We have been having such a ridiculously cold winter this year, I have had to shorten the length of poor Stella’s walks. She loves the snow, as do most puppies, but after romping around like crazy in it for about 10 minutes, I can tell she is cold and it is time to retreat to the warmth of the indoors. This is despite the fact that I have both a sweater and a coat on her. She is a Boston Terrier, her breed can get both over heated and too cold easily.

Yesterday was extremely cold. On our way to the park, we crossed the path of a French Bulldog and Boston pair wearing no coats. They were close to our building, though, so out to quickly do their business. To be honest, I am not sure how susceptible to the cold French Bulldogs are. I do, however, know that Chihuahuas are one of the many dog breeds that should not be out in such extreme weather at all, let alone out without a coat and shoes.

Like Bostons, and even more so, Chiuahuas are susceptible to both hot and cold. Unfortunately at the park last night, I saw a poor Chihuahua without any weather protection at all. The poor Chihuahua did not look at all happy to be out in the cold. With the exception of what had been plowed, the snow was higher than her!

I am going to assume that the owner of this Chihuahua was not out for long before Stella and I arrived at the park; even the most dense puppy owner would have more sense than to take a Chihuahua out for a stroll in the middle of a cold snap, right? After returning home from the park and thinking about it however, I should have talked to the Owner and asked her if she knew about puppy pads.

Puppy pads are a large square of diaper-like material that can be placed on a floor for puppies to do their business. They can also be kept on hand for emergencies like sever weather. There were just a couple of days over the course of this winter when I felt that it was to cold for Stella to go outside. Puppy Pads were a life saver. They are available in the puppy care section of most pet supply stores. If I happen to see a freezing cold Chihuahua in the park again, I will mention the product to the person on the other end of the leash
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