How Do You Exercise Your Dog In Bad Weather?
October 4th, 2009 | 
Author:  |
I’m lucky that I have a small short haired dog that doesn’t need a ton of exercise,
but for those who have an active furry big dog, how do you deal with rain & snow on a daily basis with a dog that needs daily exercise?
Coats?
Treadmills?
Wiping them down before you go in?
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Tags: 12 Responses to “How Do You Exercise Your Dog In Bad Weather?”
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Well where I live, it doesn’t really get too cold, and it rarely ever snows (like maybe once every 10 years), so luckily we really only have to worry about rain.
When it isn’t raining too hard we still go for our usual walks, I use an umbrella and Caeser just enjoys getting wet! When we get home I wipe him down good.
If it is really stormy out, I put him on the treadmill, which he enjoys, for 15 mins or so at a time.
I live on a farm and no matter the weather I have my chores and I am outside for atleast two hours a day and of course my dog comes out with me. When its really cold like -30C she does get a little chilled when she is sitting around but usually she is running around and being a bad girl chasing my livestock. She does grow a little bit of a winter coat and I do warm her feet up on those really cold days every half hour. If it is raining it is not that cold and she is perfectly fine.
The snow is no problem for my Dobermanns because they adore playing in it and can’t wait to get outside. I just grab my thermals, hat, gloves, scarf and down coat and go out.
Rain is a different issue altogether. My Dobes loath the rain, even with water resistant coats on, they would prefer to stay comfortably indoors. I have to force the issue and make them exercise in the rain.
My oldest Dobe is due to have surgery soon (TPLO) so she will be on restricted exercise for a few months this Autumn/Winter, while she recovers.
One of my dogs doesn’t mind snow or rain. She is a 22 lb short haired dog, who thinks her main purpose in life is to run around the backyard, chasing birds and eating anything she can chew and swallow…
Honestly? She prefers doing that than playing with a toy. I’ll take her on a walk but when the sidewalks are icy, its safer for her and I to just have her tire herself out back there.
My other dog doesn’t mind the snow, but is much less independent and would rather be around me. She’ll do her business outside, and want to come in to play. Playing fetch (yes, in the house!) is usually the easiest, because she has a TON of toy drive. She could fetch for HOURS. Unfortunately, due to her tearing her ACL and the heightened risk of her tearing the other because of it, fetch isn’t really an option anymore.
I’ll either play tug with her, or I’ll just bite the bullet and pay to have her do some hydrotherapy a few times a week.
A good comfortable coat that fits your dog well will help. Start out with short walks, 10 minutes or so to acclimate to the cold weather. I walk a small dog here in Michigan. We do not go for walks on the really cold days, 10* or less or the blizzardy days.
A 20-30* days, we walk 20 minutes or so.
Maybe on the really cold days, you could play a good game of fetch indoors with a favorite toy.
I live in SD & if its tolerable for me to go outside with a coat, I bundle up the dogs & we go for a walk. Maybe not a marathon, but enough so that they aren’t driving me bonkers.
Only when it gets down in the single digits or negative temps, and/or when the wind chill is bad, we stay inside and I throw Tana’s stuffed toys for her until she gets sick of it. And I break out new chewies for both of them.
Oh, and when it’s cold and/or wet outside, I’ll either put towels in the dryer or hang them over the heater vents so the dogs have warm towels when we come inside. They are a shorthaired African breed & LOVE the heat….so they love their warm towels!!
Snow is no problem, my dogs were built for the snow. I can let them out in the back yard in 15 feet of snow and they’d play until they couldn’t handle it anymore. I also take them to the exercise pen provided by my apartment and let them run there too.
Rain? Oh no sir-ee! I’ll stay indoors and play tug of war until I collapse before I’ll go outside in the rain.
my dane has a hoodie.
it really sucks when its this cold out.
we let them out in my backyard to go potty and stuff. they can play out there.
but I take them each for a walk/run every day
in winter…we just make it a shorter run
I am very dedicated to my dog, but I kno it is a hassle to wipe her paws after a walk. I have tried to take her to indoor places for excersize, but I dnt have the time for that every night.
Take your dog out in the rain and snow. A dog is built for any weather. If need be, put a sweater on your dog and let it outside.
Same here, i have 3 small breeds. But when they go out to relive themselves and its cold, they all have there jackets or sweaters on.
my dog has a little poncho try that and in the winter i would just get one of those sweaters for him