Baby, it’s cold outside … so keep ‘em warm
By Gina Spadafori
December 20, 2008
No, I’m not going to pretend that Sacramento is cold compared to places where they have real winters. Dr. Becker always gives me the Idaho-ho-ho weather report, which today involves having a neighbor with a tractor with some kind of special snow tires get his road clear from a recent blizzard.
I guess I can’t complain that it was 34 degree here this morning.
Of course, it’s all relative: He always tells me that for Idaho, Bonner’s Ferry weather is pretty mild. I’ll take his word for it.
I’m not a cold weather person, and the cats, for all their long, lush coats, join me in this view. The dogs seem to enjoy the cold, especially Woody the boy retriever (who was, after all, born in Sweden) and Drew the Sheltie (who has enough coat for three dogs. Because the dogs like the cold so much, I bundle up every morning and let them run on the space behind the house, before I do my chicken chores. It’s freakin’ cold by my estimation, but they love it so much it’s well worth it.
But there remains the matter of keeping warm at night, when I disappear under mounds of blankets and the automatic thermostat lets the house temp drop into the 50s. (It starts warming up again around 5 a.m., and honestly, I can’t recommend a programmable thermostat enough.)
Recently, I’ve been trying out a couple of warmers, and both have rave reviews from Teh Kittehs: The Universal Pet Bed Warmer from Petsafe, and the SnuggleSafe Heat Pad.
The SnuggleSafe already had a recommendation from my friend Phyllis DeGioia, who is also the PetConnection’s archive editor. After Hurricane Katrina, Phyllis (who lives in Wisconsin) took in two foster dogs who couldn’t be reunited with their owners, since no one knew where they belonged. One dog was placed in a new home pretty quickly, but the other, an ancient little poodle, became a permanent resident. Phyllis named him Clint because he was such a tough little guy for all he’d been through.
Still, Wisconsin winters are not easy on anyone, much less a creaky poodle with a thin coat and a poor metabolism. So she got a SnuggleSafe to keep old Clint toasty.
The SnuggleSafe is a nice product. No wires, just microwave. I nuked it and slipped it under the top cover at the foot of the bed where the cats like to sleep. They liked it, but by morning the disc was cool and the cats were elsewhere, like on top of my head or on top of one of the dogs.
So I tried the plugged-in product, from PetSafe. Overall, I’d say this worked better, mostly because my bed is next to a plug so I could tuck in all the wires, and because all my pets are long past and chewing stage. I tucked the pad in the same place as the SnuggleSafe had gone — and both cats were still warm and happy there in the morning.
Both products have suggested retail prices of around $44, but you can get either for quite a bit less if you shop around. My friends at Arcata Pet, for example, has the SnuggleSafe for $33. (And a plug-in pet bed insert I didn’t try from another company for even less.)
Stay warm, everyone!
another option is homemade packs. I make rice packs with lavender and chamomile. You can also use other grain/ingredients as I’ve learned from googling around the net.
Around here, the big hit is micro-raschel fleece throws. A company I design for makes them, so I have a boat load of samples. The cats radiate heat off of them. Only one of my cats will burrow under one. My dog is a huge fan of them also. I keep them in every room. They’re great for training them to stay in one spot in a room when you don’t need pets under foot. I no longer have a big pile of cats around the radiator (next to the stove) in the kitchen either.
The apt can get a bit drafty/chilly when wind chills are howling, so I’ve made the Dot dog a light weight sweatshirt jacket to wear. It’s warming up a bit here now (2 degrees, lol!~) as the next snow storm comes in. 25 and rising!
Comment by straybaby — December 20, 2008 @ 9:08 pm
Here in the Pacific Northwest we’re staring out the window at over 9 inches of snow with more to come. My dog is a snow bunny and we had a blast playing fetch with snowballs today, but at five in the morning before the furnace kicks on she’s curled up at the foot of our bed, snuggled into the down comforter. Of course, I’m not sure what we’d do with three or four dogs curled up at the foot of the bed. It might get a bit crowded. (We got a programmable thermostat last year. I love it!)
Comment by C.L.H. — December 20, 2008 @ 9:08 pm
I’ve been watching The Weather Channel coverage about the big storm up there. We’re “only” going to get wind and rain down here in northern California. Stay warm and safe, CLH!
Comment by Susan Fox — December 20, 2008 @ 9:38 pm
If the rain means flooding, that’s scarier than a big snow. I hope all goes well for those enduring storms in Northern California. This has been an interesting winter and it isn’t even winter yet!
