# Why don't animals get frostbite? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912 "2018-07-14T19:35:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/1 "2018-07-14T19:35:09Z")
I just returned from a vacation in Alaska. In Fairbanks the temperature can go down to -62°F (-52°C). At those temperatures unprotected human skin can develop frostbite in minutes. Animals have fur, of course, but the pads of their feet are not covered in fur. I am thinking also of sled dogs, not just wild animals. Why don’t animals get frostbitten feet? ---
**Author:** ![Hurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecc23a/32.png) [@Hurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hurk)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/2 "2018-07-14T19:41:19Z")
Just a guess here, but maybe they have adapted to it over the eons by having more/larger blood vessels in their extremities to keep more core-temperature blood in those areas. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/3 "2018-07-14T19:42:10Z")
Canid pads are not the same as the skin on the soles of our feet. They are specialized tissue. link: [https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Histology-of-the-foot-pad-In-dogs-the-elongated-spike-like-conical-papillae\_fig1\_276001061](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Histology-of-the-foot-pad-In-dogs-the-elongated-spike-like-conical-papillae_fig1_276001061) ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/4 "2018-07-14T19:42:46Z")
They do get frostbite. In which case they A) heal B) cope C) die. Specifically for the pads, they may not be as affected by reduced bloodflow as other parts of the body. It would make sense as pads act as a buffer with the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/5 "2018-07-14T20:30:09Z")
Dog mushers typically put booties on their dogs’ feet to prevent freezing and cuts. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/6 "2018-07-14T20:30:35Z")
It does happen. Here in Minnesota, we often have rescued cats with frostbite on their ears or tails. Sometimes severe enough that amputation is required. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/7 "2018-07-14T20:38:20Z")
We had a really cold winter a while back and some cattle and horses lost their ears. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/8 "2018-07-15T01:35:44Z")
[Opossii get frostbite](http://menunkatuck.org/conservation/bio-bits/opossums-suffer-from-frostbite/). ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/9 "2018-07-16T10:17:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Dog mushers typically put booties on their dogs’ feet to prevent freezing and cuts. During my vacation I went to a presentation on dogsledding by Tekla Monson, the daughter of Sue Butcher, a four-time Iditarod winner. They showed the booties that the dogs wear and were emphatic that they were not for warmth, only to prevent snow and ice from packing into the paws between the toes. I asked my OP question to her and she said, “I’m not a biologist–I don’t know.” ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/10 "2018-07-16T15:00:36Z")
This seems relevant: > **[Canine Feet Beat the Cold | The Outside Story](https://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/canine-feet-beat-the-cold)** > > Canines, including wolves, foxes, coyotes, and – yes – Spot, have something special that enables them to live in the North: tough feet.… This cont ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/11 "2018-07-16T16:04:41Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > They do get frostbite. In which case they A) heal B) cope C) die. > > Specifically for the pads, they may not be as affected by reduced bloodflow as other parts of the body. It would make sense as pads act as a buffer with the ground. Canids and Felines that live in the wild in frozen northern climes tend to have long fur between their toes that helps to protect the pads. Here is an example of a husky paw that’s not been trimmed: [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xiy0oPfkfLY/UJZ9Xuo6DFI/AAAAAAAACVo/Insoj9lEJNQ/s1600/foot.jpg](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xiy0oPfkfLY/UJZ9Xuo6DFI/AAAAAAAACVo/Insoj9lEJNQ/s1600/foot.jpg) Note that animals indigenous to cold climates also tend to have very thick fur and more subcutaneous fat. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-get-frostbite/817912/12 "2018-07-16T19:25:49Z")
> [@naita](#): > > This seems relevant: > [Canine Feet Beat the Cold | The Outside Story](https://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/canine-feet-beat-the-cold) Thanks for that. Very good explanation. It discusses typical domestic dogs, and sled dogs are bred for it so are probably closer to wolves in how they deal with cold.