Dogs in Winter: How to Keep Your Dog Safe in the Cold

In brief

There are four things you should know. First: the biggest winter danger isn’t the cold – it’s antifreeze. It tastes sweet, dogs lick it up of their own accord, and even relatively small amounts can be life-threatening. Second: this kind of poisoning includes a phase of apparent recovery – and that is exactly when the window for treatment is running out. Third: there is no temperature at which it becomes too cold for every dog – what matters is what you see in your dog. And fourth: in winter, the ground is often a bigger problem than the air.

Winter can be exhausting or wonderful for dogs – and preparation usually makes the difference. This guide gives you the overview: what to watch for, what is actually dangerous, and how the two of you can get through the dark months well.

👉 The basics of preventive care and health checks for your dog

1. Antifreeze – the most dangerous point first

This section comes first on purpose, because most winter guides mention it only in passing.

Why it’s so dangerous: Ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in many antifreeze products, tastes sweet. Dogs don’t avoid it – they lick it up of their own accord. And even relatively small amounts can be life-threatening – how much is critical depends on body weight and the concentration of the product.

Where you’ll find it: radiator antifreeze, some brake and transmission fluids and other heat-transfer fluids – and the puddles left behind when some spills during topping up. In parking lots, in garages, in driveways.

How it progresses – and this is the crucial point:

• Within about half an hour to twelve hours, the first neurological signs can appear – the dog seems drunk, staggers, drools, vomits, seems disoriented.
• Then comes a phase of apparent recovery. The dog seems normal again – in dogs, often around twelve hours after ingestion.
• After about one and a half to three days (36 to 72 hours), acute kidney failure sets in – intense thirst, vomiting, lethargy, decreasing urine output.

That deceptive middle phase is the real problem. If you think “he’s fine again,” you miss the window.

Because there is an antidote – but only early on. The treatment works above all as long as the body has not yet broken down most of the poison. Once that has happened, the prognosis is considerably worse.

What you need to do: With any suspicion at all, go to your veterinary practice or an animal hospital immediately – even without symptoms, even if your dog seems fine right now. Bring whatever you have: the packaging, a photo of the puddle, the time it happened.

Prevention:

• Store antifreeze out of reach and clean up any spills immediately
• Don’t let your dog drink from puddles – especially not in parking lots, in garages or along roadsides. Brightly colored puddles are a warning sign.
• Rinse your dog’s paws after walks so they don’t take it in while licking themselves clean
• Where possible, choose products based on propylene glycol – they are considered much less toxic, but they don’t belong in your dog either

On what to do if you suspect poisoning in general: Suspected poisoning in dogs.

2. When is it too cold?

There is no universal temperature limit. How well a dog tolerates cold depends on:

• Coat. Long-haired or thick-coated dogs tend to tolerate cold better; short-haired dogs feel it faster. In practice, a dense undercoat counts for more than coat length alone.
• Size and build. Small dogs lose proportionally more heat; so do lean dogs with little body fat.
• Age. Puppies can’t regulate their body temperature well yet, and seniors no longer can.
• Health. Dogs with diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease or hormonal disorders can have more trouble regulating their body temperature.
• Acclimatization. A dog from a warm southern climate can need weeks to adjust.
• Weather. Wind and wet lower the felt temperature considerably. A wet coat barely insulates at all.

The more reliable yardstick is what you see in your dog: shivering, a hunched back, a tense posture, lifted paws, slowing down, pulling toward home. Add to that cold ear edges and a cold tail tip.

A word of caution: shivering can also mean fear or pain. If it doesn’t stop once your dog is somewhere warm, it isn’t a sign of cold.

When a coat makes sense – and when it doesn’t: Choosing the right winter coat for your dog.

3. Paws

In winter, the ground is usually a bigger problem than the air.

Road salt irritates the paw pads and can lead to cracks and inflammation. On top of that, dogs ingest it when they lick their paws clean.

Ice balls between the pads form in dogs with hair between their toes. They are painful and change the way the dog places its feet.

What helps:

• Rinse the paws with lukewarm water after every walk and dry them. The AVMA also recommends wiping the feet and legs after walks to remove de-icers; in practice, it is the most important single measure.
• Trim the hair between the pads to reduce ice buildup.
• Check the pads – cracks, reddened spots, foreign objects.
• About paw balm: it can keep the skin supple. But don’t expect a protective barrier against salt – in our practical experience, applied before a walk it may even tend to bind salt. Rinsing afterward is the more important part.
• For sensitive dogs, booties are an option. They have to be introduced step by step like any other handling, or the dog will walk stiffly in them.

In detail: Road salt – a danger to your dog’s paws in winter.

4. Hypothermia and frostbite

In practice, the areas most often affected are those with little blood flow and little fur: the edges of the ears, the tip of the tail, the teats, the scrotum and the paw pads.

Signs of hypothermia: shivering, whining, restlessness, slowing down or stopping, weakness; in more severe cases a slow pulse, shallow breathing, confusion or collapse. Shivering is not a reliable sign: in advanced hypothermia, the shivering stops – that is a sign of deterioration, not an all-clear.

