To walk or not to walk???
 

This is probably a really stupid question. Guess I'll put it out there and see what everyone says. The weather outside is frightful - it is below zero right now. My 4 lb Yorkie is in the house 24/7 except when she is out to do her duty and when I take her for walks. Well, the ground is frozen and the sidewalk is snowpacked and the wind is blowing, and I'm bundled up from head to toe. My sweet little Yorkie has on her hooded coat. I have bought her little footies/socks/boots of every shape and size and she kicks them off within thirty seconds. Anyway, my question is: Does the cold frozen snow and ground HURT her feet in any way? It seems like she doesn't really care, but if there is a patch of just plain sidewalk she will land in that spot rather than the snowpacked spot. I just wonder if I should stop trying to take her out for a half hour walk everyday until the weather is warmer. Anybody got any comments for this crazy yorkie mamma? I love my baby more than anything in the universe! Even hubby and grandkids...

Gosh and I thought we had some cold weather in here in Florida. I don't take mine out when it is below 40. If it is too cold for me, it's too cold for them. I'm no expert that is just me. I just let them run like crazy in the house to get that energy out and it's kinda funny too. Totally understand the love too.

40? In that case, the Northern State and Canadian Yorkies would never go out!

In Chicago, they go out all the time. Clear a parth thru the snow, and let them out. THey go faster, but make sure you go out with them in case their paws freeze. Common sense and a jacket goes a long way.

I think it's fine as long as you can notice when she is getting too cold. I would protect her feet if you could try and keep booties on.

I don't take mine for a walk if it's under 30. It's too cold! They go out in the yard to do their business and then right back in.

Dinky needs his walk, but when it the temperature approaches freezing, he doesn't get it. It's too bad because he loves his walk and really benefits from it. Exercise from chasing toys is just playtime for him.
We had one glorious sunny day last week. He was so, so happy. Sigh.

Thanks for the input. She won't keep booties on. They fly right off, she's too little. I even rigged up some baby booties I thought would work. Nope. Guess if I take her out for a few minutes a couple times a day it will be okay. I just do NOT want to risk hurting her feet. And can her paws REALLY freeze? And how would I know? That is wayyyy scary!

Not a stupid question at all. Yorkies weren't bred for the extreme cold, so you really should take precautions. With the exception of a short trip out back to pee, I put a coat and booties on mine any time it's lower than 30F. We go on walks down to -5. Any colder than that, I play with them in the house for exercise and let them out briefly on a shoveled area out back.

If the cold doesn't seem to bother them, I don't think they HAVE to have booties for short walks. Dogs can get frostbite, but generally not in 10-15 minutes, especially when they're moving. Salt on the road or driveways is another good argument for booties.

Mine don't especially like booties, but they can handle longer walks with them on. One of Eddie's fell off this weekend when it was about 30, and he immediately started lifting up that foot, telling me it was time to go home. Jillie will walk forever with booties, but she wants to end walks quickly without them.

The best booties I've found are simple fleece sacks, like socks. They're so light, the dogs learn to tolerate them quickly. The secret to the ones I buy is that the velcro is attached to an elastic strap at the top. The elastic allows you to get it snug without cutting off the circulation. I buy them from a woman in town who patterns them after the ones used by sled dogs, but I'm sure they could be made pretty simply.

The woman I buy them from has a website, Page 1, but her pictures aren't very good. Also, you have to e-mail her through the Contact Us link to order. I buy 3XS for 4-pound Jillie and 2Xs for 10-pound Eddie.

Hope this helps.

Mine are all bummed out too. We had two good days last week and we walked on both of them. My Westie has been so sad all day. The dogwalker came and walked him for 30 minutes (she comes twice a week if it's not too cold) but he was wanting back out this evening.

I'm ready for Spring!

Teegy loves it outside.

I used the Pawz on him last year and he never complained of cold and they aren't insulated. It gets quite cold and snowy here.
I just bought him muttluks and he seems used to them after one wear, but I haven't seen if they stay on in deep snow.
He has lots of sweaters and coats to keep him warm.
I think it's like us, once you get moving, your babies will warm up.

