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Dog care below freezing − how to keep your pet warm and safe from cold weather, road salt and more this winter

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/erik-christian-olstad-1505284">Erik Christian Olstad</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-california-davis-1312">University of California, Davis</a> Time outside with your dog in the spring, summer and fall can be lovely. Visiting your favorite downtown café on a cool spring morning, going to a favorite dog park on a clear summer evening or going on walks along a river when the leaves are changing color are all wonderful when the weather is favorable. But in much of the country, when winter rolls around, previously hospitable conditions can <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-winter-miserable-for-wildlife-108734">quickly turn chilly and dangerous</a> for people and pups alike. Winter brings some unique challenges for dog owners, since dogs still need activity and socialization during colder seasons. Studies have shown that dog owners are almost 50% less likely to walk their dogs <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113302">when the weather gets cold</a>. Knowing the basics of winter safety is critical to maintaining a healthy lifestyle for your dog. I am an <a href="https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/erik-olstad">assistant professor</a> at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine who weathered polar vortexes with my dog while living in Michigan early in my career. While I’ve since moved to sunny California, I’ve seen how quickly frigid temperatures can turn dangerous for pets. <h2>Breed and age differences</h2> Not all dogs have the same abilities to deal with cold weather. A short-coated dog like a Chihuahua is much more susceptible to the dangers of cold weather than a thick-coated husky. When the weather dips below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius), the well-acclimated husky may be comfortable, whereas the Chihuahua would shiver and be at risk of hypothermia. Additionally, if your dog is used to warm weather, but you decide to move to a colder region, the dog will need time to acclimate to that colder weather, even if they have a thick coat. Age also affects cold-weather resilience. Puppies and elderly dogs can’t withstand the chill as well as other dogs, but every dog is unique – each may have individual health conditions or physical attributes that make them more or less resilient to cold weather. <h2>When is my dog too cold?</h2> Pet owners should be able to recognize the symptoms of a dog that is getting too cold. Dogs will shiver, and some may vocalize or whine. Dogs may resist putting their feet down on the cold ground, or burrow, or try to find warmth in their environment when they are uncomfortable. Just like people, <a href="https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/frostbite-in-dogs">dogs can get frostbite</a>. And just like people, the signs can take days to appear, making it hard to assess them in the moment. The most common sites for frostbite in dogs are their ears and the tips of their tails. Some of the initial signs of frostbite are skin discoloring, turning paler than normal, or purple, gray or even black; red, blistered skin; swelling; pain at the site; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ulcer">or ulceration</a>. Other <a href="https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/frostbite-in-dogs">serious signs of hypothermia</a> include sluggishness or lethargy, and if you observe them, please visit your veterinarian immediately. A good rule to live by is if it is too cold for you, it is too cold for your dog. Getting your dog a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/pets/best-winter-dog-coats-jackets">sweater or jacket</a> and <a href="https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/vets-corner/protect-dogs-paws-snow-ice-salt/">paw covers</a> can provide them with protection from the elements and keep them comfortable. Veterinarians also recommend closely monitoring your dog and limiting their time outside when the temperature nears the freezing point or drops below it. <h2>Road salt dangers</h2> Road salt that treats ice on streets and sidewalks <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/ice-salt-toxic-for-pets-1.5020088">can also harm dogs</a>. When dogs walk on the salt, the sharp, rough edges of the salt crystals can irritate the sensitive skin on their paws. Dogs will often lick their feet when they’re dirty, wet or irritated, and if they ingest any salt doing that, they may face GI upset, dehydration, kidney failure, seizures or even death. Even small amounts of pure salt can <a href="https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-tips/my-dog-ate-road-salt-will-they-be-okay/">disrupt critical body functions</a> in dogs. Some companies make pet-safe salt, but in public it can be hard to tell what type of salt is on the ground. After walking your dog, wash off their feet or boots. You can also keep their paw fur trimmed to prevent snow from balling up or salt collecting in the fur. Applying a thin layer of petroleum jelly or <a href="https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/how-to-make-your-own-paw-balm-for-winter/">paw pad balm</a> to the skin of the paw pads can also help protect your pet’s paws from irritation. <h2>Antifreeze risks</h2> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/antifreeze-chemical-substance">Antifreeze, or ethylene glycol</a>, is in most vehicles to prevent the fluids from freezing when it gets cold out. Some people pour antifreeze into their toilets when away from their home to prevent the water in the toilet from freezing. Antifreeze is an exceptionally dangerous chemical to dogs and cats, as it tastes sweet but can be deadly when ingested. If a pet ingests even a small amount of antifreeze, the substance causes a chemical cascade in their body that results in severe kidney damage. If left untreated, the pet may have <a href="https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-owner-blog/antifreeze-poisoning/">permanent kidney damage or die</a>. There are safer antifreeze options on the market that use ingredients other than ethylene glycol. If your dog ingests antifreeze, please see your veterinarian immediately for treatment. When temperatures dip below freezing, the best thing pet owners can do is keep the time spent outside as minimal as possible. Try some <a href="https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/great-indoor-games-to-play-with-your-dog/">indoor activities</a>, like hide-and-seek with low-calorie treats, fetch or even an interactive obstacle course. Food puzzles can also keep your dog mentally engaged during indoor time. Although winter presents some unique challenges, it can still be an enjoyable and healthy time for you and your canine companion.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221709/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/erik-christian-olstad-1505284">Erik Christian Olstad</a>, Health Sciences Assistant Professor of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-california-davis-1312">University of California, Davis</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dog-care-below-freezing-how-to-keep-your-pet-warm-and-safe-from-cold-weather-road-salt-and-more-this-winter-221709">original article</a>.

