We have had nice winter weather the last few days, so my wife and I have taken some lovely walks with our dog. Our Labrador retriever loves to lay in front of the fireplace, when the weather gets colder. However, that does not mean that he is not enjoying winter outdoors for a few hours a day. We live in the city in close proximity of a few large parks. Thast good because that dog needs and want a lot of sport – around three times a day adding up to more than 3 hours a day. Since a Labrador retriever has a short, dense, water-repellent double coat that provides great resistance to cold weather, icy water and different kinds of ground cover he tolerates cold weather better than heat. Their double coating helps keeping him fairly comfortable in snow and rain. It really shows that this is a breed that hunters have outdoors for hours on end and in ice-cold waters. He is now one and a half-year old and loves deep snow. He will get some extra treats converted into energy which is needed to maintain body heat in the cold. We just make a point to check his paws when we come in from a winter walk or play session. There is little salts and other chemicals on the grounds in our area that can irritate his pads but we think the cold can causing cracking. Ice balls can form in paw crevices, along with mud and dirt being trapped could be harmful to him. Our Labrador is kept indoors, so just for the sake of our floor we wipe his paws, lower leg, and belly area after being out in the winter weather anyway. We have never tried the dog booties as the conditions are not extreme. Our Lab loves to run and retrieve in the snow but behaves very disciplined running along when we do cross-country ski – as long as he doesnt smell food or a cute female dog.

Enclosed are the picture of a walk last Saturday around our house. I not exactly certified urban wimp, but I almost froze my fingers making those shots in thin gloves. He just could not get enough. Labs are very tough….Lol. It was only about -6C that day so as long as they are moving around he would have been fine all day. I only worry about temp when we get to -15C or more and that’s more for me than the dog…