**Bent the chicken dog has cut down on walks and increased painkilling injections.**

It’s not just humans who are affected by the cold temperatures we’ve experienced this winter—dogs are too.

“Of course, it depends on the breed, but generally, we recommend some kind of clothing when it’s this cold,” says veterinary nurse Melanie Magnussen, clinic leader at Ribe Dyreklinik.

“Dogs get cold, just like we do. They just can’t say it.”

One of the dogs struggling in the cold is Bent from Felsted. He’s a 10-year-old rough-haired spaniel suffering from arthritis.

His owner, Ragnhild Rudebeck, has had to cut back on his walks, give him pain-relieving injections from the vet, and buy him a winter coat to help him endure the season.

“We could see that he became stiff and had trouble getting up, which is not how he usually is. We thought it might be because he was getting too old. But when we took him to the vet, it turned out he was freezing, and the cold was making his arthritis much worse,” explains Ragnhild Rudebeck.

She has now scheduled several appointments with the vet in the coming weeks so Bent can receive pain-relieving injections until the weather warms up.

“And on the days when it’s really cold, he doesn’t even go out for walks. It’s just a quick trip to the garden to pee and then back inside,” says Ragnhild Rudebeck.

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**Watch the paws**

At the Anicura veterinary clinic in Varde, clinic leader Thorsten Thude and his colleagues have also noticed that the cold requires extra attention from dog owners this year.

- Road salt and ice clumps can cause cracks in the paws.

- Ragnhild Rudebeck cleans Bent’s paws after every walk and applies wax as needed.

“It happens every year, but this year the period of severe cold seems longer than usual,” he says.

The clinic leader points out that the combination of ice and salt is particularly harsh on paws and demands special attention from dog owners.

“The consequences of a dog freezing are the same as for humans. You can become hypothermic, which affects your well-being. And if you’re already sick, it can make recovery harder,” explains Thorsten Thude.

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**Be mindful of your dog in the car**

If you’re one of those who often take your dog in the car, be aware that they can freeze, according to veterinarian Thorsten Thude.

Just as a car can quickly become scorching hot inside during the summer, it can just as quickly become freezing cold in winter. This is something you should be especially mindful of and remember to dress your dog or turn on the car’s heating.

In 2023, there were 73 calls to the Animal Protection Emergency Hotline about dogs in cold cars.

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