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By Keaton Brown

feeling the freeze

Keep your pets indoors during deep freeze, humane society advises

Jan 13, 2020 | 2:00 PM

With nothing but frigid temperatures on the horizon, the Battlefords Humane Society (BHS) would like to remind everyone in the Battlefords area that your pets are affected by the cold just as we are.

The temperature this week in the Battlefords is dropping into the minus thirties with wind chills approaching – 40 Celsius. Those cold temperature can affect your dogs and cats as negatively as it does us.

Dogs and cats can be affected by hypothermia and frost bite just like their human counterparts.

Michelle Sparks, the BHS shelter coordinator said most pets should come in when temperatures near the -30 C mark.

“Our dogs at the shelter here are essentially indoor dogs and I know that when it hits -30 C they are cold and they do not want to be outside and they are shivering. Minus 30 is very cold for an indoor dog that spends its days inside,” she said.

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Dog breeds that are more resilient to the colder temperatures like Siberian Huskies or Newfoundland dogs can tolerate temperatures down to -40 C, she said.

Still, any dog in extreme weather still needs access to food, water, and some sort of shelter to avoid the elements. Sparks said the shelter should be heated, or at least insulated.

“If they are starting to lift their paws up, that is a pretty good sign they are cold. Shivering and moving slower than normal, frost on their eyelashes and whiskers is another good sign they are cold,” she said.

To understand how most dogs feel when outside Sparks suggested people see for themselves. She added a dog’s coat is similar to a layer of clothes and only short stints outside are advisable. She recommends letting a dog out for roughly 10 minutes to do its business before bringing it back in.

—

Keaton.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow