Pets have to adapt to the cold weather just like we do.
Sometimes they don’t want to go outside to take care of their business, and sometimes they just get bored. We’re learning how to keep things closer to normal for our four-legged friends.
We welcome Karen Cottingham, an instructor for the Salisbury, Maryland Kennel Club, and an American Kennel Club Canine “Good Citizen” evaluator to Historic Studio D to give us some tips.
Karen recommends placing a puppy pad outside over-top of any deicer or salt to help show a dog where they can use the restroom outside when it’s snowy. She also reminds us that deicer and salt is dangerous for your pets, so be sure to monitor your pets when they go outside.
When it’s snowing, our active dogs may need something to keep them occupied inside. Karen says playing fetch or retrieving games inside can work. She also suggests taking a carrot or celery and rub it with yogurt or peanut butter to keep themselves occupied for awhile. After you clean up the leftover carrot or celery when your dog is finished, take the scraps outside and lay them on the snow for the squirrels and birds to enjoy.
Karen says if you have a dog that is highly food-motivated, you can scatter pieces of food on the floor and have them find the food and make a game out of it.
“This will give them some mental challenges and they actually will enjoy it,” Karen says.
The Salisbury Kennel Club just started a new set of classes for dog training that you can check out. Karen says these classes are busy this time of year because people are wanting their dogs to socialize inside since it is cold outside.
