Guide: The Best Products For Surviving Winter With Your Dog
If you live in a snowy and icy place, caring for your dog in the winter can be particularly tricky. A few weeks ago we posted on Instagram and asked you about the winter dog products YOU love that make life easier and help you survive winter weather. Once again we were blown away by your responses, and decided to turn them into an easy to reference guide. We will keep adding to this list as we get more great recommendations from YOU, the amazing pet parents and pro-trainers in our TOC Fam! [Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
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Winter Dog Clothing and Accessories
Ultra Paw Boots
From @littlesplines: “We've been using ultra paws boots for a few years. They’re a pair of rubber pads that helps grip the paws and they stay on even playing in the snow…”
2. A Waist Leash
From @gimpyballerina: “…a waist leash to preserve the fingers…I've been borrowing this one from a friend. I like the control handle and that it's super easy to unclip to convert to/from a regular leash without having to deal with getting it on and off my body. The shorter length works well for our narrow sidewalks, and the shock absorption is handy for when my pup gets excited to see a friend and suddenly pulls. The reflective parts are helpful at night but with my light up stuff not necessary. I don't use the pockets on the waist portion but some may find them useful.”
3. A Fleece Pullover
From @jesshorwitz: “…My girl Rooney has a fleece pullover and jacket-harness from @ruffwear that work great for very cold days. She’s a lab mix so I feel fortunate her short coat is rather low maintenance in the snow!”
4. Pawz Boots
From @ouimaelle: “In the city where the streets are full of salt and other chemicals to melt the ice, I love the Pawz Dog Boots. They’re the only boot that they can’t shake off, and not the end of the world if they do eventually lose one. They get used to them real quick and they’re so thin it never really seems to bother them.”
5. The Ruffwear Cloud Chaser
6. A Gold Paw Fleece
7. Jawz
From @jabbowaki: “Jawz for easily getting Pawz booties on our dog! He struggles to hold still and the jawz cuts down the time it takes to put them on him.”
8. The Weatherbeeta Waterproof Dog Coat
From @boilermakeranna: “…a WeatherBeeta waterproof dog coat that covers a good amount of their belly!”
9. A Blazin’ Safety LED Collar
10. A Non-stop Dog Coat
From @aaron_theangry_gsd: “Our winters aren't ever too cold. 9 degrees are the lowest temperatures we have. But we will live somewhere else soon with cold winters (Turin or somewhere in South Germany). Aaron has arthrosis so he needs to be kept warm. Therefore I've bought him a warm coat from nonstop dogwear that covers shoulders and legs warming his joints and big muscles groups. Its on his way to us in South Italy…”
11. A Jacket Harness from Ruffwear
From @jesshorwitz: “…My girl Rooney has a fleece pullover and jacket-harness from @ruffwear that work great for very cold days. She’s a lab mix so I feel fortunate her short coat is rather low maintenance in the snow!"
12. A Carhartt Insulated Dog Coat
13. Canada Pooch Boots
From @nickiiolivares: “It’s my first winter so this list is great. Although it rarely falls below 30 degrees (F) and if it snows it melts by the afternoon. We do plan on a winter cabin getaway so I’ve already started conditioning my girl to Canada Pooch Boots.”
14. A Muttluks Snowsuit
From @lily_aka_bean: “Bean has a snowsuit, an entire body covering snowsuit, by Muttluks, I bought it second hand and had to sew up the pant legs but living in Alberta with -30°-40° weather I couldn't not buy her one…”
15. Muttluks Dog Boots
16. Beacon Safety Lights
17. A Wilderdog Fleece Jacket
From @maural33: “And @wilderdog has great jackets that work with their harnesses- excellent for when it’s really cold!”
18. A Canada Pooch Raincoat
From @kronkadoodle: “Canada pooch rain coats because they're functional and cute, and don't have an awful zipper to fuss with…”
19. A Nite Ize Tag
From @jewellgrnb: “Nite Ize tags for their harnesses (I’ve actually had people driving stop and tell me how visible they were)…”
20. A Rechargeable LED Collar
21. A Dog Sweater Suit
From TOC: We found this dog sweater onesie on Da South Breeders Pet Supplies’s site. They are featured on our friend, Kassidi Jones’, Black Pet IG list here.
Winter Human Clothing and Accessories
Convertible Fingerless Mittens
From @gingerbeer.dc: “Convertible fingerless mittens were amazing last winter! It kept my hands warm but when I needed to break up treats I could still use my fingers without taking the gloves completely off.” Note: TOC found these mittens on Amazon.
2. Squeeze Tubes
From @mersey_theadventurebean: “A few key things that I find make our winters most enjoyable are using baby food in a squeeze tube as a treat so I can keep my mittens on…” Note: TOC found these squeeze tubes on Amazon.
3. Crampons
From @leighpeigh: “Crampons for my boots! I have two large dogs and while they walk nicely on a leash, even the slightest yank on your centre of gravity can bring you down on a patch of ice.” Note: TOC found these crampons on Amazon.
4. A Good Winter Coat
From @mersey_theadventurebean: “…a good winter coat for her when it gets really cold (for me too of course 😂)…” Note: TOC found this coat on Amazon.
