Prepping your pet for winter

Smaller dog breads may need coats to brave the winter temps.

The leaves are almost gone and before you know it snow will be covering the ground, but that doesn't mean you should stop giving your dogs preventative treatments.

"We like to stress continuing the heart worm preventative treatment through the winter months," Sally Westerhoff, from the Quincy Humane Society, said. "A lot of people have the habit of stopping it after it frosts. It's not a good idea. When we have a milder winter like we did last year, mosquitoes are still around and that's how the heart worms are spread."

And if you continue the treatments year round it'll keep you in a good routine.

"It keeps you in the habit of giving it once a month," Westerhoff said.

Another precautionary treatment you may want to consider for your pup is the flu shot.

"There was a threat of a canine flu last year or the year before but I haven't much about it lately but it's certainly something you want to talk to your veterinarian about," Westerhoff said.

You may also want to talk to you vet about the winter blues.

"If you find that you and your dog are becoming couch potatoes in the winter because of the long nights and short days it's probably a good idea to make an extra effort to get out and get extra exercise," Westerhoff said.

Try a few extra short walks instead of one long walk. And be sure to monitor your pets intake. You don't want them over eating during the winter months.

But before you head out the door for that daily walk ask yourself, "Does my pet need a coat?"

"I think a lot of it depends on the dog," Westerhoff said. "I think definitely if they have a really short coat and it's really cold it's a good idea."

That's a good rule of thumb to have in general, if it's too cold for you it's probably to cold for them.