WINTER PET CARE; PETS NEED SHELTER, FOOD, WATER

Norma Waldron of Jackson took her cocker spaniel, Prince, outside for a walk with a Jackson Indians' coat.

Cleaning a dog's paws is important for their well-being.

When winter gusts strike her door, Lizzi snuggles deeper into her bed of cedar chips.

Vinyl flooring beneath the chips adds to her comfort, while cedar paneling further insulates the walls of her home.

Cozy in her custom house, the 7-year-old golden retriever rests, protected from winter's harsh blasts.

Jim Coates figures providing his and his wife Julie's dog with comfortable quarters goes with the territory. "I always believed in having one dog and doing really right by one dog," the Jackson man said.

When Prince, a black and white cocker spaniel, makes forays outdoors during cold weather, he's often sporting other colors, too.

"He has a little sweatshirt jacket that I made out of a Jackson Indian football sweatshirt -- one of my kid's had outgrown it," chuckled Prince's owner, Norma Waldron. "He has a little reversible red and black jacket -- it's a real dog coat."

While the well-dressed Prince draws smiles around his owner's dog grooming and boarding business, the underlying reasons for the outer garments are serious. "When he gets cold, it takes him a long time to get warm," Waldron explained. Waldron has operated The Dog House in Jackson for eight years.

While Lizzi's and Prince's lifestyles differ, cold weather impacts them both. Domestic animals depend upon their owners year-round, but winter should prompt owners to take extra care, experts say.

"There are three things as far as winter care that are absolutely critical: shelter, adequate food and adequate water," explained Veterinarian John Koch of Cape Small Animal Clinic. Those requirements apply to any animal that is kept outside.

People should beware of drawing parallels between a wild animal's ability to care for itself in winter and a domestic animal's needs, Koch said, adding: "Wild animals have free reign to find shelter, but a dog on a chain or in a fenced-in backyard is confined to that area. We have to provide warmth for him."

Dog houses should be well-built, insulated and bedded with a dry material, such as straw. "They should face away from wind ... and there should be just enough room in the dog house for the dog to turn around," Koch said. "You don't want it too big, because the dog is relying on his own body warmth for heat."

A house that is too big for the dog is a common error dog owners make, noted Veterinarian Bill Langdon of Dogwood Veterinary Hospital, and Charles Stucker, code enforcement officer for the City of Cape Girardeau.

"Lots of people get a new puppy for Christmas," said Stucker, who receives many reports annually of inadequate shelter for animals. The new owners may know the puppy is going to be a large dog and they purchase a dog house accordingly, Stucker explained, adding: "The new house is too big and it's miserable for the puppy."

Plus, Langdon noted, a shelter that may be fine for the summer, often is not adequate for the winter.

Flooring and a flap or closure over the door to keep out drafts should be on dog house checklists.

A 4-by-8-foot-plywood sheet covers Lizzi's dwelling place. The dog house beneath the shelter is the third Coates has made. He has incorporated new ideas in each of his designs. Lizzi's current home has a flat roof equipped with hinges. "That way you can get in there and clean it out," Coates explained. Drainage holes in the floor further aid in house cleaning.

"The food bowl and water sit on top," he said. "It's also got a ledge next to it, about two feet off the ground, so the dog has the equivalent of a lair."

Lizzi, who roams unchained in her fenced yard, has easy access to shelter, food and water, but dogs that are tied face potential hazards. "We have particular problems with dogs that are tethered or tied outside; they can get tangled up and then can't get back into their shelter," Langdon warned.

Besides access to food, outdoor pets require more of it during the colder months. "The metabolism of that food is what's going to keep their internal furnace going," Koch said.

Care should be taken to select quality food, Koch stressed. "Generally speaking, if you stay with a well-known brand, medium-priced food, you're not going to go far wrong," he said.

Coates feeds Lizzi once a day, and uses that practice as a method of monitoring her health. "When you feed the dog once a day, it should definitely be hungry. If it doesn't eat the food immediately, that's a good signal something is wrong," he explained.

Coates tends to the third essential component for a healthy pet -- fresh water -- daily. He is careful to thaw Lizzi's water in the morning and at night.

Experts advise bringing pets indoors if the weather is extreme.

"A lot of people who have cold-weather dogs here think they should be able to stand the cold weather," Stucker said, "but these dogs are like humans in the sense they get used to where they're living. A serious drop in the temperature is going to be discomforting to them because they're not used to it."

Along those same lines, pet owners who keep their animals indoors should be aware of the length of time the animal is outside if the weather is extreme. Plus, Langdon noted, low temperatures can be particularly stressful on older pets.

Though Prince is an indoor dog, he faces his share of wintertime woes. For instance, mud and concoctions used for melting snow can cause aggravation for pets. "It gets between the pads, the animals start licking and chewing and pretty soon they have sore feet," Langdon explained.

That problem can be eliminated by cleaning the animal's feet after a romp outdoors.

Antifreeze poisoning is another hazard pet owners should guard against. Animals are attracted to antifreeze's sweet taste and smell and the results can be deadly.

Grooming and bathing a pet regularly can also aid in keeping the animal healthy, Waldron noted. Shampoos made for humans or other washing agents should never be substituted for a good, hypo-allergenic pet shampoo, she stressed.

Year-round attention to the pet's health, including annual checks by a veterinarian, will help ensure wintertime wellness.

While cats and dogs have the capacity to cope with cold temperatures, Koch pointed out that their adaptability should never be taken for granted. After all, he said, "if the conditions are wrong, even a polar bear can freeze."