Not all dogs have a double thick fur coat to insulate them from the cold. Even the ones that do sometimes need extra attention during the Winter to make sure they’re comfy, happy and warm. If you’re worried your dog will become a pupsicle this winter, then we’ve got some tips and tricks for you to make sure your furry friend stays healthy until spring rolls around.
Save the Fashionable Haircuts for Later
Your dog will have plenty of time to look cute later. Right now, just let their coat grow. A dog’s fur coat is it’s first defense against the elements. You wouldn’t want someone walking up to you and just snipping away bits of your winter coat just to make it look cuter, right? Nobody wears bulky, bland trench coats to look cute, they wear them because they’re cold!
Make Your Dog a Super Bed
First off your pup should always have access to a dry bed and a thick blanket during the winter. But if you want to trek the extra architectural mile, you can go nuts and construct them a donut dog bed dwelling. Take a few blankets that you don’t mind getting covered in dog fur, (any blanket if you own a dog) and shape them into a circle on top of your dog’s bed. Make it just big enough so your dog fits in the center, kind of like a dog-sized blanket donut, or as if you were going to build an igloo made of blankets but then gave up after the first layer. This structure provides a warm spot for them to curl up in that helps insulate them from the cold.
Give Them a Cuddle
What an uninteresting solution to this problem. We don’t know a single dog-owner who’d ever want to do this. In fact, just ignore this one. It’s not like it warms your dog and your heart at the same time. Forget we even mentioned it.
Get Them a Winter Wardrobe
Some dogs like Huskies and Spitz breeds have naturally double-layered fur coats built for the cold. However, other pups, with thin, single layer fur coats need extra protection from lower temperatures in winter. You can provide warmth while getting in your fashion fix by outfitting your pup in clothing made specially for them. Clothing made for dogs has become widely available in recent years so you’ve got options to choose from. Another fashion and safety forward garment choice is to shoe your cutie in booties. The padding on your pup’s paws is a sensitive spot and can split and crack when overexposed to the cold. Pay attention to their paws if they spend long periods of time on cold surfaces like concrete, ice or snow.
Warm Their Meals
During winter, it’s wise to keep your dog’s food as close to their body temperature as possible. It’s not healthy to give your dog a piping hot meal that will burn their tongue but, food that has been warmed up to their core temperature (around 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit) is easier on their system than cold food. To accomplish this, you can pour hot water into a meal and mix it up, or microwave your pup’s meal just enough to get it warmed up.
Put them in Inkopious Apparel
If you’ve ever strolled by our Instagram or Facebook pages, you’ll notice this is something we’re really into. Like, waaaaay into. If you put your Pug in a snug sweater, or drape your Doxie in a shirt, it will not only warm up your pup, but it might just warm up your heart. If you do, make sure to snap a pic, post it, and tag us (@Inkopious) so we can dote over your Doberman or fawn over your Frenchie.
If you feel beat by the lack of heat, make sure you’ve got a strategy to combat the cold. Don’t let your chiweenie get the chills, or your chihuahua’s teeth chatter, or your goldendoodle get goose bumps, or your sheltie get the shivers or your hound get hypothermia! Use these tips to make sure your dog is warm whether you’ve got Winter weather to weather or not.
