TOLEDO (WTOL) - With the extreme cold settling into the area, it’s important to remember to bring your pets inside.
Experts’ main piece of advice: if it's too cold for you, it's too cold for them.
“We worry about their feet getting impacted with snow and ice and so that can cause pain, limping and sores,” said Dr. Brooke West, a veterinarian at West Toledo Animal Hospital.
There are also some precautionary measures pet owners can take.
“You could always invest in a nice jacket to put on them. Don't leave them outside too long,” said Lisa Sommers of the Toledo Area Humane Society.
West advised pet owners to go out for shorter walks when snow is on the ground, and make sure you clean your pet's paws when you come back inside.
“The salts, most of them are pet-friendly but some of them aren’t,” West said. “And so if that gets in there too it can be - they can get sick from that.”
Sommers said when the temperature drops, time outside must too.
“Anything I think below 20 degrees or less,” she said. “This weekend, when it gets that cold, when it gets to below zero, we're just taking our dogs out for a quick potty break and then back in and then we'll walk them around the inside of the shelter for some exercise."
But one local pet owner, John Mushung, said his dog Bunker will be in heaven this weekend.
“Actually she likes the snow,” Mushung said. “She's got a dog pen up, build the snow up, she plays around and is good to go.”
So while your pets are out prancing in the snow this weekend, make sure they're bundled up. It's bound to make the winter wonderland a little more magical for everyone.