The other day I underdressed for the weather and felt cold all day. By the time I got home, my back was aching, my shoulders were tight and I felt a headache developing. For the entire day I had tensed my muscles in a bid to stay warm.

Dogs respond to the cold in similar ways, particularly short coated dogs. The smooth muscles in a dog’s skin raises the coat to trap warm air close to the skin. Just like us, dogs shiver to keep their body temperature up and tense their back and neck muscles when they are cold.

When muscles are contracted for long periods of time they become tense and spasm, blood flow is constricted to them and metabolic waste builds up. For humans and dogs, when our muscles are sore, we can become grouchy and out of sorts.

So here are some simple tips for keeping your dog’s muscles healthy in the cooler weather:
• Provide your dog with warm bedding in a protected area, out of a draft. For short coated dogs provide a coat and light blankets, so your dog feels comfortable and maintains relaxed muscles.
• When exercising dogs in cooler weather, a good warm up period is recommended to prevent injury. For older dogs that may have stiff joints in the cool, warm up is particularly important.
• A massage therapy treatment in winter is particularly welcoming. The treatment moves the blood through the body: lubricates the muscles and flushes out metabolic waste.

Even though we are now past the shortest day of the year, there are still a couple of months of cool and windy weather to go, so I hope you and your pups stay warm!

For more information about a dog massage therapy treatment, please give me a call or email.