Well the temps are finally dropping. A fella wants a few layers and some fat reserves built up around this time a year - so I should be fine.
I am worried about my pup though. She’s the first short hair dog I’ve ever had. All my previous pups were air cooled shaggy long hair galloots that would dash out of the house and roll in the snow in winter …and heave a deep sigh of contentment.
Spaz… ♥️
How long can short hairs last in the cold? Hannah is an indoor dawg and I figure she should be able to handle a half hour outside in the cold stuff? Problem is that we are now doing anywhere between 7 and 12 miles a day now. That’s a lot of time outdoors…
I might be putting on more miles alone this winter…
Wear a weight vest and pick up the pace= less dist!
ReplyDeleteChutes Magoo
You can buy coats for dogs, and probably snowshoes too. Why not get one or two and bring her along?
ReplyDeleteAgreed with Chutes. There is this thing called "rucking": same walk with the doggo, just carrying a little weight, whether a backpack or a vest. And start with a LITTLE weight; ten pounds (5 kilos for you metric freaks) is plenty. It'll be easy to cut the distance with the same workout result.
ReplyDeleteHannah should be fine. My only worry would be freezing pads on her feet, unless she's toughened up like the sled dogs. Train her to wear booties, and she'll be good for miles. There are doggy vests too. I always pooh-pooed the idea of a vest until I tried one. Just keeping the core warmer made a world of difference.
--Greg
Had a couple sets of microfleece booties & a coat for my Lab. I’d stick his booties on when it got down in the - teens or so; had the coat for -30+. Couple sets of boots cause they get wet when you come back indoors and they’ll freeze when ya go back out. He’d wear the booties no sweat but hated that coat. Any good pet shop or feed store will carry them. If ya can’t find ‘em shoot me an email (trykflyr@icloud.com) & I’ll send a few sets. Dogsledding is the Alaskan national sport, the supplies are easy to get here..
ReplyDeletePer the 1975 ad: "SnoJet, You Bet!"
ReplyDeleteThe pup will be fine on your walks.
ReplyDeleteI lost a few years due to a injury, but I’m back walking now.
I put canvas boots on the dog to keep the ice from building up on her feet. (the one in the picture could be her twin) I have a friend that is a competitive musher with a kennel of 30 dogs. He runs them 10 at a time. Half his day is putting booties on and off those dogs.