Prepping Your Furry Friend for the Winter Holidays
Photo: Tractive
Many people bundle up for winter weather, but their animals can too! Pets are sensitive to the cold, much like humans. Especially for the pets who go on walks outside, their paws can be particularly susceptible to ice, salt, and snow. And although they already have full fur coats, they don’t have much else.
Dogs in Sweaters
This is where winter clothing for pets come in. When the temperature begins to drop, pets can get chilly. My family and I frequently keep our eyes out for dogs in sweaters, or as we like to abbreviate, DIS. Sweaters not only help keep dogs extra warm in cold winter weather, but also contribute to their style and cuteness. For special occasions, some people even dress their dogs in holiday attire. One of my family’s dogs, who is a beagle mix, tends to wear some kind of holiday-themed sweater each Christmas.
Here is McGee, the beagle mix, wearing a blue sweater with colorful Christmas lights.
Knight the pitbull and sibling. Photo: Instagram
Pitbulls in Pajamas
There is also growing popularity online of pitbulls in pajamas. For this trend, owners of pitbull dogs dress their pets in pajamas and take photos and videos of them playing and cuddling. There are even clothing brands specifically for pitbulls. These pajamas, resembling baby onesies, tend to be colorful and decorated with images and patterns. And yes, there are also holiday-themed ones!
Boots and Jackets
Photo: Ruffwear
In addition to sweaters and pajamas, some owners dress their pets in jackets primarily to protect them from the temperatures outside. Some jackets resemble those that people wear, with hoods included. Others seem more customized for the dog specifically and may be used in extra rough conditions like for hiking.
There also boots for pets to protect their soft paws from the elements. Salt, used to melt snow, can often get caught between the padding of the toes of pets when they go on walks. It can be very uncomfortable and pets may end up gnawing on the particles of salt that get stuck in their paws after walks. Boots prevent this from happening and can come in different kinds and styles. However, while some wear their boots proudly, they can be a bit hard for pets to get used to. Others simply tolerate them, and some even downright dislike them. Regardless, short term discomfort may be better than longterm consequence!
Pet Friendly Treats
Just like people celebrate the holidays with cookies, cakes, and sweets, furry friends deserve to live it up a little too! Homemade pet friendly treats can make animals feel like they are included in the fun-filled festivities.
Dogs 🐶
Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
2 cups of unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons of carob powder
Marshmallows (optional)
Instructions
Pour both the coconut milk and carob powder into a pan, turn the stove on low, and whisk together ingredients until blended.
Keep stirring ingredients together until they create a frothy mixture.
Ensure the mixture is cool enough for dogs to consume.
Pour the mixture into a cup or bowl.
Optional: Place a marshmallow on top and serve.
Ingredients
1 ⅓ cups of 170 g brown rice flour (save some leftover flour)
⅓ cup 90 g natural peanut butter plain (no sugar and salt)
1 egg
1 banana (ripe)
3 tablespoons of organic honey
¼ cup of 25g beet powder
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread parchment paper over a baking sheet.
Add every ingredient other than beet powder into bowl, and stir until mixed together.
Add in beet powder and knead the dough with your hands. If it is sticky, add rice flour to minimize stickiness.
Place the dough on parchment paper and put another sheet on top.
Roll the dough between the sheets of parchment so the dough is 1/4 inch thick.
Use cookie cutters to create shapes from the dough.
Place the shapes onto the pan, and refrigerate the pan with the cookie dough for 15 minutes.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes if the shapes are 2 inches in size. For bigger shapes, 12-15 should be sufficient.
Let the cookies cool, then serve!
Cats 🐱
Cookies with 2 Ingredients
Photo: shopify.com
Ingredients
2 cups of cat food (dry)
1 cup of water
Instructions
Blend dry cat food into a powder.
Put blended food in a mixing bowl and slowly add water. Stir the mixture together until a dough is created.
Flatten the dough and make it into shapes. Shapes can be whatever you want, even holiday shapes like stars.
Bake the cookie shapes at 350 degrees in the oven (20 - 30 minutes). Cookies are done when a bit crispy.
Photo: shopify.com
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
A little bit of baking powder (a pinch)
1 tablespoon of catnip
1 teaspoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons of cat food (wet)
2 eggs
Instructions
Beat eggs in a bowl. Then, mix in cat food and olive oil.
Add in dry ingredients until everything is combined.
Put the mixture into cake cups or tins with baking paper.
Bake the mixture at 320 degrees for 20 minutes. Test the cupcakes for readiness by putting in a toothpick. When the toothpick is removed, it should be clean. Let cool and serve!
Vocabulary List:
Susceptible (adjective): Vulnerable to something
Abbreviate (verb): To shorten a name
Onesies (noun): A piece of clothing that covers the whole body (multiple)
Gnawing (gerund): Chewing on
Mixture (noun): A combination of different things
Ensure (verb): To make certain
Consume (verb): To intake, eat or drink
Preheat (verb): To set the baking temperature
Sufficient (adjective): Acceptable, appropriate
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Phoebe McChesney is a student at Oberlin College in the United States, majoring in Politics. She has interned in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as a Page in the U.S. Senate. Phoebe would love to work in Congress, with a federal agency, or on foreign policy and international relations one day. She is a blogger for her college and is interested in America House Kyiv’s Ukraine-American work.