Skiing with the pup

[Dawn Patrol]

Lil fucker froze his sac off this past weekend. Any advice on keeping him warm? He was wearing one of those doggie sweatshirts, but got cold pretty quickly, I had to cut the day short...

[Cyber Cop]

Is he short haired? The most I ever did for my pup was booties, but he hated that, so I usually kept his paws trimmed up and made stops to clean out his feet. He had a big natural coat, so he never really got cold. In fact I used to make him sleep in my bag on cold nights so he could keep me warm. Damn I miss that mut.

[Donkey Punch]

Not knowing the breed its tough to throw out many suggestions, the biggest thing with our Australian Shepards is to keep moving. THey are fine till we sit around, especially if the wind is blowing.

And don't make the same mistake I did last SUnday of losing track of my dog for 1 second. He ended up just below me and as I went to stop he put is leg right in the way and it got sliced pretty bad. He was a trooper though and still made the run back to the car on his own, then spent all night at the CSU vet hospital getting stitched up. He should be good to go by next weekend though, and will hopefully keep a wider berth from now on.

[cold_smoke]

not sure there is much else you can do if you already have a sweater for the pup. What breed and how old? My lab has never really had those issues but we generally only tour for 2-3 hours.

Is he short haired? The most I ever did for my pup was booties, but he hated that, so I usually kept his paws trimmed up and made stops to clean out his feet. He had a big natural coat, so he never really got cold. In fact I used to make him sleep in my bag on cold nights so he could keep me warm. Damn I miss that mut.

check out 'musher's friend' a think wax that you put on their paws.

[chickonastick]

check out 'musher's friend' a think wax that you put on their paws.

Sweet, I just found that, it is "mushers secret". Our pups have a hard time too, but love to go skiing.

Dog jacket - there are a lot of different ones out there. I made one with windblock fleece, and another with fleece and nylon on the outside. A sweater doesn't do much good outside without a windbreak. Imagine yourself with only fleece, it's not really an "outwear" in the winter. Check dog hunting websites, cabelas, etc.

[Dawn Patrol]

He's a Brittany Spaniel. Coming up on 1 year old. We were only out for about 45 minutes and he was shivering. By the time I took my skins off he was shaking so bad I skied down holding him in my jacket...

[haydukelives]

they seem to adapt very quickly.

give him extra meat.

vaseline and PAM spray also prevent ice between the pads. and so does keeping the hair short there.

[GoAskAlice]

Check out the dog hunting vests. They come in varying layers of thickness, similar to wetsuits, and also come in camo patterns. I chose to get the hunter orange so she stands out. Hunting birds in Feb. it can get kinda chilly and it does a good job keeping her warm throughout the day. Being a lab, shes a natural swimmer, but the vest does add a little bit of floatation for the longer retrieves.
I've been happy with it because it keeps her warm and it doesn't interfere with her range of motion.

[Cyber Cop]

lots of good info on paw protection....

Sounds like your spaniel needs to "harden the fuck up".

[chickonastick]

lots of good info on paw protection....

Sounds like your spaniel needs to "harden the fuck up".

Actually, she might be a bit young for such a large endeavor. Cut her some slack till she's about 1.5 yrs (still practically a pup), and keep her warm. Have you taken her out on small trips, well packed places such as an XC day? She might need some confidence, and familiarity with the situation.

And be careful for neoprene exterior, it is warm, but evaporates so much they can be chilly when not "in" the water a lot or continuously. Definitely design for water hunting, since they keep so warm wet, but wet as in "in the water"

[Dawn Patrol]

Thanks for the replies! This was his first ski trip. He runs about 4 miles a day and has been out snowshoeing a few times. Arc'teryx have an SV line for dogs? :-P

[chickonastick]

Ruffwear seems to have a nylon covered fleece jacket. Their stuff is great! I made jackets with short front legs on them, full belly and chest/armpit coverage. If you sew, there are some good patterns out there, zip up the back or slide overhead. Mucho better than even Ruffwear.

Have fun, I love to ski with my pups!

