Dry air – It’s hard to escape this during the winter. When the weather is cold, humidity is low; therefore, the air holds much less moisture in the winter than it does during any other time of the year.
And staying inside can’t help with this. When cold arid air is heated, it simply warms up. No moisture is added. And of course, the air in your house is recirculated air from outside, every time you open the door, new dry air comes in.
Licking
– In general, a dog’s nose will vary from dry to wet all throughout the day. However, for most healthy dogs, the nose does hold some moisture.
In addition, a dog typically licks his nose 200 times per day. Many of these licks are not noticed by owners; it’s a flick that is so quick, it’s unseen unless you were to stare at your Boxer to attempt to count!
Outside, licks combined with cold winter winds can cause a Boxer dog’s nose to become chapped. You may not notice on day one. However, on day two, he’s out again, licking a slightly chapped nose and now it’s moderately chapped. Day three and day four, now issues may begin.
Inside, the air is dry (if you’re not taking steps to combat this) and with normal licking in an arid environment and the chapping worsens as well. A chapped winter nose can lead to itching, peeling, cracking, and possibility of infection.