Sarah-Jane White The winter months are not a particularly fun time – and especially so after the excitement and warmth of the holiday period. From January onwards, the combination of cold days and dark nights can be highly affecting, with one day in January often treated as the bluest of the year.
As much of a struggle as the winter can be for some, it may also be a time of joy as you welcome new pet life into your home. Though puppies are not just for Christmas, the festive period remains a popular time to get a new best friend for your home. The winter months can be just as challenging for your furry friend as they are for you, though, so what can you do to help your puppy through their first winter?
Cold Weather Behaviour
Cold weather is not an unpleasantness exclusive to humans. Pets, too, have their own feelings and reactions to the progressing cold, which can manifest in changes to behaviour. As such, keeping a close eye on the habits and actions of your new puppy can give you some useful clues into whether or not they are comfortable enough. For example, your puppy might be lifting their paws regularly, indicating the ground is too cold for them to walk on comfortably.
Health and Insurance
More directly speaking, the cold weather of the winter months presents both immediate and indirect risks to the health of your pets – particularly younger puppies and those with pre-existing health conditions. Just as the winter months see illnesses on the rise for us humans, so too can pet diseases proliferate. For this reason, it would be prudent to schedule a vet visit before the temperature drops too harshly, in order to evaluate the condition of your pet and ensure they are properly vaccinated.
This is also an excellent time to consider updating, or investing in, dog insurance to reduce any potential costs associated with winter, whether it be illnesses or accidents. Vet bills can be catastrophically large in worst-case scenarios, and it can be difficult for even the most financially shrewd of families to square away when they do present themselves; insurance can be a major comfort against this risk.
Keeping Them Warm
While prevention is the best form of defence, it is nigh impossible to completely protect your little pup from the cold – and it will be necessary to introduce them as you take your puppy on longer and longer walks. Keeping them warm at home is no issue, with fluffy beds and additional blankets doing much of the heavy lifting for you. As for leaving the home, it would be prudent to purchase some suitable clothing for your puppy – in the form of a quilted jacket for the cold, and even some little booties for their paws to make the ground more comfortable.