Signs of frostbite (in practice): pale patches of skin that later turn red or bluish, swelling, pain. The symptoms often show only once the area warms up.

What to do: Get your dog somewhere warm, warm them up slowly, and dry them off with dry towels.

And what explicitly not to do:

• Don’t rub, and don’t apply snow. Affected tissue is fragile; rubbing makes the damage worse.
• No hot water, no direct heater, no hot-water bottle directly on the skin. Too much heat can injure the damaged tissue further.

If you suspect frostbite or significant hypothermia, have your dog seen by a veterinarian promptly.

5. The other winter hazards

Besides antifreeze and cold, there are a number of things that only come up at this time of year – and that rarely get attention for that very reason.

5.1 Eating snow

Many dogs do it, and in small amounts it’s usually harmless. Two caveats apply. Larger amounts can irritate the stomach and lead to vomiting or diarrhea. And snow along the roadside isn’t clean: road salt, grit and residues of vehicle fluids collect exactly there.

What follows from this isn’t a ban but a choice of location: fresh snow away from paths, yes; plowed-up snow at the edge of the road, no.

5.2 Frozen water

This is the hazard with the worst ratio of likelihood to outcome. A sheet of ice that holds a person can break under a running dog – and it’s exactly that ice that lures the dog out onto it.

Near water in winter, the rule is therefore: leash on, even for dogs with an otherwise reliable recall. And if something does happen: don’t go out onto the ice yourself. Lifesaving organizations such as the German DLRG advise calling the emergency number immediately when someone has broken through and helping only from the shore – the same applies when it is your dog. Call emergency services, call your dog from the bank so they head toward you, and wait for the rescuers.

5.3 New Year’s Eve

The turn of the year falls in this season, and with its fireworks it is the most stressful night of the year for some dogs. What helps needs to be prepared weeks in advance, not on December 31 – that is a topic of its own.

5.4 Shorter days, less exercise

An unspectacular point with real consequences: between November and February, many dogs move considerably less, because both walks fall in the dark and turn out shorter. If the amount of food stays the same, this can lead to weight gain over the winter – which only gets noticed in the spring.

So weigh your dog once a month during the winter. It’s the simplest countermeasure, and it takes thirty seconds.

6. Exercise and activity

Shorter and more often rather than long and rarely. In hard frost, go for several short outings – that keeps your dog moving without getting chilled.

Pay attention to the warm-up. A dog who comes out of a warm home and starts running right away has cold muscles that haven’t warmed up. Walking calmly for the first few minutes makes sense, especially for seniors and dogs that do sports.

Winter is the best time for scent work. It tires your dog out without them having to stand around for long, it works in the dark, and you can do it indoors as well as outdoors.

Frozen water is off-limits. Ice rarely holds the way it looks. And a dog that breaks through can also put the person who goes in after them in mortal danger. Near ponds, lakes and rivers, your dog belongs on a leash in winter.

How training sensibly changes in winter: Training your dog in winter. Ideas for indoors: Brain games and scent work.

7. Visibility in the dark season

A point that winter guides regularly leave out, even though it involves a real accident risk: most walks now take place at dusk or in the dark.

Worth having: a light-up collar or harness, reflective elements on the leash and harness – and on yourself too, so drivers see the two of you in time.

And for you: a headlamp. Not just to be seen, but to see what your dog is picking up.

8. Food and water

Energy needs can rise, above all with a lot of exercise outdoors and in dogs that are kept outside. In a dog who moves less in winter, the opposite is more likely – it’s precisely in the dark months that many dogs put on weight.

The yardstick remains body condition, not the season.

Water must not freeze. Check bowls that stand outside regularly. And snow is no substitute for drinking.

About eating snow: many dogs do it with enthusiasm. In small amounts it’s usually harmless; larger amounts can irritate the stomach and lead to vomiting and diarrhea. It becomes critical when the snow contains road salt or antifreeze – one more reason to be careful near roads.

9. The sleeping spot

Dry, draft-free, warmly located and well padded. For older dogs, an orthopedic bed is worth it, because many owners find that their arthritic dogs seem stiffer in the cold.

Dry wet dogs off before they lie down – a wet dog gets chilled even somewhere warm.

About keeping dogs outdoors: depending on where you live, it may be subject to specific legal requirements for housing, shelter and the resting place (in Germany, for example, § 4 of the Dog Welfare Ordinance, TierSchHuV), and it is particularly demanding in winter. For many family dogs, living outdoors permanently also places particular demands on social contact, housing and health management.

10. Senior dogs and dogs with health conditions

Many owners report that their arthritic dog seems stiffer in the cold. The data are less clear: in a study of 62 dogs with osteoarthritis, temperature and daylight explained less than one percent of the variation in activity, and the weather had no clinically relevant influence on owner-rated pain scores (Katz et al., 2017). More concrete is the risk underfoot: arthritic and older dogs have more difficulty on snow and ice and slip more easily.

