Let it Snow...or at least that is what Lance and Lili say.....

Ok, let’s be real…Lance and Lili are hoping for more snow. Me, not so much. I grew up in Minnesota and still have flashbacks to those crazy times of snow. Though there was the one time when we lived out on a farm and we somehow convinced the school bus driver to drive the bus full of kids ready for a winter vacation into a ditch. I still remember all of us cheering when he did that. What were we thinking and…why did the bus driver listen to us? And…why was he not fired for putting our lives in danger? I’m sure he didn’t tell them he listened to a bunch of grade school kids and went into a ditch. I’m sure he blamed it on snow and ice.

Anyway, I’m getting off topic.

While I would rather look at the snow and stay bundled up and read a good book, Lance and Lili feel differently when they see snow.

Lili cannot wait to get out in the snow and she runs around like a puppy when we take her to the dog park. And while Lili enjoys a good sniffy walk any day of the week, there is something magical for her when it snows. She loves to put her nose in the snow and sniff and dig, hoping to find a little mouse or something delectable to eat. Lance has also become a champion sniffer and digger in the snow. He has a good teacher in Lili.

The downside to snow….salt. It isn’t good for their paws. It’s full of chemicals…even sand oftentimes will be mixed with chemicals to melt the snow quicker. How do you keep their paws safe??? Booties are becoming more popular to use, but neither Lance and Lili will tolerate me putting anything on their feet. They want to get out and not waste time getting booties on. And trying to put eight booties on two dogs is like wresting a toddler in the midst of a temper tantrum.

Wiping off the paws when they get home is another great idea, but my dogs again will act like toddlers when it comes to having anyone touch their paws. I don’t remember where we heard it, but if we have not been able to avoid the salt or sand, I put a wet towel down when we come into the house and they have to walk across the towel to enter the house. It isn’t perfect, but it is better than nothing.

So Lance and Lili will be out tomorrow morning, hopefully enjoying more snow and sniffing. And an added benefit for me is the sniffing is a good enrichment activity and it wears them out when they get home and they sleep for a few hours.