Winter dog walking safety is important! Not only do you have the weather to contend with, most of us end up out in the dark for our walking and running. Check out our 7 tips that keep us safe!
7 Winter Dog Walking Safety Tips
1. Be Seen With Bright Clothing
Humans seem to love black and other dark colored clothing, but it makes it hard to be seen. It is best to wear bright colored clothing, and if you have them reflective, or neon lights. Mom sometimes is out in dark running clothes, but she wears a neon lighted arm band and this reflective vest. If a car hits her, they are obviously either blind or not paying attention!
2. Light Up Your Canine Partner
Dogs, even white ones can be hard to see because we are smaller and shorter. When we walk or run in the dark, or even play in the yard, we all wear one of our Illumiseen glow necklaces. Drivers will first see Mom all illuminated, and then see our necks, even if the fur is covering the necklace. We don’t mind wearing them at all.
3. Proper Footwear For The Human
This is new in the past couple years since Mom broke her ankle while running with me. She now wears her icebug shoes and boots almost all the time when we walk and run. They make not only hiking boots, but running shoes. We are back to running when it is snowing and we love it! Walking on the icy walkways is also not a problem with these boots.
4. Protect Your Dog’s Paws
Remember, dogs have paws that can slip, or get hurt outside in the elements. Be especially careful we don’t slip and fall on ice as we can really hurt ourselves. For regular walks, our paws work just fine. On days where it is well below zero, or when the streets have just been treated for ice, we always wear our shoes. Mom slips the PAWZ boots on us and we are good to go. That ice treatment stuff burns our paws sort of like when humans get an ice cream headache – no fun! Bailie and I wear medium, but big foot the puppy is sporting large shoes!
5. Does Your Dog Need A Coat
It really depends on the breed of your dog. We don’t wear any coats, and are plenty warm with our natural furs. Some dogs with thin furs might need a coat. Young puppies may need a coat. Bailie and I each wore a coat a few times in the extreme cold, but Olivia has plenty of warm furs already. If you are out walking at a good speed or running, there is also less of a need for a coat to keep warm.
6. Running With Your Pup In The Winter
My mom loves to run with dogs year round, but in the winter it can be tricky. With the icebug running shoes, she feels secure and is once again running with me and Bailie in the snow. Super cold, sub zero temperatures are dangerous for humans and dogs to run in, so if the thermometer dips below zero, it is best to take a walk instead. Humans can cover their nose and mouth with a scarf to keep the extreme cold out, but that doesn’t work well for canines. Take the day off from running and have a nice walk instead.
7. Pay Attention To Your Time Outside
Even if you always walk for an hour, if the snow is deep, or the temperature is sub zero, shorten your walk. Dogs get tired of hopping through deep snow, but they may not let you know they are tired. Dogs will also get cold in an Arctic blast. If your dog never goes out, don’t start by going for a long walk. We are creatures and we need to acclimate our bodies to the weather just as humans do, and we also need to build our muscles.
Take the right precautions for dog walking safety when out and about in the winter months, and have fun!
that are very good tips for walking safe and sound… it is amazing how fast it becomes as dark as in the a… of a salamander … we had this yesterday, the mama had to use her phone to find the way back though our backyard LOL
Since we have snow, it makes it a bit brighter, but it can be super dark and spooky out there.
Love all of these tips! Mom gets so mad at walkers and runners who don’t have reflective gear or lights! She says to us (so they can hear!) “where are their lights?”. It’s ridiculous to walk and be all dark. We are all lit up and mom has on her gear and a headlamp. Mom has the icebugs (thanks to you!)! We love walking — and largely because of you all and all the tips you have shared through the years! We walk in all kinda of
weather! your friend Lilly
It makes us super happy when we hear our tips help out others 🙂 Mom and I ran in the snow this morning, no problems. We get mad at cars that don’t want to stop at stop signs, so we pretend like we are going to cross anyway and watch them slam on the brakes. It is so very rude of drivers. Enjoy your day!
All great tips. Katie wears snow boots as there is always so much salt in New york.
In the city it would be a good idea. Around here it is only on the roads, but mainly in the middle, so we are fine on the sides where we belong anyway.
Thank you girls for the tips. Icebugs are on my Christmas list.
We sure hope you get a pair. They are life changing in a great way!
I am glad to see you all are taken care of in Minnesnowta! Maybe when my mom gets her new knee we can finally do some walking. Yay! You found purple, pink, and orange bands for your necks! XOXO, Sparkle
Sadly, they don’t have purple, so Bailie has blue which is close. Hope you guys can get out and walk. It is such fun.
Your peeps know how to take care of you proper. Sometimes folks don’t think about what’s important.
Have a woof woof day. My best to your peeps. ♥
Lots of folks seem to have forgotten to worry about cars. Even at the store when you are backing out and can’t see, people just walk behind you. Where are the lessons kids used to learn in school?
Great tips girls! Mom loves her ice cleats. She doesn’t know how she lived for years without them! They are such a blessing.
My mom wonders how she survived so long without breaking anything. The spikes have changed things so nicely.
Very timely tips, as usual! You girls rock! especially the boots! a friend just asked me what boots to get for her little guy and how to know when enough walking is enough. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
You are very welcome. We are glad when we can help our friends out.
Wonderful tips today girls, we are very glad we don’t have to worry about those sub freezing temperatures!
xoxo,
Rosy, Jakey & Arty
We don’t really mind it, but it means only going outside for short amounts of time.
Those really are good tips and how cool to see that some others are using them. Y’all be careful on your out n’ abouts!
Thank you. We try our best to be safe.
These are all really great tips. We always adjust our walks to the weather (and we’re wimpier than you and your Mom – LOL). We don’t walk in the dark, because I worry too much about running into wildlife, plus it just really doesn’t fit in with my schedule. But during hunting season here we always wear bright colors, or even if we’re just walking on the road on dreary or foggy days. Luke, as you know, does wear a coat, but our other dogs rarely did; the others always had enough fur to keep them warm. Luke just has very little fur on his underside.
Everyone has to know their dog and their environment when they go out walking. We enjoy walking and running in the dark but we are always super illuminated.
Such smart tips, and i love the comment about Olivia’s huge paws. Bigpaw indeed!
We thought she would grow into her paws but they keep growing with her. Her dad has big paws, so we think she will simply be a big foot.
Great tips! The days start getting longer very soon!
We enjoy the dark of winter as it gives a super cozy feeling and forces us to all slow down. When it is light out early and late, we always feel like we need to be busy and not relax. Most are not fans of winter, but we love the cold, snow, and shortened daylight.
I love the cold and snow, too; but unfortunately, we usually only get sleet and freezing rain down here. Once in a while we get a little snow and Ducky and I play in it out in the yard for a little while. I doubt we’ll see any at all before January though. I know it would cheer Ducky up though. She’s really missing Radar, poor girl.
That is so sad. We still can’t believe he is gone. We are getting snow again today, and bitter cold starting tomorrow. It is definitely our kind of winter. We will wish for snow for you.
Those are great tips!
It’s so important for y’all to dress appropriately for such cold weather. We usually never get too cold down here but we do have jackets just in case.
No jackets for us. Our furs are plenty to keep us warm and when we are out in the really cold stuff, we are moving around a lot.
I love these lovely pictures!