Broad Advice for Walking Your Dog in Cold Weather
Before I get into some more specific recommendations, remember Im just a pet parent and animal lover; Im not your vet.
Use your best judgment, talk to your vet if necessary, and keep an eye on your fur baby at all times when its cold and theyre outside in case a problem starts to occur.
That said, heres a rough recommendation:
You can also find charts with a bit more nuance online or simply keep a closer eye on your fur baby to see if they display any unusual behaviors.
After talking to a few veterinarians in Elmhurst and Lombard, I’ve come to a few generalized guidelines.
Bottom line, don’t let the cold weather keep your dog from getting exercise. You may have to limit your regular walk to only 5 or 10 minutes, but make sure to get them outside even if it’s just for a little bit when the weather is appropriate. If the weather isn’t cooperative, make sure they are getting sufficient potty breaks and find other activities indoors to keep their minds and bodies active.
While there’s not one right answer for an exact safe outdoor temperature for your dog, here are some tips to keep in mind:
The best piece of advice I can give you is to know your dog – pay attention to the signals they are giving you. If they are shivering, standing in a hunched position, lifting their paw(s) off the ground, or giving you verbal cues (like whining or barking); bring them inside. More serious signs are things like lethargy, weakness, or slowed breathing which are all signs of hypothermia. Keep an eye out for frostbite as well. The most common places this will effect is their tail, paws, and ear tips. If they are turning pale or blue, get your dog to a veterinarian.
Keeping up with the theme of cold weather tips for walking dogs, I thought I’d answer the question that I’ve been asked at least 20 times in the last couple weeks:
Can dogs be walked in the cold?
Dogs definitely can be walked in the cold, and you shouldn’t let the dropping temperatures be a reason to stop giving them their daily exercise. A walk is likely one of the highlights of your dog’s day (besides dinner time) so if they’re happy to go out in the cold, you should be happy to take them.
There are some things that you may want to take into consideration before you leave the house, though.
First, you should try to walk during the day – it will be much colder early in the morning and in the evening, so stick to mid-morning or early afternoon, between 10 and 2 is ideal. Plus if salt has been put on the pavements and roads, it’s more likely to have been pushed off the surfaces by other people that have come and gone over the course of the day. Salt can cause irritation of the skin on the paw’s underside and can become painful for your dog.
You should go prepared with a coat for your dog that is sized correctly, making it comfortable for them and easy to walk in. Check out our best winter dog coats blog to see our favourites this winter. As already mentioned, you should stick to well-lit paths or routes that you and your dog know well. If they get anxious about the rain or cold weather, knowing where they are going could help them to feel a bit more at ease.
Even with all these things in place, your dog may not be that keen to go out. Always be sure to listen to what your best friend is telling you. If they’re refusing to walk, shivering, standing in a hunched position or whining, then you should take them home.
If your dog doesnt fancy a walk but still has lots of energy to burn, why not try some indoor enrichment activities with them? 15 minutes of sniffing is equivalent to an hours dog walk, so snuffle mats will be your best friends when your dog doesnt fancy a wintery walk. Alternatively, the Nina Ottosson interactive dog toys are great for keeping your dogs mind busy.
When is it too cold to walk your dog?
Winter’s really starting to set in – the clocks have gone back, resulting in darker nights and we’ve all rushed to get the heating on. But once Jack Frost has made his appearance, you may start wondering whether it’s too cold to walk your dog. You might be all set with a coat, hat, gloves and scarf, however your dog is less protected from the elements than you are. Their fur helps to keep them warm to a degree, and you can always put them in a winter coat or woolly jumper to protect them from the cold even more. But at which temperature do you decide that it’s too cold to walk them?