Walking the dog in winter?

[ambsfuller]

My puppers is 5 1/2 months old, Golden retriever, and born in August. I've had him since 8 weeks old, and used to walk him A LOT when it was warm enough, but since I live in Canada sometimes we get very harsh winters, and this is one of them. It was -30 c (-22 F) or lower for a week straight, and has been staying at -18 c (-0.4F) for the rest of the time... he LOVES going outside but you can tell when he gets too cold because he'll lift his paws up within 2 minutes of us taking him outside for a potty break. I have tried boots, jacket, etc, but he kicks them all off, and the hood on his jacket (kong jacket) always hinders his view... I know he really needs exercise because he bites a lot thinking we want to play because he's restless, but its genuinely too cold outside for the both of us... He still has short hair so he has no protection outside. It seems like he still has a summer coat too.

There's not really any indoor places in my city I can take him to exercise, most of them are shut down or are really far away from me, and I live in an apartment so I can't really do laps with him around the house without breaking something (it's a 3 bedroom apartment but it's longer than it is wide)

any advice?

 

[adesigner]

@ambsfuller Take him to Canadian tire! I would walk my pup up and down the aisles for at least an hour. Lowes allows dogs inside too!
When it was -45 is Regina that's how I got some energy out

 

[ambsfuller]

@adesigner I would, but the only problem is I don't drive yet and nobody I live with drives either, the only place that allows dogs near me is like a 15-20 minute bus ride away, and the times I have taken him on the bus he gets really anxious because he can't walk around. I don't have a carrier for him anymore, as the wheels on it broke so I sold it as its too hard to carry down the street... and he's too big to fit in my jacket lmao.

I get my license in October but I haven't driven much so I doubt I will be taking him or my newborn in the car for at least a couple months while I take driving school lessons.

 

[mikula20117]

@ambsfuller Can you order some Musher's Secret from Amazon? I use it on my dog, and while it isn't a cure all it does help prevent snow, ice and salt build up on the feet - I have a long haired fuzzy feet doggo, and if it works on him it will work on your Golden. I also stick it on my dog's nose because when we're walking his nose is always to the ground.

If you have a few extra plastic cups at home (red Solo cups are great for this), try playing shell game with some treats. Or, if you're doing an Amazon order, get a tricky treat ball. Sticking my pup's meal ration + a few stinky treats in it keeps my guy entertained for 30-45 mins.

I understand how difficult it is when you don't drive. I've broken both of my feet when I've had dogs lol.

Edit - I saw this silly video on FB this week about ppl creating mazes with water bottles or red Solo cups for their dogs to navigate to get treats. My turd of a dog would just knock over the maze to get the treats, but maybe you can train your pooper to do it.

 

[adesigner]

Sorry to hear that! Maybe a second hand treadmill?
Booties really worked for my pup too. She figured out pretty quick without them on her paws froze! Hopefully the weather starts to warm up a bit so you can take your pooch out. But next year you'll have the resources to take your dog out in even the nastiest weather!

 

[mikula20117]

@ambsfuller Hello, fellow frozen Canadian lol. I took my pup to Petsmart last weekend right when it opened and we walked around the whole store, stopping to do basic obedience (sit, down, stay, touch, look at me, spin and twist, some Relaxation Protocol exercises etc.) in each aisle. I even had some of the store staff get it on it by having them ask him to do those things. He's very distracted by birds, so working in the part of the store with the birds really made him think. It wasn't a lot of physical exercise, but it got his brain going. He was snoring on the drive home.

 

[ck_49]

@ambsfuller Your best option may be to find a good daycare nearby to let him spend the day at a couple times a week. Even if you don't have anything you need to go do, daycare gives them an indoor environment to run, play, and expend energy. Once he's a bit older, he should have no problem spending time outside on colder days; keep in mind that retrievers were bred to go swimming in ice cold water and be completely fine. If you really want to do some walking with him now, work on conditioning him with the boots and jacket. One boot on, treat. Jacket on, treat. Walking a few steps in them without trying to take them off, treat. He'll soon learn that if he keeps them on, good things happen, and the longer he wears them, the less he'll mind them. It's a lot like getting a dog used to a collar, just takes some time.

 

[ambsfuller]

@ck_49 I'll try the treat desensitization, I can't find a daycare as I don't drive and I'm tight on funds as there's a lot of personal stuff going on in my life right now.

I feel like he is a genuinely fussy dog and he won't like the boots but I will try lmao.

 

[ck_49]

@ambsfuller He's a puppy of a breed that's extremely eager to please, he'll do whatever you want him to if you take the time to properly train him.

 

[itrustgod]

@ambsfuller Can you run with him outside? My pup runs so much that she stays warm.

Also there are things you can put on the paws that help such as musher's secret or Lanolin.

 

[marck]

@itrustgod I love Musher's Secret. It helps with the cold, but more importantly, it protects against the salt. It is truly the stuff of miracles.

 

[kolinfarrel]

@ambsfuller I'm just an hour or so south of the Canadian border and I feel your pain!

Since we've had our big snows and cold weather--so since beginning of January probably, I've taken my 9 month old lab puppy out on a walk outside maybe 2-3 times total. I have taken her on walks in stores that allow dogs a few times but pretty much all of her exercise comes from playing fetch indoors and using a flirt pole indoors. She earns her meals playing fetch; each time she brings back the ball after I throw it she gets a few pieces of kibble. Each meal I feed her (2-3 meals per day) generates about 30 minutes of fetch play time. I also pepper in a couple 15 minute flirt pole sessions per day as well. So she ends up getting between 90-120 minutes of exercise per day doing just that and she seems totally fine. I also do lots of puzzles and chews during the day but meal time fetch seems to be doing the trick for the most part.

 

[peppapixl]

@ambsfuller Get him a jacket and maybe some boots.

I'm in MB, it's been pretty shitty cold recently. Like, -50 and colder with windchill. Just bundle up and keep the walks short.

 

[hazardousblock]

@ambsfuller I'm so sorry to hear. I live in California (San Francisco area) so our coldest days are like 45 degrees F... but we've had some crazy rain. Because the rain is a bit more than usual, our infrastructure (and my backyard) sucks big time. It's just a swamp and muddy. I don't have a 5 month old, just a 3 month old, but she still needs some stimulation. I've tried doing a ton of training inside the house and lots of kongs and tug games. The only thing is, YOU have to be as engaged as the dog, and can't just let the pup do his thing.

I've found that 30 - 45 minutes of me doing non-stop training (for her meals, she doesn't get food in a bowl) and then a final kong for the remainer of her meal, knocks her out well. I'm sure an older pup also needs even more physical exercise, but this might help!

 

[kbupdike]

@ambsfuller You have to train/condition dogs to accept wearing boots or Yea, they'll just kick and paw at them.