Cooper and I live in the Northeast of the United States.....overnight we got 24 inches of snow on top of 6 inches the day before.....30 total with a chill factor of 3 Farenheit. Naturally, Cooper has to go outside to go to the bathroom (have not yet trained him to use the toilet and flush!!!) ... he jumped out of the front door and disappeared in the snow drifts.....and had to jump all the way down the driveway (like a kangaroo) to get to a spot where his whole body wasn't covered. I know we have Forum members that live in high snow areas....how do your doggies manage going to the bathroom? Our last year snowfall here was minimal....very unusual for our area but guess this Winter we have started with a bang! Any advice is most appreciated!
Hehe, they manage! Sometimes it's fun trying to find it afterwards, and you get a bag that's mainly filled with snow, but that's part of the joy of winter
Jake loves the snow and has experienced several deep snows. He like Cooper would go out bouncing around and tunneling to find a suitable spot. He is always good about finding an area with less deep snow or he will dig and roll around to make the spot more comfortable for potty purposes. I think it's just in their nature to be able to adapt to the conditions.
WE blow pee paths for Oban and my name here is Snowshoe because when he was little I would also snowshoe around our yard to pack down paths for him. But he never pee'd or pooped on the paths, instead he chose to go off the path into the deep snow. Usually he would fight his way through the snow to a spruce tree or to our cedar hedge, not nearly as deep snow under them. WE are getting close to 75 cm (~30 inches) on the level here, judging by the split rail fence. With a fresh 15 cm overnight we just got back from a snowshoe in untracked snow. Oban still goes off the trail to poop, away he went floundering through snow over his back to avoid sullying even my snowshoe trail.
Dozer was always to busy jumping around like a jack rabbit but when he HAD to go he managed. Truth be told, I just left it until I could find it. Never had any issues where it got tracked in. I had bigger issues of trying to get him inside because he loved the snow. I remember one year out shoveling snow I heard him start kind of crying. Found out as I was tossing, he would catch the snow and his mouth got frozen open. Then one time I ran in to the house to warm up (-20F something ) I forgot about him being out there and when I turned around he was standing at the slider with 5 inch icicle hanging off his face.
Had the fellow that snow blows my driveway and walkway to front door create a path down the deck stairs and a little bit down below......BUT Cooper just went out, jumped over the high snow pile created by clearing all of this, made a trail all the way to the back yard and pee'd!!! These dogs of ours are so funny, aren't they? So you snow shoe......loved the name....but had no idea why!! But Oban never did his business on the paths.....I tell you....they are so funny. They can certainly take care of this themselves, I guess! Still, I feel better knowing he can go down the stairs without slipping and sliding down them. Thanks for your answer.
Ouch, Stryker!!! mouth frozen open!!! Poor Dozer......My dog is white so, in the snow, I really lose sight of him.....and his recall is not great when he does NOT want to come back in. He loves the snow (thank goodness since we live up North) but I worry a bit about the cold on his paws.....dont worry about his body because he loves the cold....but his paws? Imagine they could certainly freeze when temps are so low? Thanks for your response....guess I was worried for no reason! This Labs are so darn smart.
Quinn chooses to go on snow banks and put her paws up against them and it looks like she's peeing standing up - hilarious! She also prefers going in the deep snow in her usual spots and barely squatting than on the cleared sidewalk. All our snow is now melted but it's icy!
I looked at it this way... ..If at anytime he got cold or it was painful I was confident in him he was smart enough to come in before it caused him any harm. That and I knew from past experience that anytime he got hurt he would seek me out where ever I was (inside or outside) and let me know. Other than when I left the house/property there was always a way he can get to me. Most times it was a simple act of leaving a door open and if that wasn't an option I would call him inside/outside with me. Of course there were times neither options were not feasible but those were rare. It was his home as much as mine so my house guest either dealt with that fact or never came around without prior approval.
My labrador only pees/poops on grass (a wonderful habit she has) and she's always confused the first two days of snow She does a few circles around her usual spot, packs the snow and then she's fine... walks can be interesting sometimes, she cant find a nice spot and runs around until she does
When the snow comes, my dogs prefer to go to the loo on it than on grass. As it gradually melts off our terrace, they have to turn tighter and tighter circles
Northern Minnesota here. I keep a couple of areas cleared off with the snowblower just for such occasions, however Bailey ignores those areas and climbs the biggest snowdrift to do her business.
