Keeping your pets safe in the snow

Veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker takes your questions about keeping your pets safe from cold, snow, ice and wind.

Becker is the veterinary contributor to ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" and hosted the PBS special "The Pet Doctor with Marty Becker." He is also the co-producer of the syndicated column Pet Connection and has co-authored several books including "The Ultimate Dog Lover," "The Ultimate Cat Lover" and "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul."

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Alexandria: This may seem like a strange question, but I'm curious. Usually, I can just let my (medium-sized) dog out in the yard to do his thing. But with the snow so high, he seems really confused, and in order for him to even pee over the past few days, I've had to leash him and take him for a walk around the neighborhood. What do dogs "see" when there's this much snow? An impenetrable white shield? Does the lack of smells or covering up of smells throw them off? When the snow is a few inches high, he loves to play in it, but this time he was stymied. Any thoughts?

Dr. Marty Becker: Some dogs love snow (our little canine cocktail Quixote who uses his stubby legs to push nose through the snow like a snowplow) and others like my daughter's Pugs hate the snow and want to go #1 and #2 in the house. Since we babysit the pugs a lot and don't want our house to be their bathroom, we simply shovel an area for them to go potty in. In the Spring when the snow is off the ground, the area looks like it's been carpet bombed.

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animal shelter needs: Dr. Becker, thanks for doing this chat, could you please remind everyone that the animal shelters are in dire need of food and other supply donations after these dreadful storms? A big bag of dog food, some cat litter, will be a huge help to the needy animal friends and their keepers.

Dr. Marty Becker: Food is fuel and this is even more true in winter and when it's cold. It takes energy to stay warm, and food is the fuel that provides energy to the body. If your pet is outdoors some or all of the time, you may need to increase their food intake. Pets who are always or almost always inside may need less food in the winter because they can stay warm and are less active.

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Bichon owner: Our little bichon frise is almost 14 and she shivers noticeably when coming in from out of doors. We've not noticed this in winters past. Is this a sign of aging or of something else, perhaps? It seems to take a while for her paws to warm up after she's been outside.

Dr. Marty Becker: I have to say, I have a thing for older pets. Sometimes we confuse things like dimished senses, pets being not as playful, slowing down, not as social, more aggressive, sleeping patterns changed, changes in appetite as all being part of growing older. Same with shivering. There is a condition called Cognitive Disorder Syndrome of Canine Brain Aging (like early Alzheimer's) that causes most of these symptoms AND it is treatable. Ask your veterinarian if you pet could have CDS and about potent antioxidant cocktails such as Senilife (CEVA) and Novafit (Virbac) and also special brain diets like Hill's Prescription Diet b/d (stand for brain diet).

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Washington, DC: Should I be doing anything to my dog's paws before we go out and walk on chemically-treated streets and sidewalks?

Dr. Marty Becker: There are lots of dangers on the streets right now. Make sure your pet doesn't come in contact with antifreeze that may have leaked out of a vehicle (it's lime green colored) as a single lick can be fatal. Also, make sure you use pet friendly antifreeze in your vehicle and double check to make sure your vehicle doesn't leak.

There are also pet friendly de-icers like SafePaw you can use. As far as protecting your pets, I recommend either putting doggy boots on your pets or putting a thin film of Vasoline on feet to protect them from ice and salt. You should also keep hair trimmed between the toes to prevent iceballs from building up. Lastly, if you don't have boots on your dogs, keep a shallow dish of water and a towel by the door so that when they come in from their walk you can just kdp their feet in the water and towel dry.

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Feral kitties: Doctor

I feel so bad for animals outside in this stuff and especially the feral cats you see occasionally.

My neighbor saw one small cat the day before the latest storm - when he approached it, it ran into the sewer drain along the side of the road. The next day, all that snow had piled over the entrance to the drain including that from the plow. He dug it open to give him a chance to get out - but what are the odds any cat would survive such a storm? What can they possibly eat - everything is covered in snow and it's freezing cold.

I suppose being in the sewer drain is shelter, but what an awful existence. It's so sad.

Dr. Marty Becker: I should use this as a chance to say that pet clothing isn't silly at all. Small dogs, older dogs and greyhounds and their cousins (whippets, Italian greyhounds) have a difficult time regulating body temperature, and really do benefit from pet apparel. There are eco-friendly dog sweaters made by West Paw Design.

The worst thing for any animal is wind. If a pet can get out of the wind, they'll typically survive. Ideally, for pets they need four walls and a roof.

The next worse thing is getting wet. A dry outdoor dog or cat fares much better than a wet one in cold temps. Being damp makes heat loss worse and hypothermia happen faster. If you can't keep your pets out of the wind or dry, bring them inside!

Also for outdoor pets, it's important the bottom of the shelter doesn't contact the ground and that the bedding is on top of several layers of foam or bubble wrap to prevent radiant heat loss.

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Herndon, VA: Do you have any advice on how to deal with sore paws from getting ice melt or other snow melt chemicals on them?

Dr. Marty Becker: Again, boots to prevent the problem. Or put a light layer of Vasoline on the foot pads before you go out. Keep a dish of water and towel by the door to remove salt and deicer products.

