This weekend, in NE Ohio, the wind chill will go down to 30 below zero. For many of you, it will be even worse. Don’t think that, somehow, your animals can withstand these temperatures. They can’t. Aside from the brutal temperatures and winds, their only sources of water have frozen.
And, as always, support your local animal shelter.
I wholeheartedly agree.
I’m also laughing at our three dogs who just got back from an hour long hike in the woods with my gf. Crazy mutts. (The dogs, not my gf)
We have a doggy door. Max and Kitty can go in and out when ever they feel the need. Sometimes we do put a dog cage inside the house so that they can come inside but not track mud all over the place or disturb people doing things like remodeling the kitchen.
Or do what I did… build them a heated sheltered.
Our cat house contains a 180 W heater. Nice and warm in there. They sleep in it during the night, and run around in the snow during the day.
One thing I will say for our city – pet owners who don’t follow this advice are more likely than not going to get a knock on the door and a possible fair fine as a reminder.
When it goes below freezing, I can’t get Zeus to come inside.
We usually never go below single digits + wind around here. That is when he thinks he is in heaven.
St Bernard mixed in ??
When(if)it gets hot ,remember not to take your smushed face dog for a run,it’ll kill them.
Wind chill right now is -24. My little mutt has a thick coat, but not a double one. I put his coat (aka bat cape) on his this a.m. and he had a ball in the snow. I did cut the walk short, as he’s got another GI upset, but he was still ready to romp when we got home. I feel for the old beagle down the road who get tied outside without even a blanket or some straw to lie on. He’s not left out all the time but his rump must surely get chilled.
I couldn’t do that. Even if we had a pet–we don’t have brutal temperatures inside.
Minnesota resident, current temp 1 Fahrenheit (no idea about windchill). Two terriers, not exactly sled dogs. On winter days we leave the back porch screen door propped open so they can get under the porch table, which we’ve covered with a blanket and have a low-power heater running. They alternate between running around the yard and napping under the table.
Just back inside after filling all our sunflower, peanut, suet, and cracked corn feeders.
Don’t forget about the wildlife!
Gimme that corn, and I don’t care,
The Master’s throwing it away! 
You’re a good egg.
Our Sheltie lives for the snowy, cold weather. She’d stay outside way past when she should come in, if we’d let her!
Make sure that your pets have proper shelter and water during heat waves–those can be hazardous also.
Amen! Their body temperature is three degrees higher than humans’.
When I was a kid we had an old beagle mix we tried to bring inside when it was below zero. He barked until we let him back out. He lived several more years. Most dogs aren’t like that, though. Our beagle/cattle dog mix doesn’t mind going for a walk in cold weather, but she doesn’t want to play in the yard long.
½ St. Bernard & ½ Pyrenees. He is a big boy…
I fill the feeders but I feel bad for the ground feeders! As soon as I put food out it gets covered in snow. The blue jays have been raiding the feeders instead.
The cats are indoors only, so I don’t have to worry about them, but the chickens I closed in the coop early last evening before the snow and cold winds moved in, then checked on them again around midnight as I was coming in.
This morning when I took them breakfast, I left the door to the run closed, so they’re in the coop all day. They have three bales of straw they’ve scattered all over the coop (which equates to 2-3 inches all over the floor), and they’re getting southern exposure through two windows. I just took them out a ham bone from the split pea soup I made and their water (sitting in the sun streaming through the two windows) hadn’t frozen. They got scrambled eggs and suet for breakfast this morning, and I’ll give them some corn and dried meal worms before the sun sets to help keep their body temp up.
I don’t think they’re crazy being in the coop all day, but I don’t want the wind snatching whatever warmth is in the (unheated and uninsulated) coop.
Overall, though, they’re doing okay. This is my first year with chickens and I’ve stressed to no end about them being cold. (Even though they’re covered in feathers.) Although this is the first day we’ve had this cold (morning temp was 3 degrees, with a very negative wind chill), they seemed to have had greater challenges this summer with the heat. (Which is right on the mark of what other chicken keepers have told me.)
Temp has just reached its zenith for the day: 17F. Winds were gusting at 30-35 this morning & windchill Then was -15F per The Weather Channel.
For everyone with a puppy: please walk 'em quick & get em back inside quick?
You’re not barefoot & they are. They’d do that for You if they could…
