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Exercising Your Dog In Cold Temperatures: 4 Tips To Keep Him Healthy & Injury-Free

Giving your dog plenty of exercise is just something a good dog owner does. It should be a priority. Right?  A dog owner’s job is to make sure their dog is as healthy as possible and giving them the proper exercise helps ensure that. But if you live in an area where the temperatures drop drastically during the winter this can prove to be a difficult task for any dog owner.

Below are a few exercise and safety tips that will help keep your dog in shape as well as remain safe while being outdoors in the cold.

1. If you live in an area where the weather gets extremely cold, be sure that your dog's body (especially the limbs) is properly warmed up. Some people make the mistake of going immediately out into the cold weather from a warm house. This can cause injuries to both your dog and yourself. In order to prevent injuries and soreness, muscles must first be stretched a bit and warmed up.

2. If you are taking your dog out for exercise during the snowy months, then you must adhere to caution so as not to slip or fall. Not only can ice patches cause severe injuries, but your local city service may have spread the grounds would slip retardants (chemicals, salt, sand, etc.)  which can prove to be damaging to the pads of your dog's feet.

3. In addition to watching out for slippery patches of ice and chemicals or salts that have been laid down by the city, the best protection for your dog's feet are specially designed dog boots that are built to keep out water and chemicals. These dog booties will also help maintain your dogs traction if he suddenly stumbles upon a slippery surface of ice or snow.

4. Always inspect your dog's limbs (especially his feet) upon returning home from outdoor exercising in the cold. Look at his pads and check for any swelling, rawness, or mild discoloration. Also check his nails. What you are looking for are any nail-splitting that may be occurring. These will need to be trimmed to immediately to prevent further damage. And keeping your dog's nails trimmed will prevent him from getting snagged on any kind of objects while exercising outdoors.