We still go when it's in the 20's, but below that - no. She won't keep a hood on her head and even when there is no snow on the ground, I worry about her ears freezing. They are so thin! I put a 4-legged jogger on her and a coat over that if it's in the 30's or below. She loves to go for walks and insists!:)

Thank you Alaskayorkie, I will contact the website and see if I can order her some decent boots. Everything I have tried, and it's been a LOT, just fall right off. I tried to make my own without success too. I have a box full of rejects and it's adding up in price! This morning she went out to do her duty and kept lifting up one back paw like it was really bothering her. I checked her out carefully and couldn't find anything. It's just so cold out there! I wish spring would hurry up. Like only 3 or 4 more months.:(

I wonder if there is a way to make garters that would criss-cross on her legs and go over her back so they'd stay on? Don't laugh too hard if this is ridiculous!:p

I'm picturing a Yorkie walking around with garters strapped to a girdle. It's not a pretty sight. :p

Harley just kicked his boots off today... I bought "invisaboot" it's a cream that you rub on thier pads to assure salt doesn't damage them...

So to answer your question the cold wont hurt them that bad.... it's the salt and other crap that is used to melt the salt.

I just spent christmas in ottawa where it was freezing... Harley went to play in the snow but at the same time... he was not happy, didn't like the cold.

Personally I don't like taking him out when it's crappy. Harley is indoor trained with a grid system, so we don't even go out for daily business.

Thank you for saving me. I shall forever be devoted.:D

If it's to cold for me then there's no walking. I have Bella trained on using the treadmil with me holding the leach. She just got done with a 1/4 of a mile. That seems to help with burning some of that yorkie energy. :D

LOL, much better image than I had conjured too!

I won't be much help when it comes to cold weather because we seldom have it. However, I understand the little boots issue. I tried putting some on my yorkie to keep the sticker burrs off his feet when we camp at the beach. I finally bought the smallest size baby socks I could find and wrapped self-sticking velcro strips around the tops of them. He couldn't kick them off. It looked silly but it was better than miserable burrs in his pads.

Genius! I think that's a great idea. I hear there's a stretchy velcro available too. That would be even better, imo.

I tried the thick baby booties with velcro last year and I must not have done it tight enuf. They stayed on until they got wet and stuck to the snow and then they just pulled right off. But I think I will try that again. I will look for some stretchy velcro. And I actually have already thot of the suspender/garter idea--that goes across her back in a criss/cross fashion. Hubby thot she would make a seductive little stripper for the neighbors male! I just hate to pay for those mutluks and have them not work and have to add them to my basket of failures. It's 15 degrees out there right now and theres a horrible inversion. The air is toxic! Our happy little valley doesn't clear out the rotten air very easy when it's this cold. Hurry up spring! In the meantime we have stayed inside except for duty calls. I've been throwing her toys up the stairs and down the stairs and making her huff it up and down over and over. She ended up flopping on the floor last night, like: NO MORE, MOMMY! PLEASE! So I guess she is getting her workouts. It's me tho. I like and need to walk and I hate that treadmill. How on earth did somebody train their yorkie baby to follow along on the treadmill? Maybe I should give that a try...she always just barks at me and goes to snuggle with hubby.

:cool:

VELSTRETCH® I found it at Lowes. This is the Velcro that requires wayyyyy to much torque. It took 2 of us to detach the velcro from itself.

Shoot, that's too bad. I love the idea of stretchy velcro, but that super-sticky stuff is too hard to get off on a tiny ankle. I might check the manufacturer online and see if they offer other other types.

chatwizme, you might google around and see if you can find an instructional video on dogs on treadmills. When Eddie did physical therapy, they just started him real slow with a harness on that they could grip. 100 percent supervision. He wasn't real interested in treats while on it, but that would be the way to start. We never got to the point where he liked it, though. :(

If its colder than 30 degrees we dont walk