[nagdu] Snow with dogs

[RELTON30857 at COX.NET]

Hi Ted and listers,

I lived for several years in northern Idaho and I loved working with my dogs
in the snow. On the University of Idaho campus there are hills everywhere.
You can enter a building on the ground level at the first floor and exit on
ground level on the third floor. They have some heated side walks which is
helpful on the hills but there was always a lot of snow to walk through.
When I moved to the D.C. area our first winter was the winter when the plane
crashed into the side of the 14th street bridge. On that day I was able to
walk, along with loads of other pedestrians in the middle of 16th street
because the 14 plus inches of snow made it impossible to walk on the side
walks, and the cars couldn't drive on the street either. My then, guide
Vicki, a beautiful golden retriever took it all in stride. There are two
huge advantages with a dog over a cane in the snow, one the snow doesn't
burry the tip of the dog so you can tell where you are, and two, you can
keep your direction better. One funny thing that happen in my winters in
D.C. that I dealt with was, that vicki found it nicer for her to walk in the
shoveled area and let me trudge through the piles on the edge. She was the
same with mud puddles initially. She wasn't big into getting her feet wet.
So she went around them, and I often walked through them. We negotiated that
issue and I kept my feet dry. All of my dogs have been retrievers and have
loved the snow, as I do. We enjoy taking off and hiking through deep snow.
The ice, I'm not so fond of though. If you can keep yourself facing in the
correct direction as you and your guide navigate the curbs and piles of
snow, It's not a bad thing at all. I would encourage my dog to keep moving
it she sniffed though, because she might just be sniffing. As long as it's
an affirming "at-a-girl" tone she/he gets the message and the gentle
reminder, that we're not hear to read the canine newspaper. 

Enjoy your Holidays. Keep you and you partners safe--take care to keep the
choloate out of their reach, and give them an extra pat.