Family & Pets

Why people get brain freeze

It’s never fun when you are enjoying ice cream or a frozen drink, only to encounter a brain freeze. Here’s the biology behind a brain freeze and how you can cut it short next time you experience one. How brain freeze is caused 1. Eating too fast: Eating at a fast pace can increase your chances of an ice cream headache. Gulping a frozen drink quickly can also do the same thing. Even if you are thirsty, it is important to remember to slow down when you are enjoying a slushie or smoothie. 2. Prone to migraines: Brain freezes can happen to anyone but research shows that they are more common in migraine sufferers. How brain freeze occurs When cold hits the roof and back of your mouth, it is a shock to the system. Blood vessels constrict and limit blood flow and then quickly expand to let blood flow increase. This rapid contraction and expansion is believed to signal to pain receptors in the mouth that there is a problem. Dr Oz explained to Good Housekeeping, “The receptors send a distress signal to the trigeminal nerve, whose job it is to relay sensations in the mouth and face to the brain.” “Your body's favourite "Stop doing that!" signal is pain, and your cold-shocked system delivers that full-on, often to the front of your head or the area around your temples.” Brain freeze can last for a few seconds or a few minutes. How to shorten brain freeze When you have a brain freeze, it is best to warm the roof of your mouth. You can do this by pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth or drinking warm water. Image credits: Getty Images

Body

Can you freeze cheese?

Dairy products are notoriously fussy when it comes to freezing. But when there’s a great sale at the supermarket, it’s hard to resist the siren call of a big discounted brick of cheese. It doesn’t last forever in the refrigerator, but can you freeze cheese? Yes – sometimes! The general rule of thumb is that freezing cheese will likely change its texture. If you do opt to freeze extra cheese, its best use after thawing is for cooking– the texture change becomes a moot point after it’s all melted. You probably don’t want to freeze the fancy stuff you bought for snacking on with homemade crackers, though. But frozen cheese, once thawed, would be perfect in a cheesy bake or casserole recipe. Can you freeze mozzarella? Blocks of mozzarella or shredded mozzarella are fine to freeze, though they tend to have a crumbly texture after freezing. Just avoid freezing fresh mozzarella, as its high water content has a likelihood of forming ice crystals. Can you freeze cottage cheese? Cottage cheese, along with ricotta cheese, can be frozen. However, upon thawing, both cheeses are likely to have a grainier texture. As with most frozen cheeses, thawed cottage and ricotta cheeses are best used in baked or cooked recipes. Can you freeze cheese slices? Yep! For prepackaged sliced cheese, just pop the package into a freezer bag and place it in the freezer. For deli-sliced cheese, place a piece of parchment paper in between each slice of cheese. Then wrap the cheese in freezer paper, tape shut and place the whole package in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Can you freeze shredded cheese? For prepackaged shredded cheese, place the package in a freezer bag before putting it in the freezer. For cheese you shred or grate yourself, place it in a freezer bag and carefully remove as much air as possible from the bag. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/kitchen-tips/can-you-freeze-cheese-yes-heres-what-you-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. Image: Getty

Food & Wine

How do penguins stay warm in the freezing cold waters of Antarctica?

