Baby its cold out there

[tigger_gal]

Hello everyone.. It is cold again, this is a reminder not to keep your pets out too long in the winter.
Just because they have a fur coats, dosen't mean they are warm..
There paws have padding, but they are not shoes...
The dog house may have hay, but it is not heat...
Bowls of water out there, makes a great big ice cube...

When they tell you it s 20 out there and the wind chill is 9.. that is exactly what it feels like out there. If you walked out there you would get cold real quick.. so lets all be kind and remember that they need to pee and get back in.. If they need to make there b/m, try to pay attention, they need to do it and get right back in. I think that they say below freezing don't leave them out more then 10 minutes.

If you have fibro and/or arthritis, you know how much you hurt when you out out in this, how do we really know if our pets feel that way...

keep them safe and warm, don't leave them out, even to run to the corner store. you could get a flat and not get back in time, frost bite could set in..

[SandyRN]

I feel the same way!! My neighbors have this big, huge newfoundland and that dog stays outside in his cage, which has a concrete bottom day in and day out 365 days a year. I saw them walk it ONCE in the last year or so, just ONCE that poor dog got out of that cage.

Why have a pet if you aren't willing to care for it properly? And, whats the point of even having a dog if the only interaction you're willing to give it is food and water, once a day!

That is my soapbox rant of the day...oh, and I still have the stray....she thinks this is her home and I have run a newspaper ad, and one online, as well as putting a handwritten letter at the pound so if anyone comes there looking for her they will see her picture and my number.

She's so sweet, and I just couldnt bear the thought of her being outside in 17 degree weather like it's supposed to be tomorrow!

:(

[ICNDonna]

We have a doggie door so our Meggie goes in and out at will. We definitely spoiled any dog we have ever had. :)

Donna

[dancemomof2]

Thanks for the reminder, mine only stay out long enough to potty. They think if they are out in longer that they are in prison. Way to spoiled here at this house also.

[Claredale]

Another pet lover here! The people that live behind my husband's parents have a beagle that they keep chained to a tree. It has a plastic doghouse. My in-laws say that they have never seen them out there except to feed it. My father-in-law has even gone over there and given it water several times and he is not much of a dog lover! It is just so sad!

My Mollie is so spoiled. She loves to be around us in the house and we take her to visit friends that are also dog lovers. She also gets her monthly trip to Petco to pick out a new toy. Can you tell my husband and I are empty nesters? This morning when I work up, Mollie was on the end of our bed on her back just sleeping away. Such a life!

[mary124]

My two little "girls' are so spoiled its not even funny!! They are inside dogs. Only really goes outside to do the jobs and comes back in. On nice afternoons I or my youngest son will take them for a walk. At night, they sleep at the foot of the bed or if it gets too crowded one or the other will get on the floor and sleep on their blanket.

[ICNLesa]

A good reminder indeed! It's easy to let the dog out for a quick tinkle and then answer the phone...or check on the kids....or get caught up in anything else and forget!

Now our Nigerian Dwarf Goats don't come in the house but they do have their own barn with lots of hay and a heat lamp....I'm a softy though and if I thought I could get away with having the farm animals INSIDE, I would. *GRINS*

[ihurttoo]

We have goats too, Lesa! Ours are boar goats though. But, like you, we also have heat lamps in the barn for them. Just want to let all the owners of outside animals know that they do make heated water dishes, so their water wont freeze up. They make large ones for farm animals, we use these too.

It is so sad that there are animals out there in cages all the time! I am with you! I mean why would someone want an animal they never interacted with!

Thanks for the reminder to all!

[waterflow]

My dogs were outside dogs but when it got really cold I brought them in. They had insulated houses with porches and two door flaps. One on the outside porch and one on the inside where it goes into the house. They were aslo put up on blocks and I stuffed bags of leaves under it and nailed boards over that so the wind couldn't blow up through. I would check on them (crawl as far as I could in their houses) and feel to make sure they were warm. They were warm as a bug in a rug. Always had at least 1 full bale of straw in the house or more. They say using sheets and blankets is a no no since they hold in the moisture. Still I couldn't leave them out there when it got down below 35 degrees. Strange though since here was teen temps, wind blowing and they want to stay outside to roll and play in the snow and I was like freezing trying to get them to go back inside.

[glassd18]

This post really hit me because our neighbors have been leaving their German Shepards out in the 7 Farenheit weather. I called the police to see what could be done. Every night they are out there freezing, and I could just cry while my dog is on his comfy bed at the end of my bed. They hardly ever play with their dogs, and they are in an enclosed area inside their fenced in yard with a barely suitable or big enough dog house. My question is why bother. They had another German Shepard once too that they did the same thing to, and it mysteriously disappeared one day. They told me they gave it away, but I think it died. It was limping around in their back yard. I was so freaked when I saw they got two more to neglect. The also have a chiwawa (sp) that is inside. They are a Mexican family who seem very nice, but when it comes to these Shepards I get fuming.

[waterflow]

That is just awful! Try calling the SPCA. You might get a better response with them. I think it's awful when people get animals and then just chain them up and walk away. Animals need love just like people. My neighbor never walks their dog. Just to take him from his pen to the house. At least they don't leave him out in freezing weather. They have a dog house for him but he never uses it.

[Jen27]

Wow Lesa and Amy, you guys have GOATS????/ I am sooo jealous! I am a HUGE animal lover and I think that every animal is so therapuetic and good for mental health! Animals always understand and don't judge you. Unfortunately, I live in Chicago and can't have goats or horses or llamas or anything fun; but i do have dogs! My mom has 4, I have 2 w/ my boyfriend. Well, one's his that he's had for 11 years and we adopted a dog 4 mos ago...a german shepherd...he just turned 6 mos olds and he's 60 pounds...he's gonna be a BIG BIG BIG boy! Loves the snow, but don't let him out more than to go potty and stretch his legs. Plus, he travels EVERYWHERE with me, so even if we are just walking up to a door, he can go potty. If I saw my neighbors leaving out a dog chained to a tree, I would totally take the dog inside my own house...and maybe not tell them....he he he.

[hoping4acure]

A good reminder for sure. I have a couple of neighbors who keep their dogs outside ALL & NIGHT! It just breaks my heart, like some one else said...why bother having a dog? It KILLS me to see and hear them out there in these conditions!
:cussing: :cussing: :cussing:

Sandy: how about Lexis or Porsha for a name? Good luck with that.

[tigger_gal]

my 3 are always in.Sometimes I have to go and drag piper in,se will sit out in an ice storm.. shes so dumb...