We love winter at my house! It may be hard for many to believe, but we are most active in the winter and most likely the most fit as well. Today I want to bark a bit about what we do and also offer some important tips for your own pups if they are out in the winter months.
Get some good winter toys for your dog for starters. Many of the normal toys are made of plastics that will crack and crumble in freezing temperatures causing danger to your dog. Tennis balls are great toys to use, and we have this soft rubber Frisbee that doesn’t break in the cold. Bailie loves to take it and play keep away with me in the yard.
Chase is our favorite game all year, no matter what the weather. In the winter months it also helps to keep us warm in the cold temperatures. Don’t forget dogs still get thirsty in the winter months. We need fresh water breaks as much in the cold as in the warmer weather. One reason is that we are exercising, but also with the heat on in the house, the air is dry and we get dehydrated. If you don’t have a heated water bowl (probably a Minnesota thing), put out a fresh bowl of water for your pups to use while they are outdoors playing and bring it back in when they come back inside.
Digging in snow is a great activity for dogs. Toss a toy out and let your dog dig it up. We love to dig, and digging in a pile of snow is harmless and tires us out! Bailie drops her own Frisbee in the snow so she can have the fun of digging it out. Obviously, deeper snow is more fun, but so far this year we only have about five inches on the ground.
Make sure your dogs paws are in good shape. The dry air can dry out paws, the chemicals on sidewalks and roads can cause pad issues, and if you have icy snow it is easy to cut open a paw pad. Make sure the pads are in order or have your pup wear some boots.
My sisters and I have plenty of fur and don’t wear coats, but if your dog doesn’t have a good winter coat, or perhaps is an older or smaller dog, bundle them up. We play chase like crazy dogs and really get heated up, but if your dog isn’t a “winter” dog, they will need the proper coat even when they play chase or fetch. Pay attention to the temperature before you go out with your dog or before you send them out to play in the yard. Here at my house we have lots of below zero weather which is very cold. We all still love to go out, but maybe only for five to ten minutes. Don’t leave your dog out in extreme cold as they can get frost bite or worse.
Last but not least, go out with your dog for walks, it will do you both good, or supervise your dog out playing in a fenced area. Don’t let your dog roam loose. Not only are roads dangerous, lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and other bodies of water are dangerous. Your dog may think the water is frozen when it is not and can fall in and drown. Water is always dangerous, but in the winter months, it is tricky even for humans, so don’t let your dog even have the chance to fall through any ice.
Now, bundle up, get outside and have some good old fun in the winter! There is no excuse to let fitness slide just because it is cold outside!
Iβm co hosting the FitDog Friday Blog Hop with SlimDoggy, and To Dog With Love!Β Please join us on Fridays to share your fitness stories with others, find new ways to have fun, and new fitness ideas too! Tell your friends to stop by as well β fit dogs are healthier, happier dogs!
Those are excellent tips, Emma!! The girls have short hair so I do have to bundle them up when it gets cold. Anything below 50 and Zoe will complain! Both girls are not fond of cold weather but I do try to get them out as much as possible and when we are not outside, we play fetch inside.
You do a great job with them and their hikes and tricks and stuff.
Great tips! We need to get a frisbee that is one toy we don’t have. Do you really have that much snow? We don’t have any.
You mean, that little. Yes. We got it a week ago, but we really need more!!
we love to play in the cold too – BUT of coarse the Mom hates it – even with hand warmers in her mittens her fingers still turn blue in minutes
Hopefully you boys can play out in the yard and she can watch from in the house. Being cold is painful and it wouldn’t be good for your mom to be in pain.
Thanks for sharing your tips. You guys are by far the experts in winter living…and winter FUN!
We try our best to make the most of the winter. It is so much fun. We feel sad for those that just lock themselves up in the house until spring.
Y’all sure do like to have fun in that white and cold stuff!
We sure do, but kitties don’t seem to enjoy it much.
It has been almost a year since I got to play in the snow – Minnesota snow at that! It can freeze here, and the Mom has seen snow here but it does not stick to the ground. I like colder weather! I am bummed about our football teams. XOXO Sparkle the PBGV
Football is turning into a bad word at my house! We love the winter, it is so nice to be out and not overheat. Florida is too warm and humid for me. I can’t run and play as much because I get too warm.
That explains why I have been outside at night of late. It is in the 60’s.I use my high pitched bark and howl. Mom wonders what the neighbors are thinking….
Mom knows what our neighbors are thinking…those dang hounds are out again! LOL! How we love to hear our own voices!
You guys look like you are having a blast. Torrey will be right over.
