks, choose the bathroom, and then back inside.
If you are going to take them on a walk, remember that short coated dogs or small dogs, older dogs and thin dogs would benefit from wearing some form of an insulated dog coat.”
And, Donworth adds, be aware of your dog’s particular needs,
“Modify your walks, if you have a dog that has to get out, make sure they're shorter. And then remember, if you have an old dog, that has arthritis, which is very common in old dogs, they're not going to be as strong or as quick as a younger dog that and so they're more prone to slipping or falling on the ice. Just kind of like an older person would be much more prone to to injury from the ice.”
And pay extra special attention to their paws
“The paws are the first part of their body that's going to get affected by the cold, so check the underside of their paws regularly for raw or irritated skin that could indicate frostbite or could indicate irritation from the road salt. Wash your pet's paws after you take them in so that you get all of the salt off.”
If your dog is exhibiting these warning signs after walking on the snow and ice, they may need medical attention,
“You should call your vet if your dog is limping, if your dog is chewing, or licking or biting at their paws a lot, if you look at the skin and see any break in the skin surface, if you see an ulceration, raw, red tissue. Any of those things probably need some vet attention”
Luckily, walking is not the only way to keep your dog exercised and entertained,
“So maybe instead of going for a walk, if you're home, spend that time that you would be walking, doing some training or something to stimulate their mind, some obedience training, some fun games, teaching them some tricks. So you're getting that quality time with them, you're getting some interaction, you're giving them the mental stimulation that they need, but you're not putting them in any danger by going outside.”
For most indoor cats the extreme weather wont really affect them, but...
“Keep them indoors as much as possible. If you can’t - if you have outdoor cats that don’t live inside, make sure you’re providing them with shelter out of the wind. Make sure their water is not frozen. You can make a really cheap, insulated box - there are loads of websites and stuff online to show you how to do that using simple things like Rubbermaid containers or plastic containers insulated with foam packaging, and you just put the small box inside the bigger box lined with foam and make sure it’s small enough that there’s not much room for anything other than the animal, so they can create a nice, warm airspace around them.”
If straw is available, it makes a better bedding for animals than towels or blankets as it won’t absorb or maintain moisture and freeze.
And finally, before you go...
“Be careful, outdoor cats like to seek out somewhere warm, which can also can be oftentimes an engine, a car engine. So before you start your car, if you live somewhere where you know there are outdoor cats around or you have outdoor cats, bang the engine, you know, make a noise before you start the engine in case the cats have climbed up in there to keep warm.”
