Entertainment in the winter

[Bastianboy]

What do you do to entertain/wear out your dog in the winter when it's snowy?

I usually jog with Bastian morning and night. It snowed though all day yesterday and the sidewalks are too icey for me and I worry about him falling. I would love to take him out, but am tired of falling on my keester doing it. It was also only 18 out when I got home, so would like to be close to home and the hot chocolate .

He'll sort of snoop outside in the snow, but won't really run by himself. I have done snowballs, I threw a ball which was fun because it would fall into the snow, so he'd frantically be trying to find it before I came over. I also took the laser pen out and run it through the deepest parts of the snow to run him down. Anyone have any really fun/stimulating snow games??

[StephanieandToby]

Toby used to love it when I would make a HUGE snowball....then he'd destroy it! He'd also try ruin it as I was rolling it....We were at the park once, and there was a busload of Japanese tourists just finishing off their snow sculptures...including a huge one of a Sphinx....i went over to take a look and before I knew it, Toby had jumped on the Sphinx and had dug his way halfway through it....!!! (I'm lucky they found it amusing instead of upsetting) It's also lots of fun to bury snacks in the snow and then go on a "treasure hunt."...We used to do this in the summer with the ice pile behind the ice-rink...I stuck cookies into all the little holes and he'd run up and down looking for them.!One last thing...you can buy little rubber booties with "grip" for your pooch...as for you...well...you might have to wear chains!!!......lol......

[miccmill]

We've got to try boots this year as Hannah had the frozen foot syndrome set in quickly last January.

The first time my husband saw that he came running into the house saying "There's something wrong with Hannah, she can't move her legs so I picked her up and by the time we were inside she was running around fine."

We are also working on a kind of home made traking game to give her something more interesting to do while out at our towpath. Since her nose is always down anyway, we figured this might suit her.

[SABELLESMOM]

Originally Posted by StephanieandToby

One last thing...you can buy little rubber booties with "grip" for your pooch...as for you...well...you might have to wear chains!!!......lol......

Great Idea! And so is the "treasure hunt!"

I know my friends Rem likes to roll in the snow. She encourages it by getting in the snow herself...but you won't want to do it when it's icy, like you said.

Ours love to climb snow man size mounds! It's sort of a king of the mountain game they made up.

And we get together with friends...so hot chocolate is available! Either my house with a fenced area, so Rem, Rave, and Sable can wrestle. (Digbee wants no part, and who can blame him?) Or her farm, where they have acres of yard, and huge snowplow mountains at the inner end of the driveway. She also has an adjoining hay field they like to just run.

I've hiked with snow spikes at the lake, but I wouldn't do it at 18 degrees! YUCK! Nasty weather.

[majicka]

Bruno loved to play ball..any season..but winter ball was so much more fun! The ball would 'hide' in the snow and Bruno would sniff it out..ultimately getting a face full of snow..

[SonnyRott]

Originally Posted by Bastianboy

....It snowed though all day yesterday and the sidewalks are too icey for me and I worry about him falling...

It is good that you are careful. My last dog tore his ACL in the snow. I did not realize there was a sheet of ice beneath it and he slipped.

I would make sure to check for any ice before beginning any snow play. Hiding the treats in the snow sounds like fun. Or if he is old enough, hitch him up and get that chord wood to the porch and light up that woodstove.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Ryan is the cold-weather guy. So he's always out & about with Julius. I don't like the cold as much but I still do stuff with Julius. We both invested in some nice winter-wear so that we can be out with Julius.

Last year, Ryan & I built tunnels in our backyard that Julius could go through. He thought that was great fun. We also will go for winter hikes which is nice. There is usually no chance of meeting up with anyone else on the trails, which means no off leash dogs.


Brooke