Before we get to winter sports that you can do with your four-legged buddies it’s good to remember the care that you shouldn’t forget about in this period.
If your dog is short-haired, dress them for the outdoors in an adequate winter outfit – especially when the temperature drops to zero. If the dog’s paws come into contact with thawing salt, wash them with lukewarm water after you come home. You can also treat them beforehand with a special protective product.
And of course, give good consideration to the physical fitness of your furry friend, and if it’s not used to long training even at more favourable conditions, start with winter sports slowly. Rather do the sport’s activity several times a day for a shorter period of time than once for long. You can gradually increase the training time and take from its frequency.
Skijöring – you’ll stretch both your body and your dog’s body
At a cottage, on a mountain holiday... Just anywhere where the snow terrain allows it, try skijöring, that is cross-country skiing together with the dog. This sport belongs to the category of those, that strengthen the relationship of the owner and the dog, and at the same time, skijöring requires their coordination. It’s also a condition that the dog be strictly disciplined.
In skijöring, the dog runs harnessed in a special strap in front of its master, who is following it on cross-country skis. This winter activity will be appreciated not only by Nordic breeds, but also by hunting breeds. Summer equivalent to skijöring is the modern canicross, when dog and human run together. Also joined by a strap.
Mushing – sport for the demanding ones
Mushing, or dog sledding, is not something that you should do with your dog only once. It’s rather a long-term hobby that requires real discipline. You surely know pictures and videos from mushing: a harnessed dog pack carries a dog handler on the connected sled. Nordic breeds are best suited for this sport.
With a medium-sized, fit dog (or even a pack) you can try a version of mushing and perhaps harness them to a sleigh that you or your children will ride on. However, the dogs must be disciplined, obedient and trained.
What else can you do?
In winter, you can continue even with sports that you’re used to from the previous months. If your dog fell in love, for example, with dogfrisbee, indulge it in its favourite activity even in the snow. Do you set out for running together? You don’t have to stop even in the winter. Just make sure that you switch to doing sports at low temperatures gradually and that the dog’s paws don’t suffer from thawing salt.
Do you do sports in the winter with your dog? How much time do you spend outside?
Kitten Lady describes her activities as kittens’ advocacy and humane education. This all is done by young beautiful Hannah Shaw. She’s a kitten rescuer, spreads the principles of humanity and is an unwavering advocate of animal rights. She decided to...
Several kinds of hedgehog are kept as pets. The most common one is the four-toed hedgehog or an African pygmy hedgehog in other words. This pet which is not very common but is becoming more and more popular can live up to 9 years in captivity and...
More than one artist fell in love with these creatures and looked for inspiration for work in them. One of them was Ernest Hemingway. He is the author of the well-known saying “One cat just leads to another”. He really kept a large number of cats (in...
We have an active and healthy lifestyle. Or at least we try to have. In relation to that, we don’t only think about our own food but also about our dogs’ food. The trend of barfing has already come to the Czech Republic, too. It is a method of feeding...
If you go camping for the first time, it is good to prepare for all various reactions of your furry friend. Do you travel with it by car and by public transport with no problems? Is your dog okay when not sleeping at home, e.g. in a mountain cabin? It...
As the name of this breed suggests, you can’t expect much hair on an American hairless terrier. This small or medium size muscled dog has hair only on its muzzle and eyebrows. But the interesting thing is that puppies are born with an undercoat which...
Let us get this straight, what is monoprotein food? It is wet food (i.e. cans and pouches) which contains only one type of meat, muscles and bowels. And why is it better than common wet food?
A meat bomb in a form of a dog paté or can doesn’t have to be only a reward. If you are planning to go on a long hike – to the mountains or to the valley – you can make the use of a dog meat can. Dogs in move, usually when doing any sport outside, need...
The cause of diabetes is a lack of insulin (a pancreas hormone) or the inability of the body to use it effectively (i.e. the resistance of tissues towards insulin). And it doesn’t matter if you’re a person or an animal. With diabetes, the sugar is...
Runner Dion Leonard could talk for hours about the bond which is created between a man and a dog and also about how an unknown Asian crossbreed dog becomes one of the most famous dogs on planet Earth. He bumped into a dog companion at the ultra-trial...
Even when you cannot or don’t want to take your dog on your holiday with you, you still have many options what to do with it. You can take him to your relatives, accommodate it in a dog hotel, use dog-sitting and other things. It’s not that easy with...
Cats can also be heroes and put their lives at risk to save someone from risky or life-threatening situations. The first cat hero I will introduce you to is Scarlett. She showed her heroism in the most natural form – she saved her kittens. She took...
