Hey Woofa’s,

This morning we woke to a 13 degree day with rain!!!  Needless to say that combination doesn’t give one incentive to get out of bed.

HOWEVER, thanks to hubby who had already started our new log fireplace, the house was already toasty.

Our wood fireplace is amazing and keeps the house ever so warm, where it would normally be an ice box.  In summer, it’s the best, it’s so cool, but winter, not so great!  UNTIL NOW!

The other being in the house that loves our new fireplace would be our boy Billy.  He’s never seen fire before, but it didn’t take him long to figure out that if he sits on the lounge or mat near it he’ll be nice and warm and snuggly!

This got me thinking, you don’t need to have a nice warm log fireplace to be able to keep your dog nice and warm and snuggly this winter!

I’ve got some other ideas for you and your fur kids!

HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR DOG IS WARM AND SNUGGLY THIS WINTER!

OUTSIDE DOGS 

1. Put a jacket on your dog on cold days and nights (if they’ll wear one).  There’s  also available doggy footwear, again if your dog will wear them!  However, if your dog has a huge winter coat naturally, then they may not need an extra dog jacket.
2. Make sure they have a place to sleep that is dry and warm.  A Dog kennel preferably, and place it so wind or rain cannot blow into the door or windows of the kennel.  Placing it under shelter would be a good idea as well.
3. Alternatively, you could bring your dog inside at night in the laundry or garage.
4. Nice warm blankets – you don’t have to spend lots of money on dog blankets.  Ask around your family and friends and find out who has old blankets or doona’s that they no longer need.  You can pile them up in your dog’s kennel or on their bed in the garage/laundry.  Most dogs love getting all snuggled in under blankets. Second hand shops also sell blankets for dogs at a cheaper price.
5. Heat mattress – when Billy was younger and slept outside with Isabel, I bought them low voltage heat beds.  I plugged them in under the pergola, and put them in their kennels.  The way it works is when they lay on the mattress it warms up.  Billy being a puppy did chew his up and no he didn’t get a shock or electrocuted!
6. Warm up their dinner – yes I know, I know but so what if this means they’re spoilt!  Billy’s food comes out of the fridge so to take the coolness off it we put it in the microwave for a few seconds to a minute, just to take the edge off it.
7. Make sure their water bowl isn’t out in the elements either, no matter what the weather they’re still going to need to have a drink.
8. If you’re able to – bring them inside whenever possible.

INSIDE DOGS 

1. Put a jacket on your dog, if you haven’t always got the heating on.  While we’re at work we usually wait until the afternoon before we put the fire on.  So the house is a tad cool which means we put Billy’s jacket on him until the house is warm again.  Billy is a short haired staffy, if your dog is a fluffy that doesn’t need another jacket don’t put one on them, use your common sense here.
2. Even though your dog is inside they still need a warm bed to sleep in – whether it’s on your bed or their own bed.  Billy sleeps on our bed with his own Doona over him. He doesn’t sleep in is jumper because he’ll over heat and it’s uncomfortable for him.
3. We have started feeding Billy inside, purely because the evenings are cooler and to stand out there while he eats his dinner doesn’t seem fair.  So we’ve put an old towel on the floor, put his bowl in the middle and away he goes.  This way you can shake the towel out and re-use.
4. Always make sure your dog has water available to them while they’re inside or outside.  We have a water dish in our ensuite bathroom that Billy has access to.
5. If you’re warming up the house for yourselves, guaranteed your dog will enjoy in that heat as well.  Whether it’s from a heater (my friends dog hogs their heater), air conditioning, or a log fireplace.  Always make sure they can’t burn themselves.
6. There’s nothing better than letting your dog sit on your lap or near you as body heat will keep you both warm.

EXERCISING YOUR DOG IN WINTER!

If it’s pouring with rain, snowing or it’s too dangerous to go out in the winter weather, then don’t take your dog out in it.

There’s plenty of dog games you can play indoors, just google (indoor dog games)!   Billy runs up and down our long hallway with zoomies, jumping up and down from our bed down the hallway to the spare bed.

However, if you don’t have the room there’s mentally stimulating games to play with them until the weather does change for the better.

OLDER DOGS!

With the colder weather comes joint pain.  If your dog suffers from arthritis or other joint pain injuries just be aware that the colder weather is going to make it a tad worse for them.

However, they still need to move around as well as much as possible to keep the joint working and lubricated naturally.

There are also lots of joint pain holistic therapies and medications they can take.

Check with your trusted vet too see if they need to be increased in winter or what you can do to ease their pain during the colder months.

DOG GROOMING IN WINTER!

Yes you can still have your dog groomed in winter (or bathe them yourself), however use common sense.

1. Make sure you use warm water;
2. make sure you dry your dog thoroughly;
3. don’t groom them yourself if you have to do it outside with the garden hose;
4. most groomers whether salon or mobile have warm water running through their baths and warm air dryers to dry your dog thoroughly with;
5. if your dog is a matted mess, no matter what the weather you’re going to have to have it shaved and put jumpers on them to keep them warm.  It’s more detrimental to leave the matted hair on!
6. if your dog is long haired and not a matted mess then NO you won’t have to have a shave, maybe just a tidy up around, face, feet, bottom and toilet areas.
7. preferably a dry day would be best to have them groomed however, as stated above use common sense.

HOW TO TELL IF MY DOG IS COLD?

If you can’t tell whether your dog is cold,

1. feel their stomach and if it’s cold, they are cold;
2. are they rolled up in a small circle, then they are cold;
3. if they are shivering, they are cold;
4. if they are outside in the cold weather, being rained on or snowed on with no shelter, then they are cold.

I can’t stress enough here how much you need to use common sense.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

It means that our fur kids feel the cold as well.

It’s up to US as their responsible owners to keep them warm and out of the cold elements.

Keep your dog warm and snuggly this winter, they’ll love you for it.

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – HOW YOU KEEP YOUR DOG’S WARM AND SNUGGLE IN WINTER?

Cheers