The Cold War
Shhh, the dogs are all sleeping comfortably in various inconvenient locations throughout the living room, but if we have to gingerly step over them, that's fine, because it's a rare peace now that the weather has turned cold.
There is something about a collie and cold. They seem to go together like Jennie and Forrest, peas and carrots. Cheyenne, who you would have thought would love the snow, did well enough in it, but wasn't spending every spare moment inside begging to be outside in the dead of winter. Ripley was my first experience with that. Her second winter was a tough one. We had a stretch where the temperatures dipped into the "below zeroes". I had to set a timer for myself so she wouldn't stay out long enough to develop hypothermia, and once the timer dinged, I'd have to trudge out through ankle deep snow and coax her in.
Sirius never knew her, but he shares a lot in common with her besides the color of his coat, and his love for all things cold is one. When I fill the water glasses for dinner, he's there begging an ice cube. And when the temperature becomes uncomfortably chilly for humans, he begs to be outside nearly all the time. He's like an energetic puppy. Well, he's always like that - he is still just a big puppy in many respects, but the joy he experiences in the fall and winter are palatable. And contagious. The other dogs want to be out there with him, but will get chilly, want to come inside for a bit to warm up, and then they're back standing by the door to go back out.
Yesterday was a near perfect day for them. Cold, overcast and they got to spend most of it out of doors while we raked enough leaves to fill 22 - count 'em - leaf bags! Today, there's football on, my back is feeling all of that bending (in truth, I did not carry my full weight and the husband did a lot of it - but my body is still talking to me about it). It's sunny today, and I can see the smoke from one of my neighbor's where they're likely burning leaves. I certainly could sit out there and do the same and let Sirius have what I'm sure he would think is a perfect weekend, but what I really want is a nap. Sleeping to the sound of football is my idea of a perfect weekend.
It's warm enough out there that I could leave them out, if they wouldn't bark at things. But with all the leaves now in bags, not on the trees, they can see all the critters watching over them, so they need a little adult supervision. But I'm trying to balance my heavy eyelids with their need to stretch their legs, and while they're in a sleeping frame of mind, I'm of a frame of mind to join them here shortly.
Of course, it's not the fall that we need to really stress over, it's the all out winter. I own dog booties, but I'll confess I've never had a lot of success with any of my dogs wearing them. If I did get them on, they typically act like they've lost the ability to walk. I tried the baby socks method to acclimate them - it was a resource we happened to have a lot of - but they would tear them off and try and eat them, so while I'd love to sound like an ad for the APSCA and tell you that you can do it, I'm going to admit, it wasn't as easy as the articles I read about them made it sound. So if you're like me - less than perfect - there are other options. I have a wax designed to go on their pads to protect them in the winter, but I'm already seeing some chapping on their pads, so I picked up a dog friendly aloe vera lotion last year at the pet expo and spent some time last night massaging their feet.
This area uses salt to treat the roads in the winter and while I'm grateful at how diligent they are about road maintenance in my area (not uniformly so in other parts of the city and the surrounding suburbs), salt definitely hurts the dogs paws, so minimally use something on their pads. Of course, I read that petroleum jelly will work after I'd already invested in two jars of expensive paw wax. But, for the rest of you, there is an inexpensive alternative. A great tip is to make sure the fur that grows between their pads is kept trimmed down. I personally have had trouble in the past with ice forming on the hair and causing them real distress, so this is one I take to heart.
We use a pet friendly de-icer for the pet's area. I have a large driveway, so I confess I use salt out front, but not on the back porch where they enter and exit most of the time. I just got a new container at Ace Hardware for a pretty reasonable price.
I keep a basket of towels in the kitchen near the door so I can wipe their paws when they come in and get off any ice, wet or residual chemicals. Of course, that means less mess on the kitchen floor too. Not that it helps me now - they're dragging in every leaf we missed, I swear.
Each of my dogs has an adorable waterproof coat to go over the coat Mother Nature gave them. Since collies are double coated, I'll confess that I only trot them out when it's not only cold, but wet. But their coats, with their Penguins and Steelers logos don't do a thing to protect their faces or their ears. Probably the best advice I've read over and over and over is that if it's too cold for you to be out in it, it's probably too cold for your dog. So remember, you're the adult in the relationship and, like me, you may be having to drag your dog unwillingly back inside, but better to disappoint them than take the serious risk of frostbite or hypothermia.
