HOW TO PREVENT COLD IN DOGS?

What is your favorite season of the year? Do you follow the summer or winter fashion? Do you prefer the cold or the heat? Surely it has never occurred to you to ask your pet this, but maybe she has thought about it, watching you adapt your clothes, modify your habits and change your diet.

We must be aware that dogs, like us, feel the cold. Regardless of the breed and the type of coat, our pets may be suffering the effects of the temperature change below 4 degrees Celsius, in the coldest times of the year, wherever we live or develop our joint activity. Our dog has a layer of hair and fat on its skin that protects it thermally, but, on certain occasions, this natural protection may be insufficient and, therefore, allow the cold to penetrate its body.

If our partner is not one of the breeds adapted to colder Nordic climates, or his short-haired nature does not offer him that protection, we must be vigilant to prevent him from getting cold and suffering possible consequences. Above all, we must watch out for the weakest and most prone to cold; puppies, old dogs and the sick.

To prevent the effects of cold, we can follow some simple tips that will help our pet to enjoy winter and not suffer its consequences:

Condition the environment of the house to maintain a stable temperature between 19 and 25 degrees Celsius, avoiding areas with drafts.

Wear waterproof sweaters, capes and coats when it is very cold outside.

• Condition your bed with a blanket to keep it warmer and use a house if you sleep outside the house.
• Take the walks in the hours with incidence of sunlight.
• Use specific moisturizers for dogs, on the paws (pads) and ears, to prevent them from drying out or cracking, especially when they step on snow.
• Dry it very well when you return home when it has gotten wet during the walk or games.
• In puppies and elderly dogs we can apply a careful massage on the muscles that present stiffness, and even help ourselves with a warm compress for 15 minutes.

If we do not prevent the cold, the dog’s immune system can weaken and become very vulnerable to different pathologies. And, above all, although it is cold there are parasites, such as fleas and ticks, which do not disappear during the winter, due to the heating in our homes. So our dog needs us to maintain the periodic reviews prescribed by his veterinarian to maintain deworming, internal and external, through the Double Monthly Protection.