How cold is to cold

[zookeeper]

to take your dog out for his/her daily walk? How do you exercise your dog when it's too cold to walk? Post and let us know.

[MazieDog]

It's never too cold here... It seldom reaches 15 degrees here... Maybe once every 5 - 10 years... If it reaches that temp this winter, I'll have to see how Mazie handles it.. If it's too cold for her, we can play inside.

[Carrie]

Well, once it gets colder than about 10-15 degrees (above zero) F, we skip the long walks and maybe go bounce around in the yard for 20 minutes. They do get less exercise during the really cold snaps.

[TribalRats]

well I know it is not as much fun for sure however when it is freezing outside the dogs go for nice long walks on the tread mill....good enough for me....good enough for them when it is too dang cold out.
Luckily where we live it is rare that it is too cold, however it does happen.
We also have a HUGE fenced back yard so they go out there and tear it up daily anyhow, yes I know not the same as a walk but again when it is too cold they go out for a few min of running then head back to the house shivering so we go for walks on the tread mill.

[sammy]

it's -30 off and on during our long winters. My dogs still love to go- we just go for shorter durations (30 mins instead of 90) My dogs have lots of hair, I may invest in Muttlucks for their feet this year. Our old foster dog didn't have much hair so we had a custom dog coat (looks like a horse blanket) made for him and he LOVED it.
I have to admit though-- if it's colder than -20 I usually make my husband take them!

[Carrie]

I think the treadmill is a fantastic idea. I wish I had room for one....maybe in my garage/shop. Hmmmm. There's a little, local gym down the way and if you're a member, you have a key and you can use it anytime day or night, 24/7. There's hardly ever anyone there. (very very small town----not even a town) Do you think anyone would notice if I snuck Lyric in late at night and taught him to use the treadmill? He could do that while I lifted weights. LOL. We could both wear a walkman and listen to music.

Yeah...when it gets bitter cold, it's just not fun at all for any of us and it's dangerous as far as frost bite....not worth it.

[Pugdawg1]

When it's the 20s or lower, we forgo walks.... they don't have to be walked THAT bad, normally. Even with a coat on, they still have their rather bare bellies, inside legs etc that I worry about. Pugs are not the toughest creatures on the planet.

[mrsgrubby]

The other day it was 14 degrees F. I put Jasmine's sweater on her and took her for a walk. She actually seemed to enjoy the brisk air and spent much time smelling the snow. I think the cold might have preserved the deer scent on the ground. She was running around like crazy so I know she didn't get cold even though I did.

[Raised By Wolves]

Tia is a single coat dog, and gets chilled rather easily if she's not moving. I have a blanket/coat she wears when we are on walks during cold days. It never gets much below 30 at the most, around here.

I still do some landscaping in the winter months. Tia loves "denning up" in my car with blankets. If I have to be on a job with no car, I make a big nest for her. One thick blanket on the ground, Tia in her dog coat on top of that, and another big warm blanket wrapped all around and on top of her.

With just her nose sticking out, she's so toasty, she doesn't even move!

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

My bullies love the cool and colder weather but if its 20 or so degrees or less than playtime is limited outside.

We work and play indoors when it's too cold out and the dogs still get the same amount of time and exercise as they would outdoors.

[fireworksinjuly]

When its cold...like really cold out you cant get Kino back in the house. He LOVES the snow and cold... lucky for me hes pleased to run in circles in the back yard and chase the snowballs he threw around.

This is Buds first winter so well see how it goes. We had a few cold days last week with some snow and he seemd ok. He liked playing in it, but was pleased to go back in. Hes not much of a walk type anyways. A little romp in the back yard with Kino and hes ready to sleep till morning.

[gaddylovesdogs]

Yesterday it was really cold outside, and Colby has short fur, so I took a dirty hoodie and put in on her....rolled up the sleeves so she could walk. She looked sooo cold and I know that hoodie is really warm and fuzzy inside.

[theGOOCH]

It usually doesn't get sub-zero here, but we get our share of 10 degree days. We might get a few single digit days. Blitz loves it. Its our favorite time to go out. I'm fine at that temp as long as its not too windy. That makes a HUGE difference

[Carrie]

Oh yeah...that wind can split your bones right down the middle. LOL. If I can figure out a snood or something for Lyric's ears, I might go when it's colder. He does have a coat...not a very warm one though, but those ears....I'm worried about frost bite. As long as he's running, he stays warm. And apparently, dogs' feet don't get frost bite. The Chi's get enough exercise chasing around in the house, if they want to. They don't need so much like Lyric. Then there's my face. I hate wearing something over my face, don't you? LOL. That's the only part that would be exposed. And 10 degrees F is cotton pickin cold already. When it was 30 below the last couple years for a week or so, there was no way we went anywhere. They went out to pee and right back in. LOL. Now that starts to really feel bitter. It pinches. I was in a bar playing pool one night and it was all toasty in there from the fire place and we looked at the thermometer and it said -30....couldn't believe it. I knew it was cold, but after anything below zero, it's hard to feel the difference. It's weird....kind of a new thing for me, having only lived here for going on 5 years.

[Jamila]

Originally Posted by Carrie

Hmmmm. There's a little, local gym down the way and if you're a member, you have a key and you can use it anytime day or night, 24/7. There's hardly ever anyone there. (very very small town----not even a town) Do you think anyone would notice if I snuck Lyric in late at night and taught him to use the treadmill? He could do that while I lifted weights. LOL. We could both wear a walkman and listen to music.

Youre a goof....I have one of those here too, maybe I could round up my three and we could over-run it in the we hours of the morning....lol Geez it would be a workout just getting mine TO the gym.....j/k