Pits Are Tough But It's Really Cold
Protect Your Pitbull From The Winter Cold
I usually try to follow the golden rule when it comes to protecting my pet especially in the winter. Dogs and other pets are likely to suffer from cold, wet conditions and wind chill. If it is too cold for me I follow a few simple rules and guidelines. After all, in the next life...well you know about karma.
To keep your pets safe, warm and happy this winter just remember a few common-sense rules:
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Consider keeping your dog
indoors when the temperature
drops. Your dog will be safer indoors. When you take him out for
exercise you may want to consider a sweater for him especially if he is shorthaired. Any
type of dog can suffer harshly from wind chill and extreme wet conditions.
If your dog is definitely an outdoor dog be sure to protect him with a well built dog house or shelter. Make sure that it is large enough for him to move around in comfortably and also small enough to retain his body heat.
My dog house has a floor set up about 3" off the ground and is of double wall construction. The doorway is just big enough for him to enter. I use old levi jeans and plastic sheeting, tacked at the top for doorway flaps to keep the wind and water out. The door also faces in a Southerly direction as most of our weather comes from the west.
Make sure your pet has plenty of fresh water and keep it from freezing. Do not use metal bowls for food and water. My son was about six years old one cold winter day and he stuck his tongue on a metal gatepost to lick the frost. You might say he was frozen in place and kinda speechless. The same could happen to your pet. A frozen tongue is not a happy tongue.
A pet will use more energy keeping warm and so may need more food than usual. This will help him stay warmer.
My dog loves to romp and play in the snow. I make sure to clean the ice and snow with a cloth from his feet before he licks them. He may have walked through sno-melt or salt or other chemical and licking his paws may be harmful.
Automobiles are more likely to have antifreeze leaks in the winter. Dogs love antifreeze. So do other animals as well as children. Antifreeze is deadly. Be sure to clean up any antifreeze or other chemical spills.