The winter can be your pet’s worse enemy. It can keep them inactive during the day, leaving them susceptible to hypothermia. This is just one example of how the winter cold can affect your pets. Keeping your pets safe during the winter is much more challenging than you think. But you can do it through these easy steps.
Microchip Your Pets
During the winter, the last thing you’ll want is to lose your pet during a storm. So to avoid this from happening, especially for your cats who love exploring the world, get them microchipped.
Microchipping is widely available in almost every vet in the United States. Moreover, most of these vets are open during the winter, so it’s too late for your pets. Getting them a microchip also proves other benefits aside from knowing where they are at any time of the day. Some benefits include keeping a medical record from their visits to the vets and keeping track of their vitals.
A microchip on your pets is your first step in keeping them safe during the winter. It’ll ensure that you can keep track of your pets no matter where they are, and it can also tell you whether they are getting too cold or not.
Keep Them Inside
You need to keep your pets inside because the cold affects your pets, especially those with no fur. Your pets are vulnerable to the cold, and those with little to no fur are more susceptible to it.
The cold affects your pets by stiffening their joints, making it hard for them to move around. This can lead to long periods of inactivity, which can be problematic for a pet still recovering from a disease. If this is the case, you should try to get them active whenever they can move.
Some pets can are more susceptible to hypothermia than others. Older dogs are most vulnerable to hypothermia during the winter, so make sure that you get them covered by blankets when you can. However, dog breeds with double coats such as the Siberian Husky are resistant to the cold. Still, it doesn’t mean that they can’t get hypothermia. So it’s still important to keep pets resistant to the cold inside your home.
Wear Reflective Gear for Your Pets
It’s essential to keep our pets inside, but sometimes we want to give them an excellent walk to ensure that their joints aren’t too stiff. Moreover, too much inactivity can cause health problems, especially in older dogs, so you’d want to walk them whenever you can. However, because of visibility issues during the winter, you must give your pets reflective gear so oncoming motorists can know where they are.
It’s also vital for your pets to have this reflective gear on their pet at all times. So that aside from the microchip, you’ll know your pet’s location visually by looking for their reflective gear.
Know Your Pet’s Limits
When walking your pet, you must know its limits. They can easily get dehydrated during the winter because their body maintains safe temperatures at all times. So make sure you have a bottle of water with you whenever you go for walks. Also, make sure you don’t exhaust them too much because you might have to carry them home if you do. This can be problematic for pets that are heavy and big.
Make sure to do short walks during the winter to get your pets accustomed to the weather. Once they get used to it, you can start doing longer walks from then on.
Avoid Moving or Long Trips Outside
Sometimes we can’t avoid putting our moving schedule during the winter. For some people, it’s a wise decision because the move would be a lot cheaper during the off-season. Some might also plan a winter vacation with their pet. But avoid these things whenever you can.
However, if you’ve already planned it out and you’re rearing to go, make sure to make the necessary preparations for the trip. Additionally, suppose you’re planning to move across the country with your pets. In that case, you should hire professional services to help you out instead. They can make a move a lot easier for you and your pet. They can also ensure that your pet is safe from the winter cold.
Don’t Shave Them
Lastly, you should avoid getting your pet groomed or shaving their hair off during the winter. You know that some breeds can shed a lot of hair, but shaving the hair off your pets means less protection against the cold. So don’t shave them when you can to ensure that they have maximum protection during winter.
Here are some things that’ll help your pet safe during the coming winter months. Remember that winter tends to get colder nowadays, so get a heater for your pets if you can. It’ll help them stay warm no matter how cold it gets outside.