What helps: non-slip runners on smooth floors, a warm place to lie, longer warm-ups, shorter and more frequent walks.

And what you should watch for: if your dog becomes noticeably more reluctant in winter, struggles to get up or avoids stairs, that isn’t just the winter blues – it needs to be checked out.

How to recognize pain: Recognizing pain in dogs. And what changes with age in general: Caring for a senior dog.

👉 What your dog actually sees at dusk: How well can dogs see in the dark?

11. Conclusion

Winter asks less of your equipment than of your attention.

The three things that matter:

Take antifreeze seriously. Here, a few hours can decide between life and death – and the deceptive improvement in between is the trap.

Look at your dog, not at the thermometer. Shivering, a hunched back and lifted paws are the criteria.

Rinse the paws. Two minutes after every walk, and many typical winter paw problems can be avoided.

Key takeaways on dogs in winter

Antifreeze is the biggest winter danger. Ethylene glycol tastes sweet and dogs lick it up of their own accord – and even small amounts can be deadly.

The phase of apparent recovery is the real problem. After the first neurological signs, the dog seems normal again, and about one and a half to three days after ingestion kidney failure sets in. If you wait and see, you miss the window.

There is an antidote – but only early on. The treatment works above all as long as the body has not yet broken down most of the poison. That’s why the rule with any suspicion is: go immediately, even without symptoms.

There is no temperature limit. What matters is coat, size, age, health, acclimatization and the weather – and above all, what you see in your dog.

When the shivering stops in advanced hypothermia, it’s a sign of deterioration, not an all-clear.

With frostbite, don’t rub, and warm up slowly – no hot water, no hot-water bottle directly on the skin.

In winter, the ground is often a bigger problem than the air. Rinsing the paws with lukewarm water after every walk is the most important single measure in practice – a balm does not replace it.

On ice, your dog belongs on a leash, and if something does happen, nobody goes out onto the ice themselves.

About the sources

The information on ethylene glycol poisoning – the sweet taste, the three-phase course with apparent recovery, the timing, and how the prognosis depends on when treatment starts – is based on the veterinary reference works listed below. Individual primary studies on poisoning were not evaluated in full text for this version.

We deliberately don’t give amounts. The figures in the literature vary, and they make no difference to an owner’s decision: with any suspicion, the same course of action applies.

On the question of the temperature at which it becomes critical for dogs, there are no robust universal values. The behavioral signs described are the more reliable yardstick.

Note: This guide does not replace a veterinary examination or treatment. If you suspect contact with antifreeze, contact your veterinary practice, an animal hospital or an emergency veterinary service immediately – even if your dog seems fine.

References

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). (n.d.). Cold weather animal safety. https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/cold-weather-animal-safety (cold tolerance varies with coat, body fat, activity and health; very young and very old pets and dogs with diabetes, heart, kidney or hormonal disease are more vulnerable; wipe feet after walks; even small amounts of antifreeze can be deadly; signs of hypothermia)

DLRG Landesverband Nordrhein. (n.d.). Eisregeln [Ice rules]. https://nordrhein.dlrg.de/informieren/ueber-uns/presse/eisregeln/ (call the emergency number immediately when someone has broken through; help only from the shore)

Grauer, G. F. (2020, last updated 2024). Ethylene Glycol (Antifreeze) Poisoning. MSD/Merck Veterinary Manual, Special Pet Topics. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/special-pet-topics/poisoning/ethylene-glycol-antifreeze-poisoning (sweet taste; brief apparent recovery about 12 hours after ingestion; kidney failure after 36–72 hours in dogs; antidote effective only before kidney damage; propylene glycol less toxic)

Katz, E. M., Scott, R. M., Thomson, C. B., Mesa, E., Evans, R., & Conzemius, M. G. (2017). Evaluation of the environmental bias on accelerometer-measured total daily activity counts and owner survey responses in dogs with osteoarthritis. Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology, 30(6), 385–390. https://doi.org/10.3415/VCOT-17-02-0028 (62 dogs with osteoarthritis; temperature and daylight explained less than 1% of the variation in activity; no clinically relevant influence on owner-rated pain scores)

Regehr, T. (2022, last updated 2024). Ethylene Glycol Toxicosis in Animals. MSD/Merck Veterinary Manual. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/ethylene-glycol-toxicosis/ethylene-glycol-toxicosis-in-animals (sources including some brake and transmission fluids; early signs 30 minutes to 12 hours after ingestion; prognosis worsens the later treatment starts)

Textor, J. (2025). What to Do in a Dog or Cat Emergency. MSD/Merck Veterinary Manual, Special Pet Topics. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/special-pet-topics/emergencies/what-to-do-in-a-dog-or-cat-emergency (shivering is not a reliable sign of hypothermia; warm, not hot; with frostbite thaw slowly, do not rub, no snow, no very hot water)

Tierschutz-Hundeverordnung (TierSchHuV) [German Dog Welfare Ordinance], § 4. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tierschhuv/__4.html (requirements for keeping dogs outdoors in Germany)

Frequently asked questions about dogs in winter