Winter pet protection

 

According to a local veterinarian, the best way to protect pets this winter season is by using paw safe deicers and putting boots on them.

Founder of the Emeryville Animal Hospital and Veterinarian, Debbie Godfrey, recommends using pet friendly salt on icy areas. While most deicers used on street sidewalk contain toxic chemicals such as sodium chloride, or potassium chloride, it can irritate their paws and cause rashes, according to the pet information site Rover. One pet friendly deicer, Godfrey, recommends for pet owners is Safe Paw.

“They get little snowballs in their feet when they walk in the winter so wearing booties can help,” said Godfrey. She said paws can get bruises, rashes and generally become irritated, due to the snow.

Gwen Jeun, also a vet at the Emeryville hospital, recommends a heated water bowl for outdoor animals, but warns this may not be enough to keep outside animals warm during the harsh cold.

“If you have an outdoor pet, they should have a shelter,” said Jeun. “A dog or cat house. Something to keep them warm.”

When deciding what temperature is too cold for pets to be outside in, both Jeun and Godfrey said generally anything below zero is something pet owners should watch out for.

“It’s more of what your animal is used to,” said Godfrey. “If your animal has been taken for a walk every day and they’re used to that cold and each week as the air is getting colder and colder, you can still continue to do that.”

According to Jeun, conditions to look out for that indicate the weather is taking a toll on your animal are frostbit and hypothermia.

“It [frostbite] looks like a burn on the tips of their ears, it’s actually skin dying because it got too cold,” said Jeun.

Godfrey also said a good way to check if your pet is getting sick is to check the color of their gums.

“Lift up the lip and look at the gum, and it should always be a pink, and when you push on it with your thumb or your finger, you should have the color come back quickly,” said Godfrey.