Tips for Looking After Your Dog in the Winter Cold

When the temperature drops, it’s important to take extra care of our four-legged friends. Here are some top tips to keep your dog safe, warm, and active on those cold wintery days.

Keeping your dog safe and warm in the cold

Some dogs grow thick furry coats all year round. So, as the weather gets colder, consider letting your dog's fur grow longer to give them added protection. 

Some shorter-haired breeds and puppies may need more help staying warm. They’ll need to wear a coat when it gets chilly. Remember – a cold dog is an unhappy dog, so it's important to keep them as cosy as possible. 

Walking in the dark

If you're walking in the dark, make sure your dog’s visible to other dog owners and people in cars. A coat with high-visibility reflective features, flashing collar, or light attachment will help keep them safe and seen. Just make sure anything you buy is suitable for your dog and they’re comfortable wearing it. 

Wearing a coat or light attachment is a new experience for some dogs and needs to be introduced in a gradual and positive way. This will help your dog enjoy wearing their equipment for winters to come.

How to get your dog used to wearing a coat

Top tips for winter walks

When the temperature drops, we need to take extra care of our four-legged friends while out and about. Here are some top tips to keep your furry walk buddy safe and warm.

1

If it’s snowing, keep your dog on a lead

The snow can cover unsafe areas, deep patches, or holes. Keep your dog on a lead to protect and prevent them from falling and hurting themselves.

2

Make sure they're wearing a collar, ID tag and are microchipped

It's important to make sure your microchipping database is up to date with your address and contact details.

Update your dog's microchip details

3

Wipe after walkies

Make sure you wipe your dog’s legs, feet and belly after a walk. Grit from the roads and dampness from rain or snow can irritate their skin. 

4

Never leave your dog in the car

Whether it's a hot or cold day outside, leaving your dog in a car is very dangerous and should never be an option. 

5

Don’t let your dog walk on frozen ponds

The ice may not be thick enough to take their weight. If your dog does fall through the ice, don’t go in after them. If possible, encourage them to swim back to you and call the emergency services.

6

Avoid antifreeze

Antifreeze is highly poisonous to dogs. Make sure you always keep antifreeze and other chemicals out of reach and be sure to quickly mop up any spills.

7

Look after yourself too

Your own safety is just as important. Make sure you’re dressed appropriately for the weather with a suitable coat and shoes. You and your dog should both be visible to others.

8

Regularly check your dog's lead, collar and harness

Make sure they’re all working safely and won’t get damaged by winter weather. Wet weather can cause metal clips to rust.

Do up any lead clips and carabiners inside before you set off out. It can be trickier to do them up with cold fingers.

Keeping your dog active during winter

It can be difficult to keep dogs physically exercised during dark evenings, especially when public parks are closed at dusk.

Here are some ways you can keep your dog active and their walks fun – even if the weather is wet and cold.

Change up your walkies route

When parks are closed, you can entertain your dog by walking different street routes to your usual ones. This way, they can experience new sights, sounds and smells.

The streets are your playground

Work some training sessions into your walks to liven them up. Take treats with you and reward your dog for doing a trick on each street you walk down. You could also lay treat trails for them to sniff out and follow.

You might’ve heard of parkour, but ‘barkour’ can be a good way to get your dog moving. Use treats to guide your dog to circle street furniture such as benches and lampposts. You can do all these on-lead so they're safe. 

Play games indoors

Indoor games like hide and seek, or 'find it', are fun and mentally stimulating for your dog. Hide a toy for them to search for and play with them as a reward when they find it.

Give them extra enrichment

You might be spending more time indoors if the weather's bad, so always make sure your dog has plenty to do.

Long-lasting tasty chews, or rubber food-releasing toys and enrichment games give your dog something enjoyable to do while keeping their brain active. 