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?
Arthritis ranks among the most frequent diseases of the joints in dogs. It is accompanied by pain and limitations for physical activity. And because it cannot be cured I’ll give you some tips how to make the life of your buddy with arthritis easier.
It is nowadays completely normal to have dog restaurants, saloons and spas. People try to indulge their pets with all the luxurious things. Some procedures are more helpful than others. But thalassotherapy is one of those that can have a positive...
Nowadays even our pets are subject to diseases of civilization. Obesity is no good for them as well as for people. Do you know how to tell if your cat is obese and what are its causes and consequences?
The season of ticks is back again and so it is the right time to start protecting our pets. These parasites also bring anaplasmosis except from borreliosis. And the fact that this disease is not generally know does not undermine its serious impacts on...
You, as cat keepers, will probably be frightened when hearing “cat plague”. But precisely this phrase is sometimes used for panleukopenia which is a very dangerous cat disease. You may not only prevent it thanks to information obtained but to identify...
The whiskers on cats’ face are probably too noticeable to ignore them. But do you know all the places where cat’s whiskers with sense of touch are? And do you know how this comprehensive tactile body functions?
As you might know, the assistance dogs help people with various physical or mental disabilities nowadays. But there is a program in the US and in other countries which helps children to improve their reading and communication skills.
We are all try to give our dog companions the best, from health care to the leisure activities. Nutrition is no exception to that and it is prone to modern trends similar to those of regular human food. Reducing or opting out the grain from the diet is...
Whether it has undergone castration or any other surgery, your dog needs to rest more after it. But this can sometimes seem almost impossible. To “force” your beloved pet to rest is not easy, indeed. A few tips how to handle this situation follow.
The last time, I shared with you my opinions on castrations in general and I’ve named the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure in bitches. Now, let’s take a look, how it is with dogs.
Castration is still quite a tricky and discussed topic. Today, I will introduce you to the facts about this procedure and about its consequences and I will also share my opinion.
If you have one of the furry furring balls at home, maybe you know, in what kind of devil some of them are capable of turning into, if you need to give them a pill. If your cat belongs precisely among those, in which it’s almost a superhuman task, I...
