Are you wondering what you need to do for dog care in winter? Depending on your climate and the kind of dog you have the answer may vary. You may need to provide a coat for your dog. Or you may not need to do anything special during the winter season. Here are some things to think about.

If you have a short coated dog that tends to get cold easily I would recommend getting them a coat. This can help keep them warmer than if they were directly exposed to the elements. However, if you have a double coated dog for example a German Shepherd their fur acts as a coat and they likely will need no extra protection in the winter.

When you take your dog for a walk where do you go? If you live in a snowy climate and you are walking your dog near the roads or sidewalks they will have salt on them. This can be hard on your dogs paws and you really dont want your dog licking salt off their paws either. So in this case I would recommend getting some dog boots and training your dog to use them.

When taking your dog out for a walk if you notice them suddenly limping and nothing happened take a look at their paws. My dog used to start limping on one leg then switch to another during the winter. I figured out that this was due to her having long fur on her paw pads. When the snow would come in contact with her paws it would form small snow balls on her paw pads which were uncomfortable for her. I was able to easily solve this by clipping the fur on her paw pads. You could also use dog booties if you don’t want to clip your dogs fur.