Today I have winter reminders for you and your dog. We are still in the middle of the winter season, but people start to get lax about their dogs in the cold. One thing to keep in mind is that not all dogs are cold weather dogs, and not all dogs need coats. If you are out walking, running or playing, your dog will stay warm, just as you will.
Remember to care for your human first as you need her to care for you. With warmer winters and all the ice, humans have trouble staying upright on all the ice. Four years ago tomorrow Mom broke her ankle on a run with Bailie. Since then she wears Icebug shoes and boots to make sure she has grip on ice. If your human is out with you a lot, we recommend this brand of winter footwear! Mom has slip on spikes which are not very great and they fall off, and she has YakTrax which are good on packed snow, not so good on ice. We are so amazed at the grip of Icebug shoes.
Once your humans paws are cared for, it is time to think about our paws. If it is very cold, your pup may need dog shoes to keep her paws from freezing. The salt and chemicals the plows and people put down to clear roads and sidewalks are bad for our paws. We may also ingest the chemicals by licking our paws after our walk. For this reason, we have PAWZ boots that we put on in extreme cold and when the streets are full of chemicals.
Lastly, remember to make sure you and your human are easily seen. We’ve used our illumiseen necklaces and leashes for a couple years now. This year on Christmas we got new necklaces from BSEEN. We like them a lot because they are also waterproof. They look different as they have a colored on and off button, and are clear all around. Sometimes in late fall and early spring it is dark out and raining, not snowing so we need a waterproof necklace. These are rechargeable have two blinking, one solid setting, and we really like them.
A Few Last Winter Reminders
- Remember, if your dog is shivering, lifting up paws and hopping on three paws, or they want to go back home, they are probably cold.
- Older dogs and younger dogs have the most trouble handling cold weather.
- Don’t leave your dog outside for long periods of time. Always watch us to see if we are cold, or comfortable and having fun.
- Never let your dog play on ice. Every year we see people throwing a ball on the ice rink and laughing as their dog tries to fetch and falls over and over on the ice. We can get seriously injured in a fall on ice just as humans. This is plain cruel behavior.
Hopefully these winter reminders have been beneficial for you and your pup. Winter is a great time to be outside having fun if you are smart about it!
My GBGV Life is joining Living Laughing and Barking in Our Backyard for their Nature Friday blog hop.
Thank you, that’s all excellent advice for pups and their humans. We have had lots of ice here and Gail has been trying to remember to ‘walk like a penguin’ (which does look silly but so far she’s stayed upright).
Toodle pip!
Bertie.
Even with the best shoes, walking on the front of the feet is important…waddle, waddle.
It gets cold here. Mom has seen snow flurries in 1977, but no ice. I guess we need to be more concerned with hot asphalt and concrete in the summer. Have a fun and happy weekend! XOXO, Sparkle
Unfortunately, we have that stuff in the summer too. Not summer fans around here at all but we are not excited about ice either.
Great reminders. We were talking about you last night while we were on our early evening walk. We had our lights on and were safe. Other walkers and dogs did not. And that makes mom crazy! Why would you ever go out in the dark without lights? She is always asking us this question while we walk. And then she said, “the GBGV girls know how to be safe!” We are glad we are safe! Have a great day and an awesome weekend! your friend Lilly
We get so many people commenting to us on how cool our lights are whether it is the necklaces or leashes. People always notice a lit up dog or two, and it is so important. We love our new lights too because we can wear then out in the rain too. Happy Friday my friends!
Great advice on these SuperCold days, Madison!
Thank you.
Those were really good tips and no, don’t be playing on any ice!
We have short nails too, so there isn’t much of any traction for our paws on ice either.
we have light collars now… we look like two christmas trees on the street LOL
But you are the two coolest and safest Christmas trees on the street and that is what matters. Others are jealous of you guys.
OMDs you ladies are smart, beautiful and fashionable.
Ice is just plain scary. Unfortunately here in NC we tend to have more sleet, freezing rain than snow (although don’t laugh, we had 1″ of snow yesterday morning). Now Sunday the weather geeks are saying possibly freezing rain. We both have Yak Traks which we bought after a terrible icy winter about 4 years ago. We haven’t use them but we are ready.
Hugs Cecilia
Mom got rid of the yaktrax because they don’t help on the ice. After breaking her ankle, she realized spending money on icebugs is so much cheaper and nicer than a broken bone. You should check them out. They are comfy and warm too she says. Her first pair was the $99 running ones and they are still her favorite.
You guys are crazy. If it’s that cold you should stay home in front of the fireplace.
Cold gets us all energized around here. The fireplace is nice at night before we go to bed.
Good advice for those going out in the cold and dark. We are going to check out those lighted collars.
We like the BSEEN ones the best now. They are more sturdy and are waterproof. We use all the ones we have, but next time we will get more from BSEEN.
All excellent advice. I will say that we took better care of our pup than we did ourselves. As it should be.
Have a woof woof day and weekend. My best to your smart mom. ♥
Mom tells us that is the case at our house too. I have to say, we don’t mind 😉 Happy Friday!
Thanks for the wintery reminders! Our pups go from wanting to lay down out in a snow bank to curling up on a snuggy blanket on the couch. Have a great weekend!
We love being out in the snow and cold, but it is really nice to come in and sit by the fire to warm up afterwards.
Such great advice gals!!!
Thank you. You are in the warm out there, so probably not much you need to know.
While our winters are mild compared to yours, we are still careful when there’s frost on the ground to not let Coda out there too long, just enough to do her business. We tried boots, but she would not walk in them!
We walk for hours in the snow unless it is below zero, then we limit it to 20-30 minutes but we are used to the cold.
Those IceBug boots look super steady for snow and ice! I’ll have to check those out. We have lots of melt/freeze cycles and it gets treacherous walking on sidewalks.
Mom never believed the icebugs could be as good as our friend said they would, so she bought the cheapest pair she could get on Amazon and they knocked her socks right off. They are truly amazing on ice.
You definitely have all the right gear! One day I am going to get some of those icebugs too, my Yaktrax work pretty well for me, but they are not easy to get on and off my shoes.
Luke loves to wear his coat, but I wish I could get him to wear boots! We just watch him for the paw lifting, and that only seems to happen when it’s super cold out.
We rarely have paw lifting unless it is really below zero. The icebugs are so awesome on ice. Mom threw out her yaktrax as they are nothing in comparison.
Great tips! And absolutely beautiful winter photos!
Thank you. We love winter.
Even though we don’t get brutally cold weather, the boys aren’t used to freezing temperatures so we limit their time out when it is cold. Bentley just likes to lay in the yard no matter the weather. Must be a hound dog thing.
We are used to the cold and it doesn’t bother us. Mom says that Emma’s last winter when she was eleven, she could still walk fine in any weather, but being out in the yard in the cold she would sometimes start to shiver and come back in. It is the same with older humans.
No matter where we live, the winter is always a thing to pay attention to if there is a pet in our house. Some people say that they’ll have nothing to worry about since they have a thick fur. But that’s totally wrong. I wish that they would someday understand more so their pets could live a happier life.
It really depends on your dog and if they are accustomed to the cold. We love to be out in the cold and snow walking and playing.