Be EXTRA EXTRA careful to keep your pets away from deicer products. If they lick or eat them it can cause serious electrolyte imbalances that can be fatal.

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Silver Spring, MD: I think my beagle is wondering if there are bunnies to chase the other side of Mt. Everest where I dug her out a potty area! She'll pee there but has been holding her poop except for one accident inside. Any suggestions?

Also, I haven't yet found what I consider an affordable set of boots for her -- that will both provide traction and be comfortable, i.e., flexible fabric. In the meantime I'm using Bag Balm on her paws. When is the best time to apply it? I'm afraid it'll be too slippery on ice. OTOH, her pads could -stick- to the ice without it.

Dr. Marty Becker: I'm a huge all weather fan of having a cue word for dogs to go potty. Up at our Almost Heaven Ranch where it gets really cold, we use "Be Quick" for obvious reasons but it also doesn't sound quite as direct as saying "Go Potty" when you're around others. I recommend two things for all dog owners:

1. Rewards - On occasion, give your dog the cue word to go #2 and then give it an indescribably tasty treat such as a piece of a warm hotdog or piece of chicken. It's like winning the lotto. I go outside, poo, and sometimes my mommy gives me this. Then your pet is much more likely to go when severe weather conditions strike.

2. Vary the surface - For you puppy owners out there, NEVER have your dog just go potty on one substrate whether that's grass or concrete. Have them go as puppies on grass, concrete, gravel, snow, everything but the carpet. Then as adults, no matter the season or location, they'll think it's okay to go.

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Kansas City MO: Hi Dr. Becker, thanks for taking time to answer our questions!

I don't live in the DC area, but we get nasty weather in Missouri too. My husband and I work with our local shelter fostering dogs to increase their adoptability. The dogs we get often have 'kennel cough' which I know is usually a respiratory infection that we treat with antibiotics.

My question is what are some things we do to hurry their recovery? When we take them out in the awful cold they cough terribly, any ideas to decrease that?

Thanks for your time!

Dr. Marty Becker: Kennel cough is a problem whereever dogs are in close contact for long periods of time. It can be shelters, doggy daycare, dog parks, veterinary hospitals, etc. The only way to prevent is to keep your pet vaccinated against it with an intranasal or injectible vaccine (I vaccinate our own dogs against it every 6 months). The bad thing is it sounds like a dog with kennel cough is going to hack itself to death, but the lucky thing is it's really like the human's common cold. It is typically self-limiting and nothing really works to shorten it. Your veterinarian will only give antibiotics if there is a secondary bacterial infection

Regarding the new canine influenze threat, veterinarians recommend it if your pet is also a candidate for kennel cough, if you have an at risk breed (breeds with pushed in faces), or if it's a problem in your area (like FL, KY, NY, CO).

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Over heating chiquaqua question: My 4year old male chiquaqua likes to sleep on one of our heater grates for hours on end. I worry about him boiling his brains but my husband says if he got too hot he would move. What do you think?

Dr. Marty Becker: We jokingly say as vets (after a beer or two), never trust a dog that shivers in a warm room. :-) Seriously, as long as the dog can move, it will be fine. Some breeds are cold blooded (like Chihuahuas, Whippets, Greyhounds) and other dogs suffer from metabolic conditions like hypothyroidism that can cause shivering, weight gain, changes in haircoat.

I recommend ALL pet owners take their pet to the vet twice yearly for wellness visits. It's so much better to catch things early on in that period of grace when you're much more likely to be able to treat or cure. Our goal as veterinarians is always to prevent unneccessary pain, expense or worse.

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Anonymous: Let's remember that there are a lot of former pets out there on the streets of DC, without homes or even shelter at all. I'm sure the folks who work at the local animal shelters, including Washington Humane Society, had to trudge through the blizzard to take care of the animals housed there. With more spaying and neutering, perhaps the next time the problem will diminish.

Dr. Marty Becker: I agree with you 1000%. Right now at PetConnection.com we're working on a national effort to get beds for all shelter pets. We call it rise up (off the cold concrete), lie down (on a comfy bed) and move out (into a loving home). My friend Dr. Oz mentioned it on his Facebook page and for example, over the past three days we helped raise 100 beds for a shelter in Collier County FL. Please go to PetConnection.com or to Facebook/DrMartyBecker to find out how you can help in your community.

God bless all of you who work to help animals or give of yourselves (time, money, expertise).

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Washington, DC: Is the salt/chemical everyone uses, myself included, to melt ice and snow on the sidewalks harmful to dogs? Should I wipe the pup's paws after going outside?

Dr. Marty Becker: Can be VERY dangerous if a pet ingests. Fatal even. Use SafePaw de-icer, protect your pet's feet with boots or wash off when come in (so they don't lick).

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Dr. Marty Becker: I want to thank all of my pet loving friends for joining me again. I used to end a radio show by saying, "There's only one greatest pet in the world, and everybody has it." I know your pets are special. Keep them inside warm and dry. Give them an extra treat. Tell them you love them.

Watch for my partner Gina's and my upcoming Parade magazine articles this Sunday, Feb 14 and also Feb 21. Also, come to PetConnection.com to find out about the bed drive for shelter pets.

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