Old Man Winter is around the corner...are you ready?

There is a chill in the air, which signals the arrival of the winter season. Are you ready? More importantly, are your animals? This is the time to start helping them get ready by making sure they have adequate shelter if they are outside dogs. Be sure they have sufficient warm bedding inside their dog houses, and you will need to check their water bowls every morning to be sure they are not frozen over. Also, remember that many breeds of dogs have shorter coats, and can get chilled quite easily. Like people, dogs can suffer from hypothermia, and freeze to death at worst, or catch colds or pneumonia at the least. If they need a doggie sweater, please make sure they have one. Last winter, even though it wasn't as cold and snowy as predicted, I did have a couple reports of dogs freezing to death.

Finally, remember that during cold weather, dogs will need a little more food than normal in order to keep their metabolism working up to par, in order to help fight the cold.And don't forget to check those weather reports every evening, and bring Fido or Fluffy inside if the temperature is going to hit the freezing mark. Even if they dog freeze to death, a dog can get frostbite on it's feet, tail and tips of its ears...and even its nose! Be vigilant and help your pet through what many are forecasting to be a potentially bad winter!