Like it or not, winter is coming — get your pet safety system ready

The unfortunate reality for pet owners in West Michigan is that, even though the fall season just kicked off, it’s never too early to start thinking about snow. You might not know when the white stuff will start to fly — you just know it’s going to happen eventually.

As the seasons change and we anticipate eventual snow, it’s important to prepare your underground pet safety fence accordingly. Many pet owners that are new to these types of safety systems often wonder if they need to make special adjustments.

In a nutshell, you will need to make few, if any, adjustments to your system during the snowy winter months. Below is some important information to know about snow and your system.

• You might have to potentially widen the boundary: Most pet safety systems allow you to adjust the width of the boundary. This is the area around the buried wire. The only time you would have to make this adjustment is if the snow got really deep (several feet). This adjustment would compensate for the feet of snow and make sure that the signal still reaches your dog’s collar as it approaches the wire.
• Snow does not pose a threat to your system: You don’t have to worry about even excessive snow damaging your pet safety system — that’s the beauty of having it under the ground. However, the colder months may not be the most ideal for installing a new system.
• Make the necessary adjustments when the seasons change again: If you adjust anything with your system (i.e. boundary width) during the winter, make a note of it so that you know to re-adjust the system when the weather warms up again.

While the arctic weather and snow in West Michigan might have a minimal impact on your pet safety system, it can be a serious threat to your dogs. Make sure your dogs have access to a warm area of shelter and that they are not exposed to extremely cold temperatures for too long.

While a pet safety system will effectively keep them on your property, it is your responsibility to keep them safe from the elements.