I find myself, as a "born and raised Mainer" to be very tolerant of extreme winter conditions. In fact so much so that when the snow is quietly falling, I head out with a pack of dogs. I love to watch them zig and zag in the fluffy snow and fall on their backs making doggie snow angels.
But today was not a day that I enjoyed it as much. I headed out this morning with my German Shorthair and a darling yellow lab that I'm pet sitting for. At ~5 degrees, the first couple minutes didn't seem so bad, but 10 minutes into our walk I was regretting the notion of braving the cold. Granted, these two particular dogs fared well in this weather. The lab is nicely insulated, stays at a decent pace and the GSP is pretty much at a constant 100 miles/hr. This high energy level keeps their heart rate up, the blood flowing and they stay warm. A little later in the day I had my little 11 lb. Italian Greyhound/Min Pin out in a jacket. As much as she LOVES to bound through the snow, today was not a good day for her to be doing this. Within 5 minutes she started to lose coordination in her legs due to the extreme cold. I scooped her up and got her inside immediately.
Here is a fantastic article on Frostbite and Hypothermia in dogs. It lists signs and symptoms of both as well prevention and treatment.
It looks as though we are lucky enough to see the end of this bitter cold heading into tomorrow and more snow on the way! But we'll take the snow any day!! Snowshoes and trail walks is how we roll in the pack!
The after jog peace.
About Me
- BirdSniffer's Pet Service
- Portland, Maine, United States
- My name is Tiffany Tappan. I am a proud native of Maine and a proud owner of a German Shorthaired Pointer named MossOak and a Black Lab named Roli. I spent 9 years in the military as a medic. When I got out I searched for that right career to satisfy my bank account. Well, here I am almost 10 years later giving up the 50 hour corporate work week, chasing my dream. From the time I was a little one, my family bred, raised, and showed bloodhounds. We also trained them as trail dogs (as is to their breed) to track lost humans or escapees from prison. My parents included all of us kids in on the training making it fun and exciting, for us and the dogs! After many years of that, Mom and Dad decided to take a break. I then introduced them to the breed of German Shorthaired Pointers. I had met one up close and personal and instantly fell in love with the breed, they did as well. Once again, we bred and trained them in Field Trial competitions. All of our dogs, whether it be 15 at time or 2 at time have been "top dog" members of our family.
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