[Cyber Cop]

Welcome Chick on a Stick!






God I've been waiting years to say that.

[chickonastick]

Welcome Chick on a Stick!






God I've been waiting years to say that.

Figgured someone would like it. Then I'd know whose posts to avoid. FAST weed-out!

[Cyber Cop]

^^^ eh, you'll be PMing me in no time. Chubby chaser...

[Atlas Q. Powmonger]

I've been wondering about this. I have a hard time finding sweaters etc large enough for my dog. He's a 1.5 yr old Spinone and although he's only 80 lbs, he's tall enough to set his chin on the kitchen counter. Mammoth doesn't get that cold, so I've been thinking I'll just test the situation out this spring when it's mild and see how it goes. Any tips for newbies to skiing w/ dogs?

[Mathematics]

^ start skiing a little around your dog now to get him used to it. mines 2 yrs, just took him out this nov on a couple early season missions and he definitely does not like people sliding downhill on sticks. not bad if you go fast enough to stay ahead of him, but he pretty much ruined both tours for the beginners in the group.

[chickonastick]

Any tips for newbies to skiing w/ dogs?

Yes, teach them to NOT stay on the backs of your skis. Whether you are skinning up, and then especially while skiing, it sucks if they are running ON TOP of the backs of your skis. I prefer to have them behind me too, so teaching them "get back" is a good one, meaning get behind me, even further behind me. Behind is good so they don't go off gangbusters and all of a sudden are sliding towards some rocks, or such crazy thing. Behind you YOU can control their route and descent speed.

[RootSkier]

DP, be careful. A year is really young for a pup to be grovelling along in deep snow all day. I would keep doggie tours very short this year.

[BeanDip4All]

Arc'teryx have an SV line for dogs? :-P

As someone else stated, I would compare ruffwear to be the equivalent of arcteryx for dogs. our guy has some ruffwear items (as well as a few silly haute couture items from etsy! ), and they are great quality and very very durable.

DP- photos of ze pooch, por favor?

[babybear]

I've been wondering about this. I have a hard time finding sweaters etc large enough for my dog. He's a 1.5 yr old Spinone and although he's only 80 lbs, he's tall enough to set his chin on the kitchen counter. Mammoth doesn't get that cold, so I've been thinking I'll just test the situation out this spring when it's mild and see how it goes. Any tips for newbies to skiing w/ dogs?

my dog is a teeny big for most vests/jackets at about 75lbs too so I used to put my old down vest on him and it seemed to work ok. I just got him a snazzy new parka though so no more hand-me-downs

[MultiVerse]

Bring treats. Most are probably already bringing extra snacks for their dog(s) on long tours, but just in case, dogs burn a lot of calories running around in the snow and a little extra food beyond their normal diet helps them stay warm.

[Atlas Q. Powmonger]

I prefer to have them behind me too, so teaching them "get back" is a good one, meaning get behind me, even further behind me. Behind is good so they don't go off gangbusters and all of a sudden are sliding towards some rocks, or such crazy thing.

That makes sense. I think my main concern is going to be making sure he'll stick close. We go running on leash but I live in San Diego so we don't do a lot of off-leash hiking outside the dog park (rattlers in the summer). Sounds like that should be lesson #1.

Maybe the Sherwins would be a good place to start. Relatively short. He'll be a pain to pack out if he gets tired!

[Danno]

Thanks for the replies! This was his first ski trip. He runs about 4 miles a day and has been out snowshoeing a few times. Arc'teryx have an SV line for dogs? :-P

Maybe you're pushing him too far too fast. 4 miles of running a day for a one year old seems wrong, I have always heard to avoid stuff like that until they're older. Have you checked with your vet?

[chickonastick]

That makes sense. I think my main concern is going to be making sure he'll stick close. We go running on leash but I live in San Diego so we don't do a lot of off-leash hiking outside the dog park (rattlers in the summer). Sounds like that should be lesson #1.

OK, I'm a bit OT, but you can get your dog "snake trained", esp in Cali. There's also a vaccine which is supposed to be somewhat comparable to getting the antivenin.