I apologize for hijacking the other thread, so I’m moving the doggie discussions over here.
Just curious: are any of your animals getting spring fever? My dog HATES the cold and snow (she takes after her mommy (me)) but has been getting restless. She even voluntarily went out in the rain today because it was warmer than it’s been.
I’ve also been making the terrible mistake of looking at rescue sites around here… I know I’m not adopting until after the wedding but their faces are just pulling me in!
My dogs are Australian Shepherds (see avatar) so they certainly have plenty of fur to keep them warm. However, they’re not very tall, and the depth of snow this winter has kept them from doing their usual romping. They are delighted that the snow is gone in some places. They are also looking forward to finding baby chipmunks and squirrels come spring; those are apparently the more tender ones (or so they tell me).
My girl likes to go out in all weathers, as far as I can tell, although she is not wildly enthusiastic about pouring rain. She adores mud, just throws herself into it and digs around with her face, so I am kind of dreading her first crack at Maine Mud Season. All of the places I take her for off-leash exercise have streams she likes to plunge into, so I make sure to walk by them the last thing so that she can “bathe.” She kept up her swimming until late November last year. Otherwise I don’t know what I’d do, because I take almost every day, and a bath at the self-serve Dogwash every day would get pricey!
My boy is also a rescue and looks a lot like yours, romani He is not into walking in the cold or the rain (unlike his owner, who likes snow!). He will literally stop in the middle of the road and want to go home. I have to make an effort to get at least a 30 minute-long walk with him when the weather is bad (and he has a jacket to keep him warm too).
But about four weeks ago, he injured his leg The vet believes it’s just a pulled muscle, nothing serious, knock on wood, but they instructed me to take him out as little as possible - just to go to the bathroom. So now, he is incredibly restless. He is a ball of energy and pulling and jumping around (and he is supposed to keep calm and let his leg heal!), in any weather, just wanting to walk more. We have another follow-up visit this week, and I really, REALLY hope we can resume our long walks! He is going stir-crazy!
My dogs don’t mind the cold, but they are low riders and are not big fans of the rain. There is a gate between my backyard pool area and what we call our dog yard…it tends to get swampy with puddle that is hard to clear without getting their bellies wet.
What they DO like about the weather, is it brings the wildlife out more, giving them something to patrol and bark at…mostly turkeys and deer. Thank goodness, the fence is high because I wouldn’t want them running near any of their targets…I have been smelling skunk a bit lately
This winter was pretty hard on both my dogs because it was too cold for me to take them on their walks. They don’t mind the cold weather at all.The little one does have a hard time navigating when it’s more than 5 inches or so we have to shovel paths for her. She is the one who hates putting her feet in water. If it’s raining or even just dew on the lawn she refuses to walk on it. She will run back to the door without going and I have to tell her again to go. She will do this over and over until she finally gives up and goes down the steps and into the garden bed next to the steps - which is protected from the rain by a wee overhang. Right now my back yard is very swampy and we are supposed to get heavy rain later and tomorrow. Daisy is going to be very unhappy.
I put this on the name thread but will post it here, too. Good tips for getting rid of dog hair.
Our previous Pyr loved the rain and would go outside on the back porch to lay down in it. Our current Pyr is a rescue from Texas and when it starts to rain will come in. We attribute that to her southern heritage. She also likes spicy foods, we joke because they remind her of her roots. Sometimes she wants us to open the sliding door and he hangs her head and paws out and just lays there and watches the rain with a mopey face.
Our late golden retriever hated going out in the rain…didn’t like getting her paws wet but couldn’t wait for the pool to open so she could walk right in and go for a swim
@romani, I am curious…it looks like you have a pit bull . Do you own your home or do you rent ? I am wondering how you handle your insurance for owning a pit ? We are facing a dilemma from our insurance company for a rental property…our carrier is raising their prices and we are working with our agent to find a new carrier. One of our tenants has a pit and I either have to tell him to get rid of the dog or get an umbrella policy for the dog…we can’t get coverage without him doing one or the other
lje- I’ve actually chronicled my ongoing issues with this in another thread.
I do have a pit. I was trying to move to Ann Arbor but was told “no” by every condo and apartment I reached out to.
I currently rent out a house that I just applied to get a mortgage to buy. That is our only recourse at this point. We do have to buy extra insurance for her but it’s not much and it’s worth it.
Unfortunately, this means I have to continue commuting to Ann Arbor but I’m clearly not giving up my dog.
Sorry, one more thing, as a renter, if my landlord reached out to me and asked me to pay the difference for the policy to cover my dog, I would definitely do it - maybe that’s an option?
When you become a pittie parent, you know the battles you’re going to face. We take that on willingly. You can tell them to get an umbrella policy and they should understand.
With a golden, it’s not the washing that’s the problem most of the time: it’s the DRYING! Luckily Maggie is from southern field lines and so does not have a truly massive coat. But there is a big difference when you have a double-coated dog like a golden or GSD. Or Pyr.
I have to take an up-to-date photo of her for my avatar. She is no longer painfully skinny, and has a lot more coat and feathering.
All of the places I take her for off-leash exercise have streams she likes to plunge into, so I make sure to walk by them the last thing so that she can “bathe.” She kept up her swimming until late November last year. Otherwise I don’t know what I’d do, because I take almost every day, and a bath at the self-serve Dogwash every day would get pricey!
The vet believes it’s just a pulled muscle, nothing serious, knock on wood, but they instructed me to take him out as little as possible - just to go to the bathroom. So now, he is incredibly restless. He is a ball of energy and pulling and jumping around (and he is supposed to keep calm and let his leg heal!), in any weather, just wanting to walk more. We have another follow-up visit this week, and I really, REALLY hope we can resume our long walks! He is going stir-crazy!
