Keep winter walks shorter and more frequent, and avoid one long freeze. Dry your dog properly the moment you get in. Move the bed off cold floors and out of draughts, and rinse grit off the paws. Thin-coated, lean or elderly dogs feel it first, along with puppies and small breeds. A good waterproof coat is really for them.
Which dogs feel the cold first?
Winter is not one experience shared equally across the park. A husky in a frosty field is having the best morning of its life. A whippet on the same field is quietly working out how fast it can get back to the car. Before you buy anything, it helps to know which of those two your dog is closer to.
Coat type does most of the work. A dense double coat is insulation the dog carries everywhere it goes. Keeping that layer working means brushing it out properly, which is what grooming a double coat at home is for. A single thin coat over a lean frame is not. Size matters too, because a small dog sits closer to cold ground and loses heat faster than a big one does.
The dogs that struggle earliest are fairly predictable. Thin-coated breeds such as greyhounds and whippets feel it first. Very lean dogs with little covering over the ribs are close behind. Puppies are not yet good at holding their own temperature. Older dogs feel the cold in their joints as much as their skin, and a stiff morning gets stiffer when there is frost on the grass. If you are not sure where yours sits, the breed pages are a sensible place to check coat type and build.
Does my dog need a coat, or is that fussing?
It depends entirely on the dog in front of you, and the calendar is not what decides it. A thick-coated collie in dry cold does not want one. A short-coated dog in wet wind almost certainly does. We go through the whole question in our guide to whether your dog needs a coat. The short version is that wet plus wind is what actually chills a dog, not the number on the forecast.
That is why waterproofing beats bulk in a British winter. A heavy fleece that soaks through leaves your dog wearing a cold wet blanket for the rest of the walk. A well-cut waterproof with a soft lining does far more good, and it dries out ready for the afternoon.
Fit is the part people get wrong. The coat should run from the base of the neck to the base of the tail and stop there, so it does not catch when your dog squats. It wants to cover the chest and ideally the belly, because that is where cold ground gets you. It should not rub in the armpits. If your dog freezes in place the first time it goes on, take it off. Bring it back out later in the day with a treat, and let the whole thing become boring. Our coats and clothing section covers the styles worth knowing about.
How should winter walks change?
Two shorter outings beat one long freeze. Your dog gets the same sniffing and the same leg stretch without standing about losing heat at the far end of it. It also means less time damp, which is what really does the chilling on the way home.
Keep moving once you are out. A brisk loop is warmer than a dawdle, and the coldest part of most winter walks is the ten minutes you spend talking to a neighbour while your dog stands still on frozen tarmac. If you are going to stop, keep your dog pottering around you and not standing still.
Do not cut exercise down to nothing though. A bored dog in a dark month finds its own entertainment, usually at the expense of your skirting boards. On genuinely foul days, swap distance for nosework and puzzles indoors and still go out for something short.
Dark afternoons are their own problem. A light-up collar or a reflective harness makes your dog visible to cars and cyclists long before you are, and it makes them findable when they trot off into an unlit field. Our walking gear picks are worth a look before the clocks change. One more thing while we are here. Give frozen water a wide berth, because ice that holds a duck will not hold a labrador and dogs cannot tell the difference from the bank.
Why drying off matters more than the coat
This is the step that gets skipped, and it is the one that does the most. A dog that comes in damp stays cold for a long time afterwards, because the water keeps pulling heat away even in a warm kitchen. Five honest minutes of towelling in the hall is worth more than anything you can buy.
Work in order. Start with the chest and belly, which take the worst of the spray off wet pavements. Move down each leg. Finish with the ears and between the toes, where damp lingers longest and where sore skin tends to start. Keep a big absorbent drying towel by the back door and this becomes a two minute job. Our towels and drying picks include the wearable drying coats, which are the answer for dogs who will not stand still.
Two things to avoid. Do not use a hairdryer meant for people, and do not park a soaking dog against a hot radiator to steam itself dry. Warm room, good towel and a bit of patience.
Where should the bed sit in winter?
Move it before you replace it. Most cold beds are simply in the wrong place. Tiled and laminate floors pull heat out of a dog all night, and the gap under an external door sends a draught straight along the skirting at exactly dog height. Put the bed against an internal wall and out of the draught line and it becomes a different bed entirely.
Then look at what is underneath. Thin flat beds let the cold floor come straight through. A raised frame or a properly insulating base keeps your dog off the ground, and bolstered sides give something to curl against, which is what a cold dog wants to do anyway. Older dogs notice this most, since a hard cold surface and stiff hips make a miserable pairing. Our beds section is where we have gathered what we rate.
Radiators are tempting and mostly a mistake. Pressed right up against one is too hot and too dry, so your dog shuffles off in the night and ends up somewhere worse. Aim for a warm room and a warm bed rather than a hot spot.
What about paws, grit and salted pavements?
Grit and de-icing salt are the winter nuisance nobody warns new owners about. They irritate pads, and dogs lick their feet the moment they get in. Rinse the paws in lukewarm water when you come home and dry carefully between the pads. That one habit prevents most of the sore feet we hear about in January.
Snow has a different trick. It balls up in the hair between the toes of fluffier dogs and sets into ice marbles they then have to walk on. Keeping that hair trimmed short through the winter stops it happening. Boots suit some dogs and appal others, so if you want to try them, do it at home on carpet first and keep the sessions short.
Cracked or bleeding pads, limping, or a dog licking one foot obsessively is a conversation for the surgery, and no purchase will fix it. Your vet comes first on anything that looks genuinely sore.
Does winter change what goes in the bowl?
Less than the internet suggests, and it goes both ways. A dog doing long cold walks on exposed ground may genuinely burn a bit more. A dog whose walks have quietly shrunk because it is dark and horrible by four o'clock is burning less, and that is the one who arrives at spring heavier than it left autumn. The season alone does not tell you which you have. The reverse applies in July, when keeping your dog cool changes the shape of the day instead.
Your dog does. Run your hands over the ribs once a week and look at the waist from above, then adjust portions by what you find. Our guide to portions and body condition walks through the check properly. If yours is an older dog slowing down in the cold, feeding an older dog is the one to read next.
Water still matters in winter, and it matters a little more once the heating is on all evening. Outdoor bowls freeze over, so check them on cold mornings and keep the indoor bowl topped up.
Frequently asked questions
How cold is too cold for a walk?
There is no single line, because it depends on the dog. A double-coated dog in dry cold is fine for a normal outing. A thin, small or older dog in wet wind is not, because wet plus wind chills far faster than still frost does. Judge by the dog rather than the forecast. A short brisk walk twice over beats one long one.
How do I know my dog is actually cold?
Watch the dog, not the thermometer. Shivering is the obvious sign and a fairly late one. Before that you tend to see a hunched back and tucked tail. Slower reluctant walking counts too, as does a dog lifting its paws off cold ground or steering you home. Whining and failing to settle once you are back can mean the same thing. Head in, dry your dog off and warm the room.
Should my dog wear a coat indoors or overnight?
Usually not. A healthy dog in a heated house does not need clothing to sleep in, and a coat worn for hours on end can rub or overheat. The better fix is where the bed sits and what it is made of. There are exceptions, including very thin, very old or recently clipped dogs. For them a light jumper on a chilly evening is fine. It should fit properly and come off at bedtime.
Do dogs need more food in winter?
Some do and plenty do not. A dog doing long cold walks may need a little more. A dog whose walks have shortened because of dark evenings usually needs slightly less, and that is the one who puts weight on by spring. Check the ribs and waist every week or two and adjust in small steps, because winter does not automatically mean bigger meals.
