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I am assuming she doesn't have long hair. What kind of dog is she?
I think you could still take her to the dog park, maybe get her a coat. Our dogs have sweaters and coats for when we get ice storms but we have never used the boots. Dogs are naturally at a higher temp then us so sometimes they don't need too much to keep them warm. Especially if they are running around and playing ;-)
Good Question! Since I'm in Georgia our winters are a bit warmer, but we still have our cold days. I think it really depends on what breed/size dog you have. We have a little 7-9 pounder and she does not take to the cold well and usually can only be outside in 5-10 breaks (even with jackets and booties) because she freezes. But my parents German Shep and lab have no problem with it.
Some dogs are made to deal with colder weather better than others. Also, their personalities vary...some simply don't like the cold even if they're made for it. If yours doesn't deal with it well, try a gym's treadmill.
Good Luck!
I'd like to hear some of the responses too. We got Leroy in March and had a mild spring, plus he was tiny so we weren't walking him at the time anyways. Now we walk him for an hour each night. Winter concerns me a lot, since if he misses a walk he's a nightmare to deal with!
She is a 30 pound beagle/border collie (?) mix :) who hates to get her little paws wet. What a diva!
I have a raincoat for her, but she just kinda freezes up when I put it on her...or tries to shake it off! I will check on a coat for her.
I'm nervous about this, too. We adopted Sunday at the end of May. She's an Aussie, so being cooped up in the apartment is not an option. She's okay in the cold, though she hates rain/wet, but I have a hard time getting up and motivated on winter mornings!
We'll probably be driving to the dog park, too, although we really should walk there since it's not that far.
I only live in Tally but I'm dealing with this conundrum too. Playing catch inside the house seems to be my alternative for really cold days.
Our Cocker Spaniel has four little black booties. If any salt gets in the pads, ouch! And they salt our streets in our neighborhood constantly. It's bad for their pads/feet. He also hates the cold snow on his feet and if he doesn't have his little boots on, he'll pick up a leg and whimper. I've spent many days in the last few winters, picking him up and carrying him back home! (That's when I bought the booties finally)
As far as getting enough excercise, if there isn't snow on the ground, take advantage! If there is, maybe your dog will still run! Many dogs love to run in the snow. If not, I recommend more running in the house. We have a long upstairs hallway that we use for fetch. My husband is at one end, me at the other, and our dog runs back and forth until he decides he's had enough.
I am in Alberta, Canada. It can be down to -30 sometimes. Our dog is a 66 pound Goldendoodle though and we never had any problems walking him. Of course, for us, we did keep the walks shorter. Days are getting shorter so soon we will only be taking him to the offleash park on weekend days. The only problem we had was one time we had really sticky snow and he got snow balls all over his feet! He could barley walk, poor guy. We had to soak them off in warm water.
When I lived in my old apartment (without a yard) I would still bring my dog to the dog park almost daily even in the cold. I actually bought snow pants just for that, and ice pick shoes from REI because if the sidewalk was icey and she pulled at all I would have died without them! You'll definitely find that people go to the park less often, but for me there was usually at least one other dog there for my baby to play with.
I would try to invest in the booties ASAP (because you do need them, salt in a dog's paw can actually cause some serious infections) so you can get your dog used to wearing them for short periods of time before she actually needs them.
Most importantly though, have a camera ready the first time she experiences snow, even if it is just a flurry. My dog went NUTSO and I totally wish I had a camera to take pictures of her trying to catch snowflakes in her mouth and sprinting around in circles!
we got our puppy in october of last year, before the 3 blizzards in DC. he LOVES the snow. we got him a sweater but he was fine without it, and there were always plenty of dogs in our dogpark.
after the first snow, we tried to take him out in the second snow (maybe a month or two later), and i think he maybe forgot what it was for a minute and froze up -- he cried and wanted to go back inside. we made him walk around a bit and he started running around and having a blast. i think the same thing will happen this winter, but it only took a few minutes for him to start enjoying it!
some dogs don't like the feeling of the salt on their feet, so booties might be a good option. my dog really doesn't mind though, and he absolutely loves running and jumping in the snow (even when it was at least 5x taller than he was!)
Salted roads are as much a part of snowy climates as shovels and snowmen. But for dogs, this concentration of salt poses a few problems. A little extra care on the owner's part will help keep a dog's paws salt-free.
Read more: Is Salt on the Roads Bad for Dogs? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5953857_salt-roads-bad-dogs_.html#ixzz12A9xZaV1
You can get her a coat for sure. One of my neighbors has a mini Italian greyhound and she bought the dog tiny dog boots because his feet were too cold to walk in the winter, plus the salt they put on the street hurt his paws.
You can also get a lazer pointer and have the dog chase it around inside. If you have stairs at your place or in your building or something you can throw a ball up and down for the dog to chase it. You can also do what my fiance does... which is to just run around and chase the dog like crazy when he gets home. She loves that.
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Hi everyone!
We've had our dog, Derby, since April....meaning we've never been through a Chicago winter with her! I have to admit that I am kind of nervous about making sure she gets enough exercise. Right now, I walk her for 30 - 35 minutes every single morning (my husband works from home & is with her all day to take her out, etc.) and when I get home from work. Yeah, when it's -20 wind chill and it pains me to walk outside to the train, how do I fit in the amount of exercise for her? For the winter, should we plan on taking her to more doggie daycare type places? Do you have any indoor activities that you use to tire out your pup?
Our dog park is open year round & I'm curious to see how many people use it. I guess we'll be driving there when it's cold, as opposed to walking. Also, since we live downtown, there is salt on the icy sidewalks - does she need to wear liitle boots or whatever? I tend to think they are borderline ridiculous looking, but I've heard some say you need them to protect the pads of their feet.
Thanks everyone!