She would fit right in for sure!
And NO White toys that can Hide in the snow… until Spring.. Right???
That would be a good idea too, but I don’t think we have any white toys π
These are great tips, Emma. I like the idea of burying a toy in the snow….that might be great for Luke, since he still shouldn’t be playing too hard, and he likes to dig (now we just need the snow). A heated water dish sounds great too, that’s something we don’t have. Often if we’re outside, when we go back in the first thing the dogs do is go to the water dish.
I bet that lack of water is the biggest mistake humans make with their dogs in the wintertime! Digging would be good for Luke, I will think hard that snow should hit you all out there!
wow, playing chase is great! but I’m not really sure if I would like to play in the snow…I’m a guy with a thin fur :o) my momma calls me the fine weather hunter hehehe
I think if you were running as hard as we do, you would stay warm! We have some Weims in our ‘hood and they are fine without coats. π
Perfect ideas for fun and safety over the winter months! You hit on Haley’s favorite snow activity, digging for buried toys!
Bailie has a blast finding her stuff after it snows…kind of nose work, tracking, and digging all in one!
Oh i’m with ya!!! We love winter!!!
With huskies, they would never forgive me if we didn’t get super active when the snow comes!
α¦ husky hugz α¦ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
And we love other winter lovers!
Good stuff, and it’s clear you guys are walking the walk. It looks like we may finally get some snow, so jacket season is nearly upon us.
Your breed needs a coat, we are thankful to be born with a good coat, but it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy relaxing in front of the fire too!
You’ve got snow! Mom couldn’t get me out of the house this morning, she took Taffy and left without me, she thinks its because I don’t want to wear my fleece. Its going to be too cold for walks in a few days here, coat or no coat. Once dad goes back to work next week I’ll probably feel more like getting out of bed in the morning. Thanks for the great tips Emma! Love Dolly
Starting Sunday we go below zero again, but we will still get in half hour walks. Mom is a drill sargeant but we really don’t mind it much.
I think our issue is the lack of daylight hours to exercise. By the time I get home from work, it’s pitch black!
We do our big walks and/or run in the morning. We love being out in the dark in the morning. In the evening we don’t like it so much, so our walks are shorter.
Great tips there Emma, and great photos too. Looks like you guys are having a blast. No snow here yet, but my guys LOVE digging toys up out of the snow and racing around in it. Well, at least Toby and Leah do. Meadow has never been a fan of winter, despite doggie coats and booties. She’s a Florida dog at heart.
Not every dog loves winter, but most of us do. Bailie is really into digging up stuff in the snow. There’s no fun like snow fun!
Great tips. Great minds since we both wrote about making sure there is water available on our posts today. π
Gotta love drinking plenty of water, so important!
Aloha Emma and Mom. You’re not going to believe this, but I actually loved bundling up in the winter for our walks when we lived in Nebraska. We would see and experience so many cool things that those that didn’t venture out would not.
I guess you could still bundle up and go out, but you all might look a bit silly in HI! Enjoy the beach!
What great ideas Emma!!
Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo
Thanks my friends!
I think playing chase in the snow would be fun. We just get rain and cold. It is not so much fun but we still play indoors. That is fun. βΊ It sure looks fun up there.
The snow is real fun and it is something different. We will welcome the grass again in a few months…better traction.
I love the action shots! Our pups don’t have insulating undercoats, but they sure do have winter jackets & boots =) 3 of their 4 winters have been white so far, and they LOVE playing in it and going for snow walks! This year we haven’t had any snow yet ~ who knows, maybe we’ll still get some, paws crossed!
It’s early in the year still, hope you get some snow. We need more, hopefully we will get a few more inches in the next couple of days.
Those are some great tips Emma! It looks like you are having a great time! We are keeping our paws crossed for snow and lots of it!
We seriously need more. I’m hoping. Hope you all get some too.
Thanks for all the great tips!
Anytime! Thanks for coming by!
We don’t get snow or below freezing temps here very often, but I do love winter too. Have fun in all that white stuff, Emma!
You don’t get dirty in the white stuff, but it can stick to the furs and cause a mess that way too π
I think your sister is teasing you a lot Emma LOL.
We are always battling with each other about something! Sisters, I guess.
Harley loves to play in the snow with the other human children. This keeps him active in the wintertime. I pray we will always have human children nearby!
We don’t have human children that we play with, but they would probably be fun too. We just play together, Katie not so much, but Bailie and I.
Great tips for folks who live in the snow! Poor Rita… she’s never even SEEN the snow! One of these days….