How can penguins and polar bears stay warm in the freezing cold waters of Antarctica? - Riley, age 8, Clarksville, Tennessee USA. Thanks for your question, Riley. The first thing I should probably say is that while a lot of people think polar bears and penguins live together, in fact they live at opposite ends of the Earth. Polar bears live in the northern hemisphere and penguins live in the southern hemisphere. I’m a penguin researcher so I’m going to explain here how penguins can stay warm in Antarctica. There are four species of penguins that live in Antarctica: emperors, gentoos, chinstraps, and Adélies. All these penguins have special adaptations to keep them warm, but emperor penguins might be the most extreme birds in the world. These amazing animals dive up to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/condor/article-abstract/97/2/536/5126161">500 metres</a> below the surface of the ocean to catch their prey, withstanding crushing pressures and water temperatures as low as <a href="https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/seaice/index.html">-1.8℃</a>. But their most incredible feat takes place not in the ocean, but on the sea ice above it. Surviving on the ice Emperor penguin chicks must hatch in spring so they can be ready to go to sea during the warmest time of year. For this timing to work, emperors gather in large groups on sea ice to begin their breeding in April, lay their eggs in May, and then the males protect the eggs for four months throughout the harsh Antarctic winter. It’s dark, windy, and cold. Air temperatures regularly fall below -30℃, and occasionally drop to -60℃ during blizzards. These temperatures could easily kill a human in minutes. But emperor penguins endure it, to give their chicks the best start in life. A body “too big” for its head Emperor penguins have four layers of overlapping feathers that provide excellent protection from wind, and thick layers of fat that trap heat inside the body. Have you ever noticed that an emperor penguin’s body looks too big for its head and feet? This is another adaptation to keep them warm. The first place that you feel cold is your hands and feet, because these parts are furthest from your main body and so lose heat easily. This is the same for penguins, so they have evolved a <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/653666">small beak</a>, small flippers, and small legs and feet, so that less heat can be lost from these areas. They also have specially arranged veins and arteries in these body parts, which helps recycle their body warmth. For example, in their <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1975.tb01398.x">nasal passages</a> (inside their noses), blood vessels are arranged so they can regain most of the heat that would be lost by breathing. Huddle time Male emperor penguins gather close together in big groups called “huddles” to minimise how much of their body surface is exposed to cold air while they are incubating eggs. This can cut heat loss in half and keep penguins’ core temperature at about <a href="https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00912.2005">37℃</a> even while the air outside the huddle is below -30℃. The biggest huddles ever observed had about 5,000 penguins! Penguins take turns to be on the outer edge of the huddle, protecting those on the inside from the wind. Incredibly, during this four-month period of egg incubation the male penguins don’t eat anything and must rely on their existing fat stores. This long fast would be impossible unless they worked together. Changing habitats Emperor penguins are uniquely adapted to their Antarctic home. As temperatures rise and sea ice disappears, emperors will face new challenges. If it becomes too warm they will get heat-stressed, and if the sea ice vanishes they will have nowhere to breed. Sadly, these incredible animals may <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2280">face extinction</a> in the future. The best thing we can do for emperor penguins is to <a href="https://theconversation.com/2040-hope-and-action-in-the-climate-crisis-117422">take action</a> on climate change now. Written by Jane Younger. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-can-penguins-stay-warm-in-the-freezing-cold-waters-of-antarctica-116831">The Conversation</a>.

Travel Tips

What is brain freeze?

