pets and cold weather

[Dutch445]

as everybody knows we have been in quite a cold snap the past couple weeks, and predicted to continue at least
another week
my mother who lives an hour away from me is having issues with her dog going outside to do her business.
mom is 77 and suffering from some dementia, and is really having trouble dealing with any sort of
adversity in her daily routines and this is causing her a lot of stress. i do have a sister who lives
right around the corner so she is our main helper for now (doesn't work full time and is happy to help)

the issue is the dog (adult Pomeranian) has a hard time going outside without her feet hurting.
mom always clears a bit of the lawn around the house with her snowblower, but, it snows a little
every day lately, and it's very cold so the dog is having a hard time, and it's really stressing mom out

they have tried the cream/gel on her feet, that seemed to work early this year but lately not so great.
there have been little boots, but, it's hard for my mom's fingers to get them on the dos feet,
so that is an issue.

mom has been askin us to build a cover for some of her lawn, to give her and the dog a place
to go outsidem, but out of the "weather". i have resisted to just put up a piece of tarp on a wood frame
as weather is going to destroy it fairly quickly, be it from wind or heavy snow. my sister mentioned
a simple portable carport, (HF has them) but again, i'm afraid in heavy wind or snow it's going to be
a frutal attempt. i said to my sister last night, if it's 0 outside, i don't care what is covering the
grass area, the ground is going to be frozen just like snow, and in my opinion, snow is easier on feet
than frozen grass or bare ground... but maybe not.(as the snow makes ice on their paws)

we have started looking at the indoor pet relief systems, but from what i read they seem like a lot
of cleaning, and could be a source for odor and health issues if not cleaned properly (daily)

there is an enclosed porch on the house, not heated, with concrete floor (covered with
cheap indoor/outdoor fake grass carpet) right off the back door, and i am wondering if we could
come up with something out there, but again, i think anything other than outside will have to be cleaned regularly

any ideas would be helpful, and does anyone have experience with those car port structures?

thanks in advance

 

[oosik]

I could see a large kitty litter arrangement out on the enclosed porch. Wouldn't require daily cleaning and shouldn't smell in this cold wx. The question is - will the dog use a facility such as this.

Whether you construct some kind of new enclosure or do something on the porch - its going to be a new situation for the dog. Take the easy approach and do something on the enclosed porch and see how the dog responds.

 

[Dutch445]

that was what i was wondering, if it's still in a cold area if the cleaning would be as critical

i see some online that look easier to clean than others, and then there's home made items

 

[oosik]

Be pretty critical of what you purchase for outside use - I don't think I've ever seen one of those "fancy units" designed for outdoor use. By "fancy" I mean those units that have built in motors and automatically move poo & pee into some kind of collection tray. In cold weather the stuff will clump and freeze and should be easily removed manually. And it should not require daily maintenance either.