Don't Freeze Fido

By Matt Wood in Miscellaneous on Dec 7, 2005 5:05PM

Chicagoist knows that cold weather comes with the territory here, but this is too much. We're outdoing ourself coming up with colorful ways to describe the weather, mostly involving witches' body parts and dirty limericks about Eskimos. A wise old mechanic we knew once called this "Ball knockin' cold." You get the point: it's freaking cold, and if you don't trust our colloquialisms, Tom Skilling says so too. This first week of December is the 6th coldest since 1871. Our average temp of 18.3 degrees is 15 below normal.

We'd prefer to spend weeks like this locked inside in front of a fireplace with a bowl of chili and an Irish coffee IV, but our dog doesn't care. He needs to do his business outside NOW, cold or not. What can you do to protect your puppy outside when it's this cold? There are a gazilliion resources on the internets about cold weather care for pets, but here are some tips Chicagoist has found particularly useful for city dog life (after the jump):

• The biggest problem for dogs in the city is the chemicals on streets and sidewalks. You've probably seen your dog start picking up his feet and limping after crossing the street. Salt and de-icers not only hurt their feet, but can dry out the pads and cause them to crack and bleed. The quickest way to help is to walk them through some snow immediately after, then wipe off their pads with your gloves. Once you get inside, wash them off with warm water. You can also buy little boots for your dog if you have no shame, or rub a little Vaseline, baby oil, or even cooking spray on his feet before you go out.
• Trim your dog's nails and hair between his toes regularly so ice and those nasty chemicals don't get stuck.
• Wipe off your dog's belly and legs after a walk so they don't ingest any of those chemicals when they groom themselves. Obviously this helps keep your house clean too.
• Our dog has a thick shaggy coat and he can stand to be outside a lot longer than we can, so basic warmth isn't an issue for us. But if you have a short-haired breed or small dog, you should invest in a sweater or coat for your dog. One of our neighbors even wrapped up her greyhound in a stylish scarf, so they don't have to look completely dorky.

• And under no circumstances, do you ever, ever, let your dog eat the yellow snow.

We've heard urban legends about people training little dogs to go in a litterbox, but that's blasphemy. No matter how cold it is or how much snow is on the ground, Fido needs the fresh air, so bundle him up and take care of those feet.