How to Care for Your Dog During Cold & Flu Season

I’m sick…

Well, I’m getting sick.

I can feel it starting in the back of my throat, my nose is slightly runnier than usual, and I just want to crawl back into bed to soothe my aching joints.

I know I was exposed to some sort of cold at my parent’s house last week, and it looks like all the prevention didn’t help.

It’s no fun, but at least I don’t have to worry about my dogs. I can rest and recover and know that they will allow me those things as long as I am able to feed and potty them and rely on my stash of enrichment.

This recent bout of sickness got me thinking…

Do other dog guardians know how to prepare for seasons like this? Seasons where the weather may be TOO COLD for any sort of outings or where sickness is just an inevitable part of life?

I thought today would be a great time to share with you my thoughts and plans for my own winter season preparation. 

Before I teach you my ways, you must have a tiny bit of background information. 

Dogs have many different needs, but they follow a similar pattern to us.

Here is a diagram I pulled from my free dog training course to demonstrate:

At the bottom, we have health, wellness, nutrition, enrichment, exercise, and all the things that dogs need to stay healthy. This is the area I focus on preparing for during seasons like this one, since it is the lowest requirement but the highest impact. My dogs always get lots of cuddles and time with me when I'm sick, so those needs are pretty easily met for them too.

The top portions of the pyramid are incredibly important, but those things should be focused on when you are feeling well and have energy. If you want to dive more into all of these, consider taking my free course to learn all about them and creating a useful schedule! 

Health and wellness along with nutrition are usually things that are easily covered by most dog guardians. As long as you are working regularly with your vet and consulting them for any concerns and nutrition thoughts, you should be fairly good to go in this area.

The areas we will focus most on preparing for here is exercise and enrichment.

This is exactly how I prepare my home when I feel like I'm getting sick to keep my dogs exercised and enriched:

Take the Opportunities as they Come

Randomly have a nice 50 degree day and feel great? Take the opportunity to go for an extra long sniffy walk. That way, if the next 3 days are freezing and unsafe, you got out for a bit to hold your pup over.

Feel like you have a bit of extra energy today? Maybe try adding in a new training game or spend the day preparing enrichment activities to stash for later.

One of the things I’ve learned through many a cold & flu season is that tomorrow is never guaranteed to be “productive,” so if I am feeling good today and it is safe, I am going to do all the things I can! 

Create a List of Low AND High Energy Exercise Ideas

Sometimes when I am low on energy, even coming up with ideas for exercise with my dogs is hard. That’s why on my good days, I like to spend some energy creating a “menu” for myself to choose from. I split it into high energy and low energy (for me) options.

For example, a high energy idea for me would be to drive to my favorite trail for a sniff walk with the dogs. A low energy idea would be to drive them 2 minutes to my parents’ fenced in yard.

Both of those options would meet their needs in different ways, but they require very different types of energy on my end. Having a list of both low and high energy options takes some of the fatigue out of the bad days.

Have a Stash of No Prep Needed Enrichment

This is a HUGE one for me. I love to feed my dogs with puzzle toys and make fun frozen chews, but the reality is that I won’t always have the energy to do those things. So I also have a closet full of more expensive (but more convenient) as is chews - things like dental chews, bully sticks with holders, bento balls, and puzzle toys with one step (fill with kibble). 

If I have extra energy, I like to prepare enrichment activities in advance, but if I am in a pinch the items in my no prep closet can really help my dogs in antsy days.

When the Energy Comes, Prep Lots

Instead of filling 2 Kongs, take a couple minutes to grab all the Kongs in the house and make an assembly line. 

My go to filling is easy - soak some of your dog’s daily kibble.

Insert stoppers, a piece of cheese, or a banana into the hole to prevent leaking in the kongs.

Fill the kongs with soaked kibble after it has absorbed the water.

Top with a ready made baby food puree or a treat you have on hand and freeze.

Using this method, I can prep a week’s worth of kongs (2 per day) in about 10 minutes, and I choose to do that when I have the extra energy to do so for the bad days.

Maybe you can find something similar! 

Even just pre-portioning your dogs’ meals into bags and storing them in a puzzle toy could work. That way all you need to do is dump and go! 

When all else fails, have a back up plan.

I am lucky to live with someone who loves my dogs just as much as I do, but even when I was alone with them, I found ways to have a back up plan. 

I have built relationships with dog walkers and pet sitters just in case I need someone to take my duties over on a very sick day. This comes with an added cost of course, but it is definitely worth it when I need help.

I have coached clients how to train their dogs to potty in an indoor litter box situation to avoid going up and down their apartment stairs on bad days. We’ve also worked with college students who need a bit of extra cash to come and potty the dogs for us. 

Maybe you have a friend who loves to cook who could help you prepare some enrichment while you hang out! Maybe you have a family member who can’t have a dog but loves them who would LOVE to walk your dog! Or sit with your dog while you go to the doctor.

It takes energy on the good days to build these relationships, but on the bad days, you’ll be so thankful you did! 

Create a Fun Training List

On my sick days, I don’t train or try to further our goals. My goal is to meet needs and get us through. But if it’s just cold outside, you can do a bit more if you have the energy! 

Most of our “obedience” training might not be as enriching to our dogs as a fun trick training session. That’s why I like to have a fun training bucket list of goofy tricks that I can pull from when my dog is itching to learn something new - especially high movement tricks that can exercise them a bit as well indoors.

Some of my favorites are retrievals, body awareness like pivots and backing up, jumping through and over hoops and objects, and even cute things like spinning or dancing.

Making a list of fun things that you would love to train can help you get training quicker when the inspiration strikes without wasting energy on coming up with ideas.

All of these strategies combine to help me (and my clients) feel super prepared for the cold and flu season, but if one doesn’t work for you, feel free to toss it out or adjust it!

The best plan is one that you CAN and WILL put in place. Not what someone says you should!