I bet she would go wild in some snow! Maybe one day a short snow vacation will happen.
Great tips – we all ‘lub’ playing in the snow, it makes us all frisky!
The cold and snow does make us wild and crazy too!
My two short haired doxies LOVE the snow, but hate to wear clothes. Their fun time is limited. I love the idea of burying their toys in the snow.
We don’t do clothes, but when it is below zero we are just not out as long.
Love these tips! I wish we could get just a little bit of snow around here! That looks fun!
It is a lot of fun. We love the variety of the seasons, always something new and interesting.
Our guys love the Winter. Every now and then, though, such as this morning, it gets a bit too cold (-34 Celsius with windchill) Ouch. So not a whole lot of outdoor fun today.
We have the same temps here but we still go for our walks, just 20-30 mins and we play quick chase games in the yard for about 5 mins.
Great Pics! I wish Rolo liked to play with toys but he is fine with just going for a walk π
Bailie is really the only one that plays with toys. Katie used to steal toys to get dogs to chase her, but she is too old now.
whoopsies! I ment to put rolo doesnt like to play with toys π
You guys are sure having fun! Hope you are staying warm today and the rest of the week! I needed to get my sweater out for the week! π
No sweaters here and refused shoes this morning. Just lots of fast walk and short chase games in the yard. Stay warm! The fireplace is perfect at night.
Wow, the Ginger Sisters are so jealous of your winter fun! They usually have to stay on their leashes…
We have to be on leash if we aren’t in a fenced area, but we have a nice fenced yard to race around in, and sometimes we go to the big dog park.
Davinia and Indiana want you to share some of that snow so they can play too! Lately it has been really cold and rainy not a great combination for outdoor fun. I have to coax them to even spend a minute outside for potty time. If we had snow I would have to bring treats and trick them into coming inside.
We had an usually warm December, so the end was in the 30’s and wet, yuck! Now we got some snow, but it is below zero. Maybe next week will shape up. Not the best winter so far, but we do enjoy the snow we have as much as we can!
So important to keep puppies warm. I wish I wasn’t such a wimp in this cold weather so I could spend more time outside with Mauja and Atka π
Our problem is keeping Mom inside. She loves the cold but we can’t be out that long. She sometimes takes Katie for a bit longer walks when it is below zero, but since Katie is so slow, Mom starts to get cold too.
Great post! As well as the reminder to protect our pets against the cold, it is great to see pics of them having so much fun.
Protect them from the cold, but also let them out to have fun and enjoy it within reason.
Loving these pups in action. Dex sez, “Let’s play in the snow ” – he loves the white stuff!
Thank you. We love winter at our house, but this year we are lacking in snow and going overboard in below zero weather which does start to put a damper on things. Snow is tons of fun.
Great tips and wonderful pictures!
I think people often forget that dogs still need plenty of water when it is cold, so I’m glad you included that bit of advice.
We love the winter, but we have pretty mild winters here in Texas. π
You all do get some cold and occasional snow, but you are right, it is much more mild. We drink lots of water in the winter since it is so dry and because of all our racing around outside.
You guys are brave little turkies. When it snows, Koly, Fe and I STAY INSIDE. We’re a bunch of wussy babies. LOL!
Most folks don’t go out much in the winter. We are the well known “odd ducks” in our ‘hood! Thankfully, there is another guy, retired state trooper, that got a dog and he is out just like us several times a day in all weather. Now we are no longer the only fools, but we love being out and don’t care that others miss out on the fun.
Those dogs are so cute playing in the snow, my own loves hopping around and eating the snow!
My big sis Katie loves to eat snow, Bailie and I just play in it and have a good time. Katie and I used to play chase until she got older and can’t really run.
We have been doing a lot of playing fetch down the long hallway in our house. Although my dogs do like snow too.
That would work, but we prefer to be outdoors racing around. None of us play fetch, so about all we can do is clear a room and set up our tunnel, but we usually just go outside. Even this week when it is below zero we go out and run, just for shorter time periods.
Excellent tips! We live in Phoenix where the sun never stops shining but we take frequent trips up North where it’s much colder & it snows a lot. My Husky lives for those trips LOL!
Oh yeah, a husky would love the cold and snow. Just thinking of a husky in Phoenix is a funny thought π My mom likes AZ and prefers it to FL as she likes the dry air, but she loves winter, so we won’t be moving that I know of.
Today was our coldest day so far this winter. We cut our walk short and kept it brisk. I really need to get shoes and coats for S&D. Great tips Emma.
We only wear shoes if it is seriously below zero, otherwise we don’t need anything with our furs.