Starting to feel a bit frosty outside? It’s time to put that warm winter coat on, gloves, hat, wear thicker socks, and do all we can to keep ourselves warm and healthy during the winter season. But about Fido? How does your four-legged best friend stay in tip top health during those chilly winter months? BisketBaskets.com, creators of delicious and nutritious Dog Gift Baskets and Gourmet Gift Baskets (for the humans!), are based in the often chilly Parker, Colorado, and are here to shed their canine cold weather expertise with us!

1. Be mindful of wind chill. Sure, the temperature may read 32 degrees outside, but when those whistling winter winds blow, it feels more like 15 degrees! Check out what the temperature isreally like before sending your dog outside to play in the snow.
2. Trim your dog’s foot pad hair. Our canine friends tend to get snow and ice embedded into their foot pad snow as they’re playing around outside. This can cause extreme pain to yourdog’s paws, and even cause your dog to simply sit down in the snow, which of course can be extremely dangerous for your dog. Be sure to keep your dog’s foot pad hair neat and trim to reduce the amount of ice and snow build up.
3. Keep an eye on the amount of time your dog spends outside. We all want our dogs to run and play in the winter, as the snow tends to be so much fun for them, but try to limit outside time to about a half an hour, and less if the temperatures are very cold. Attach a bell to your dog’s collar so you can hear your dog at all times.
4. Towel-dry a wet dog. Did Fido have a great time digging in the snow? He’s likely to be soaking wet when he comes inside, then, so to prevent him from getting a chill, towel dry him. Like humans, dogs are very susceptible to sickness, so towel-drying can go a long way in keeping him healthy.
5. Be aware of holiday-related danger. We often have an excess of electrical cords and holiday lights, poinsettia and holiday decorations, and Christmas trees decked out in tinsel and garland during the winter months. Do you best to place electrical cords and lights out of your dog’s reach, along with placing poinsettia plants and holiday décor a bit higher off the ground.

When it comes to trimming your tree, we tend to go with a “just say no!” policy to tinsel and garland, as they can be very dangerous to your dog.