Valentine's Day tips to warm your dog - body, heart, and soul


By Julia Szabo

With temperatures dipping below the the freezing point, dogs feel the brrr, but winterizing them involves more than just putting on a sweater - especially for dogs who hate wearing clothes.

While out walking, steer Spot away from bright-green puddles; this is antifreeze runoff from a parked car, and it's extremely toxic to pets, whether licked at or absorbed through the paw skin. Meanwhile, chemical snow-melting salt pellets burn dogs' sensitive paw-pads, but they're tougher to avoid, so be ready to decontaminate Fido's feet when you come back inside (the Paw Plunger is a great help).

Just like humans, pets suffer from cold-weather dryness. "Winter dehydration is really easy to come by," explains nutrition expert Celia Kutcher. "Make sure pets have plenty of water to drink, and increase the moisture in their diet." Kutcher advises replacing dry kibble with wet food; if that's not possible, add water to the kibble plus a loving spoonful of fish oil (salmon or cod), hemp seed oil, or coconut oil.

Here's a surprising way to help keep pets warm: brushing them. "The oils that cover the hair strands wind up getting stuck in mats, so the more you brush the hair, the more oils you move through the coat," Kutcher says. This helps keep the coat conditioned, which in turn keeps Spot warmer." So pick up your favorite grooming tool and use it at least once a week.

If your dog spent too long out in the cold and looks chilled to the bone, give him a quick massage, recommends Edie Jane Eaton, an expert in the Tellington TTouch method who lives in Quebec, where temperatures dip to 30 below (centigrade).

"If an animal is severely chilled, you can help warm them up by stroking the ears," Eaton explains. "With your thumb and index finger, make lines from the base of the ear towards the tip. The ears have many acupuncture and reflexology points, and stroking them stimulates circulation and helps with hypothermia."

The Tellington TTouch can even help dogs who hate wearing sweaters overcome their fear of fashion, Eaton adds; to learn more about massage for man's best friend, Eaton offers a workshop at New York City's Open Center Feb. 12-14; for ticket prices and times, go to http://www.opencenter.org/intro-tellington-ttouch/
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