5. A Pair of Fingerless Gloves Feeding Treats
From @e_chape: “…A pair of gloves that you only use for treat feeding.” Note: TOC found these gloves on Amazon.
6. Icebugs
7. Ice fishing flip top mittens
From @littlesplines: “…Ice fishing flip top mitts so I can use my fingers tips to dispenser treats…” Note: TOC found these mittens on Amazon.
8. A Reusable Hand Warmer
From @littlesplines: “…Trying reusable hand warmers this year.” Note: TOC found these hand warmers on Amazon.
9. A Headlamp
10. A Pair of gloves with the index finger and thumb cut out
From @peevepaisley: “Gloves with a cutout for the index finger and thumb - perfect for treating!” Note: TOC found these gloves on Amazon.
11. Yaktrax
12. Kahtoola EXOspikes
13. The Noxgear Tracer
14. A TurtleFur fleece lined balaclava
15. Thermal Underwear
From @aaron_theangry_gsd: “I use thermal underwear and a warm coat…” Note: TOC found this thermal underwear on Amazon.
16. Baleaf fleece-lined leggings
17. A Long Raincoat
From @kronkadoodle: “…A long old lady rain coat for me that everyone makes fun of me for until they wish they had one as long as mine…” Note: TOC found this raincoat on L.L. Bean’s site.
18. Waterproof Boots that Zip
From @kronkadoodle: “Tall, zip up waterproof boots so my feet stay dry stomping through the water and mud.” Note: TOC found these boots on L.L. Bean’s site.
19. A Reflective Vest
From @kronkadoodle: “…reflective vests for the humans…” Note: TOC found this vest on Athleta’s site.
20. Wool Socks
21. Fleece Lined Pants
22. A Merino Base Layer
From @jewellgrnb: “For me merino base layers…” Note: TOC found this long sleeved Merino top on Amazon.
23. flannel lined jeans
From @jewellgrnb: “For me…flannel-lined jeans…” Note: TOC found these jeans on Duluth Trading Co’s site.
24. A skida balaclava
25. Ski Goggles
From @lily_aka_bean: “…I am going to get ski goggles soon.” Note: TOC found these goggles on Amazon.
26. A Buff
27. A Hat with Ear Flaps
From @summers_dayinthe_sun: “…hats with ear flaps…” Note: TOC found this hat on the Trailheads site.
28. Snow Overalls
From @summers_dayinthe_sun: “…a pair of snow-overalls made last winter so much more manageable!” Note: TOC found these snow overalls on Amazon.
29. A Beanie that advocates for your dog
From TOC: We found this beanie on EukaryaPaw’s site. They are featured on our friend, Kassidi Jones’, Black Pet IG list here.
Enrichment and Snow Toys
A Hol-ee Roller
From @mersey_theadventurebean: “I also really love hol-ee rollers as an alternative fetch toy that is less likely to sink and get lost in deep snow!”
2. Bright Colored Toys
3. Indoor Games
From @isteriae: “Indoor games and chews for the day where we cannot have long walks because we're already under 1m of snow (since december 1st actualy 😭).”Note: TOC found this snuffle mat on Amazon.
4. Enrichment Games
From @raven_not_raisin: “And lots of indoor enrichment backup plans in case outdoors is an absolute no go!” Note: TOC found this toppl on Amazon.
5. An Indoor Agility Kit
From @archkatie: “This is my first winter with my cold hating pup! She has a coat and I have mushers. I also got an indoor agility kit for the darkest days 🤞🤞🤞.” Note: TOC found this agility kit on Amazon.
6. Kong Tennis Balls
7. A Lickimat
From TOC: We found this lickimat on Lizo Bandana Co’s site. They are featured on our friend, Kassidi Jones’, Black Pet IG list here.
For the Home and Grooming
Musher’s Secret
2. A Thermos
From @otis_unleashed: “I also often carry a whisk in my bag to break up some of the snow balls and a towel and a thermos bottle with hot water (I can pour hat water on the hand towel and hold on a snow ball stuck to them if they get one in a painful spot that I can’t break off).” Note: TOC found this thermos on Amazon.
3. A Wire Whisk
From @maural33: “She’s a snow lover and I’ve heard that a wire whisk is great for removing snow balls so planning to use that this winter.” Note: TOC found this whisk on Amazon.
4. A Quick Drying Towel
From @herstabetoff: “An absorbent quick drying towel, similar to ones used for hiking in the backcountry, to put down in the back seat dog hammock. It sucks the melted snow off him so he doesn't have to sit in a puddle of his own melt.” Note: TOC found this towel on Amazon.
5. A Waterproof Blanket
From @roverrehabnj: “And lots of warm blankets for snuggling on the couch after being out in the snow.” Note: TOC found this blanket on Amazon.
6. Burt’s Bees Wipes
From @brimounteer: “But also Burt’s bees wipes for her paws for when we come back in, to get all the salt and everything else off!”
7. The Soggy Dog Doormat
From @kronkadoodle: “…soggy doggy towels and door mats (which double as good "place" mats as well as snuffle mats haha).”
8. Paw Balm
From TOC: We found this paw balm on the Simply Sage Dog Treats site. They are featured on our friend, Kassidi Jones’, Black Pet IG list here.
