Keeping dogs safe in the dark

As daylight grows shorter and temperatures drop, it’s important to take extra care of our dogs to ensure they’re fully equipped to face the winter months happily and healthily.

While keeping them warm and ensuring they’re visible during dark morning and evening walks is essential, it’s also important to keep them away from things such as antifreeze and deicer, to help prevent them from becoming ill.

At Groomers, we want your dogs to experience all the wonders of winter, so we’ve pulled together our top dog winter safety tips to help you keep your four-legged friend safe this season. From tips for keeping them safe outside, whatever the weather, to keeping them entertained indoors, we’re here to help you and your dog experience your best winter yet!

Golden Retriever in the snow wearing a festive scarf

Table of contents: 

Outdoor safety tips for dogs in winter 

Keeping dogs safe in the dark

Keeping dogs warm 

Taking care in the ice and snow

Ice-melts, antifreeze, rock salt and deicer 

Keeping dogs entertained indoors in winter 

Outdoor safety tips for dogs in winter 

Our dog’s safety outdoors becomes even more important when winter weather arrives. Alongside considering their visibility, there are many other hazards to navigate, including tricky terrain, the dangers of frozen lakes and ponds, the temptation of eating snow and the impact of snow and ice on their paws. Here are our top tips on keeping your dog safe this winter to ensure they have the best time outdoors!

1 – Keeping dogs safe in the dark 

Sausage dog wears light up collar

Winter brings dark evenings and mornings, so it’s important to ensure your dog can be seen when walking, particularly if allowed to roam off-leash in the dark. 

Invest in a reflective coat or a reflective or light-up collar to allow your dog to be seen easily by other walkers, dog walkers and traffic to prevent accidents. You should also wear bright or reflective colours or use a headlamp if you’re walking in areas of low light so you can also be seen easily. 

If your usual walking routes are out of bounds due to a lack of street lighting, why not explore new street routes to help keep your dog’s mind stimulated? The new sights, sounds and smells will keep their brains active, and you could even incorporate some training exercises with treats to make their walks in the dark more enjoyable!