Anyway, these are worries for different days. For now, it's a crisp fall NFL Sunday, but...Winter is Coming.
There is something about a collie and cold. They seem to go together like Jennie and Forrest, peas and carrots. Cheyenne, who you would have thought would love the snow, did well enough in it, but wasn't spending every spare moment inside begging to be outside in the dead of winter. Ripley was my first experience with that. Her second winter was a tough one. We had a stretch where the temperatures dipped into the "below zeroes". I had to set a timer for myself so she wouldn't stay out long enough to develop hypothermia, and once the timer dinged, I'd have to trudge out through ankle deep snow and coax her in.
Sirius never knew her, but he shares a lot in common with her besides the color of his coat, and his love for all things cold is one. When I fill the water glasses for dinner, he's there begging an ice cube. And when the temperature becomes uncomfortably chilly for humans, he begs to be outside nearly all the time. He's like an energetic puppy. Well, he's always like that - he is still just a big puppy in many respects, but the joy he experiences in the fall and winter are palatable. And contagious. The other dogs want to be out there with him, but will get chilly, want to come inside for a bit to warm up, and then they're back standing by the door to go back out.
It's warm enough out there that I could leave them out, if they wouldn't bark at things. But with all the leaves now in bags, not on the trees, they can see all the critters watching over them, so they need a little adult supervision. But I'm trying to balance my heavy eyelids with their need to stretch their legs, and while they're in a sleeping frame of mind, I'm of a frame of mind to join them here shortly.
Of course, it's not the fall that we need to really stress over, it's the all out winter. I own dog booties, but I'll confess I've never had a lot of success with any of my dogs wearing them. If I did get them on, they typically act like they've lost the ability to walk. I tried the baby socks method to acclimate them - it was a resource we happened to have a lot of - but they would tear them off and try and eat them, so while I'd love to sound like an ad for the APSCA and tell you that you can do it, I'm going to admit, it wasn't as easy as the articles I read about them made it sound. So if you're like me - less than perfect - there are other options. I have a wax designed to go on their pads to protect them in the winter, but I'm already seeing some chapping on their pads, so I picked up a dog friendly aloe vera lotion last year at the pet expo and spent some time last night massaging their feet.
This area uses salt to treat the roads in the winter and while I'm grateful at how diligent they are about road maintenance in my area (not uniformly so in other parts of the city and the surrounding suburbs), salt definitely hurts the dogs paws, so minimally use something on their pads. Of course, I read that petroleum jelly will work after I'd already invested in two jars of expensive paw wax. But, for the rest of you, there is an inexpensive alternative. A great tip is to make sure the fur that grows between their pads is kept trimmed down. I personally have had trouble in the past with ice forming on the hair and causing them real distress, so this is one I take to heart.
We use a pet friendly de-icer for the pet's area. I have a large driveway, so I confess I use salt out front, but not on the back porch where they enter and exit most of the time. I just got a new container at Ace Hardware for a pretty reasonable price.
I keep a basket of towels in the kitchen near the door so I can wipe their paws when they come in and get off any ice, wet or residual chemicals. Of course, that means less mess on the kitchen floor too. Not that it helps me now - they're dragging in every leaf we missed, I swear.
Each of my dogs has an adorable waterproof coat to go over the coat Mother Nature gave them. Since collies are double coated, I'll confess that I only trot them out when it's not only cold, but wet. But their coats, with their Penguins and Steelers logos don't do a thing to protect their faces or their ears. Probably the best advice I've read over and over and over is that if it's too cold for you to be out in it, it's probably too cold for your dog. So remember, you're the adult in the relationship and, like me, you may be having to drag your dog unwillingly back inside, but better to disappoint them than take the serious risk of frostbite or hypothermia.
Anyway, these are worries for different days. For now, it's a crisp fall NFL Sunday, but...Winter is Coming.
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We love when we put booties on dogs and they clop around like they are a Clydesdale. We are glad you are prepared for winter. My girls aren't fans of the cold weather. I hope you're not sleeping through Steelers games.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Never. ;)
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