Comment by C.L.H. — December 20, 2008 @ 10:03 pm
I’ve used the Snuggle Safe for puppies, cats, and the under the covers at the foot of my bed during the really cold nights. It’s a wonderful product for newborn puppies. It provides warmth for about six to eight hours. The washable covers are a nice feature, although I frequently threw a light towel over the covered disk after it was warmed in the microwave.
You can see the Snuggle Safe at work here — http://www.skorupa.com/puppies_week_two.htm
Comment by Patti S. — December 20, 2008 @ 10:17 pm
Gee, it’s around 18 F here right now and it doesn’t feel all that cold outside. Things are relative indeed. It’s better than when it’s 90 and humid in the summer that’s brutal!
It is cold in CA, though and when you aren’t used to it, it’s rough.
We got a good dump of snow here in SW Ontario Friday, drifts 3 and 4 feet deep around the house - not bad for one day’s worth.
More tonight apparently. It’s beautiful.
My dogs won’t stay outside for more than a few minutes, probably because they are so small. I shovel raceways for them. Inside, they like their bed to be placed in front of the heat vent in my room at night.
Spoiled? Who said that?
Comment by Selma — December 20, 2008 @ 11:13 pm
Aren’t those heated car seats keeping you warm enough, Gina?
Comment by Debbie — December 21, 2008 @ 3:30 am
Funny you should mention those. This time of year, I practically weep if a test car comes without heated seats. Best invention since windshield wipers.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 21, 2008 @ 8:10 am
Weather reaction is relative, indeeed! My brother in Pasadena said “it’s 52 degrees; I have to find my ski hat.” I told him, “around here, if it reaches 52 degrees in winter, the kids put on shorts”.
My short haired dogs dont mind the cold and love the snow. I used to go skiing with my oldest pit bull. But when it gets below 20degrees, I put their jackets on
Comment by EmilyS — December 21, 2008 @ 9:07 am
Weather is very relative. I’ve lived at the end of the Baja and I’ve lived in Montana. Nothing has ever felt too cold or too warm since. We now have 1/2 inch of ice over 10 inches of snow. I dug a path for the dog this morning. She really couldn’t blaze her own trail and the ice scared her.
Comment by C.L.H. — December 21, 2008 @ 9:24 am
Try minus 19 degrees in Wyoming this morning! Even the two huskies came right back in today!
Comment by Maria Shanley — December 21, 2008 @ 10:43 am
We are celebrating the first day of winter with a nor’easter. The temp is about +6F and the wind chill is around -13F, with lots and lots of small, fine snow flakes and no end in sight until sometime in the wee small hours. It’s truly nasty Out There!
The dogs? If they aren’t piled on top of each other on the bedding against the wall next to the wood stove, they’re sandwiched between the featherbed and the down comforter. The girls and one of the boys are wearing fleece shirt thingies. The other 3 boys are nekked for now. So far no one needs the snugglesafe or the flannel covered rice and bean warmer. I also have bricks I can heat on the stove and wrap in towels if need be.
The cats on the other hand are luxuriating on the protective pad the stove sits on, soaking up heat. The female will get up and move when I come in with an armload of wood, or load the stove. The male? Nothing makes him move except a judiciously, gently placed and determined foot. Last winter he tried twice unsuccessfully to turn his long, lovely tail into a torch when coals escaped in the loading process, only singeing fur each time thank goodness.
Comment by Anne T — December 21, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
I really miss my darling Clint, but I know that Mississippi boy doesn’t miss the Wisconsin winters. Ancient and 8.5 lbs, he didn’t warm up easily.
He didn’t use the SnuggleSafe too much as he got older - for some reason he’d crawl off of it. I think despite its warmth, it’s too rigid and uncomfortable for some old guys, even with the fleece cover. A friend with basenjis uses one every day on her hour commute to work, and her old girl gloms onto it. So like everything else, it works for some dogs, but not all of them.
Comment by Phyllis DeGioia — December 22, 2008 @ 7:23 am
We’ve had really odd weather the past couple of days. I’m near Doylestown, PA and that’s right on the weather line between what Philly gets (rain) and what the Poconos get (SNOW!). This weekend we got a crazy ice storm that beautifully coated the trees UNTIL the wind started blowing, bringing ice and branches crashing down all around. This morning it looked like someone had broken clear beer bottles all over the deck. I was worried about Kasey’s pads, but I think he took a flying leap over most of it.
Comment by Lori — December 22, 2008 @ 7:23 am
It’s so quiet here today (12/22). I hope all is well with you guys!
Also wishing all of the writers/commenters/and readers at Pet Connection Happy Holidays!
Comment by Lori — December 22, 2008 @ 11:59 am