Arctic Adventures with Astrid

It was 2°F this morning. Despite being nearly 12 years old as well as arthritic, pup Astrid loves winter and cold weather. After allowing her pain meds to kick in, I let Astrid pick where we walked. Knowing she'd probably want to go far in these arctic temperatures, I bundled up real good. And I'm glad I did, because she indeed had us out there for quite a while. And she loved it.

Don't mind the snow on Astrid's face. She loves to shove her nose in snow, pick it up in her mouth, throw it in the air, and all that weird stuff that sounds really unpleasant to do with snow when it's 2°F outside.

I do wish Astrid would allow me to put little boots on her feet when it's this cold outside, but she refuses to even stand let alone walk when all of her feet are in boots. I do regularly check her toes on cold walks, and thankfully she's never had any issues. When it's below 0°F I do try to avoid taking her on too long of walks, though she's never happy about it. I don't know how or why she enjoys this level of cold so much, but I don't want to deprive her of what she loves, so this morning I just put on lots of layers and let her lead me into the winter wilderness.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

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Tip of the Day

Yesterday, we discussed wiping off furry feet and human shoes after going outdoors in the winter, in order to reduce exposure to products such as salt, or ice melt. There is another good reason to wipe off those furry feet after going outdoors, and that is to remove snow and ice from the paws and the toes they contain. When a dog or cat goes outdoors into the snow, their paw pads, the fur on their feet, and the areas between their toes can all collect snow and ice. This can of course be cold and uncomfortable, so when they come in from outdoors, be sure to wipe off their feet so that they can remain dry and warm. Especially if your furbaby is short or if the snow is deep, also wipe off their belly and anywhere on their body that might have collected cold snow. Also thoroughly wipe off your own feet when you come inside, or remove your shoes, in order to keep the floors dry and warm for your furbaby's paws.

In line with the above thoughts, if your pup or kitty goes on walks, consider taking a dry towel with you when there is snow on the ground. Snow and ice can clump up and get stuck between your furbaby's toes, and those with especially furry feet can attract extra snow and ice on their feet. So, if your furbaby is outdoors for an extended period of time, do consider taking a dry towel with you and removing snow and ice from on and between their toes throughout the walk. This will allow them to remain as dry and comfortable as possible when outdoors in the snow.