What is brain freeze? – Question from the students of Ms Young’s Grade 5/6 class, Baden Powell College, Victoria, Australia. Many of us have probably gobbled up an ice cream and perhaps too quickly. After doing this, you may have been unlucky enough to get an intense squeezing or stabbing sensation on your forehead, your temples or the back of your head. This is brain freeze, also known as an “ice cream headache”. “So” you say, feeling smart, “brain freeze is just a kind of headache! <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-is-a-headache-is-it-our-brain-hurting-112951">I already know all about those</a>”. You are, of course, correct. But brain freeze is a bit weird. While it’s true that you do put ice-cream inside your head to eat it (your mouth is technically part of your head), you don’t typically put it into the parts of your head that hurt when you experience brain freeze. To put ice-cream into your forehead or temples would be a very weird surgical procedure that I do not advise you to try at home or anywhere else. So why do your forehead and temples (or even the back of your head) hurt when you put ice cream in your mouth too fast? There are several different ideas as to why, but the answer definitely has something to do with what happens when we cool down the roof of our mouth. When you cool down the roof of your mouth, the coldness is picked up by nerve cells that live there and whose job it is to detect cold. This information about coldness is sent to your brain via a nerve. When the roof of your mouth is very cold, these cells (and so this nerve) will be very active. Now, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_nerve#Spinal_trigeminal_nucleus">this nerve also contains information from other cells</a>, including the ones that detect cold and painful stimuli from other parts of your head, including your very face. It may be (we’re honestly not sure) that when the cells that sense cold in the roof of your mouth are very active, this somehow also activates the bits of the brain that are usually activated by the face cells. As a result, the cold fools your brain into thinking that your forehead hurts. Another possibility is that, as delicious icy treats quickly cool down our tongues and mouths, it actually cools the blood in blood vessels that supply blood to your head. These blood vessels respond by changing how much blood flows into your brain. Only a few scientists have actually tried to measure this, and those that have don’t even agree about whether there is <a href="https://www.fasebj.org/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.685.4">more</a> or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2127417/">less</a> blood going into your head. Everyone, however, agrees that it hurts. It may be some combination of these two things: that activation of nerves causes a change in how much blood is going into your head. It might even be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1555929">both things together!</a> Why don’t we know how brain freeze works? Here’s the thing about science: “what is brain freeze” is a fantastic question for a curious scientist to ask, but to get the answer, scientists need to convince other people (politicians, other scientists and members of the public) that they should be given the time and money to answer that question. Unfortunately, the availability of time and money are not as boundless as the curiosity of scientists. The result of all this is that sometimes, simple and beautiful questions like “what is brain freeze?” don’t get as much attention as other questions that might seem more pressing. Instead, these beautiful questions fall away, like a scoop of ice cream loosened by an enthusiastic but careless scientist who may not have the time or resources to investigate brain freeze in the lab, but excitedly discusses it with a friend over an ice cream anyway. My advice? Stay curious. Eat ice cream. Slowly. Written by David Farmer, Researcher, University of Melbourne. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-is-brain-freeze-112774">The Conversation</a>.

Mind

This handy chart lists how long you can freeze everything

If you’re wondering how long can you can keep something in the freezer, wonder no longer! This handy chart has all the answers to how long you can freeze vegetables, juice, steak, margarine, spices, lobster, whole chickens and turkeys, muffins, roasts and much more. Bookmark this chart from <a href="http://www.freezerlabels.net/" target="_hplink">FreezerLabels.net</a> for an easy guide to how long freezer foods will keep. <img width="581" height="3087" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/bc/ac/10/bcac10d07a65e588b372c7713d2a9f88.jpg" alt="Frozen Food Recommended Storage Times #infographic" border="0" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/>

Food & Wine

The reason it’s always freezing on planes

It doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold outside one thing is sure when you’re flying, it will be freezing inside the plane. But it turns out there’s an important reason why the in-flight temperatures are kept so close to freezing. <a href="https://www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/JOURNALS/JAI/PAGES/JAI101651.htm">A study</a> published in American Society for Testing and Materials found that warmer cabin temperatures increase the risk of passengers fainting. The likelihood of fainting is “higher aboard an aircraft than on the ground” due to “reduced pulmonary ventilation”, or reduced blood flow to the brain, the study noted. On a flight with hundreds of people on board, cabin crew will err on the side of caution and keep temperatures low. The low temps also help reduce the risk of dehydration. As the air on planes is already dry, a warmer temperature could further dehydrate people, causing nausea and illness. Next time you’re on a plane, make sure you pack on the layers to keep warm during your long-haul flights.

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