It’s that chilly time of year again and Leland Gordon, general manager of animal services in Winnipeg, is giving people some tips to help keep furry friends safe in Manitoba’s extremely cold weather.
“The most basic one is really limit the amount of time your pet is outdoors,” she said.
Earlier this year the city passed a bylaw prohibiting people from leaving their pets outside for an extended period of time unsupervised.
This doesn’t mean people must be outside with their dogs, it just means people must be home while their dogs are outside, Gordon noted.
However, the problem is dogs need to exercise, which can lead to owners wanting to walk them even for a little bit outside, but Gordon advises against that.
“Your dog won’t be able to handle it that long. The paws will get too cold. They start lifting those paws.”
Gordon recommends doing things indoors to ensure the dog gets plenty of exercise during the brutally cold times.
‘There’s actually a cool enrichment toy that you can buy from pet stores where you hide treats in them, the dog gets challenged, all that kind of stuff,” he said.
Gordon also says it’s important to make sure people are not leaving their pets in the car for extended periods of time on really cold days.
“If you’re going to go shopping and it’s brutally cold, don’t leave your dog out in your vehicle right when it’s cold like that.
“There can be humane issues associated with that. But also … a lot of times when you leave a dog out 24-7, eventually, some of those dogs become territorial and aggressive. And so that can lead to public safety issues.“
Dogs are not the only pets people should be working to protect against the elements. Outdoor cats are also at risk and Gordon recommends leaving them inside.
“You don’t want to let your cat roam the community. We see lots more cats that are roaming. Those are the ones where they can also get frostbite on their paws, frostbite on their ears.
“So ultimately, we love our dogs and cats and Winnipeggers, lots of animal lovers here. Keep those pets inside as much as you can so they make it through our winter.”
If an animal is showing any signs of distress and the owner cannot be found, Gordon recommends people call for help.
“That’s where you would call our friends at the Winnipeg Humane Society for quicker response. Our friends at the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service also respond to a handful of those calls, especially for dogs that are left in vehicles.”
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