During Cold Weather, Please Keep Your Pets Inside To Keep Them Warm

When it is cold outside all you want to do is cuddle up under a warm blanket! As a pet parent, it is your responsibility to be sure that your pet has a safe and warm place to rest when it is cold outside.

The cold snap that hit the United States in December of last year claimed the lives of many dogs. The poor creatures had been left out in the cold and died from exposure. If you find yourself struggling to figure out how cold is safe, look at this chart from PetPlan. The information in this comes from the Tufts Animal Care and Condition Weather Safety Scales (TACC) and will let you know what temperatures are safe – and which ones are not!

This is the only published chart for cold weather safety available. Cats should be kept inside, according to wagsandwhiskers.com with the temperatures hover around freezing. Their fur coat isn’t enough to keep them safe. Dogs have a different level of tolerance for the cold, but puppies and elderly dogs should be kept inside when it is cold.

Looking at the chart, one thing that matters is if there is snow, rain, or sleet on the ground. When a dog’s fur is wet, it does not provide any insulation. Wind chill is something else you should consider. A cold and windy day is dangerous. The wind can remove all the warmth from the outer surface of a dog’s body and reduces how long it is safe to be outside.

Feature Image Source: Pixabay