Cross Breeds

What to do with dogs in the major snow?

I currently live in Mississippi, and we are moving to South Dakota next month. So far in South Dakota the weather has for-casted over 12 feet of snow. I am originally from Michigan so my dog has seen one full winter, but did not take to it very well. For the people that live up north in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North & South Dakota etc. what do you do with your dogs to use the bathroom? I thought of litter box training him, but thought I could get some other suggestions from y'all. My dog is a miniature rat terrier, and is only 13lbs.

Public Comments

1. Get him a small jacket to wear when he needs to go outside. Dig a little path in the yard where he can do his business and then bring him back in.
2. Most dogs love the snow! They romp and have a great time. Caution!!! Do NOT eat yellow snow!!!!
3. There are things called shovels. Shovel out an area of the yard for them. Additionally, the snow in South Dakota is generally dry and powdery, which means it drifts - and most yards will have an area that is, if not snow-free, will at least have only a little amount of snow.
4. Ahem....open door to pen,shove dog in,close the door. Reverse the process when it's finished. Ta-dah!
5. Hello, I live in Michigan, so I know what you mean. I would just shovel a pathway from the door that the dog will be using to go out and then a larger area not too far from the house. Take the dog out on a leash and wait for him/her to go potty. Once the dog has peed/pooped in that area, he will want to return to the same place the next time. I have found that this training is actually pretty easy, because they want to "go" real quick and come back indoors. When the weather is nicer, they seem to want to dilly dally around for a longer period of time, rather that doing their business quite quickly. BTW, here in the Detroit area, we did wake up to a dusting of snow this morning! Here we go again! Good luck in your new move and with your dog.
6. Keep an area of your yard clear from snow, and also pick up any gifts as they are left. I live in Canada and I know snow. I keep big dogs and they love the snow I actuualy snow blow a course in my back field so I can play fetch all winter long. Snow blowers are right after dogs as mans best friend in the great White North!!!!!
7. When I lived in NJ my dog loved to play in the snow. The bitter cold was another story. Never wanted to go out when below zero. But would be nice enough to do the business and come back into the house.
8. My parents live in Delaware and had two dachshunds (one just had to be put down because of a spinal injury). They get snow in Delaware and this is how they would deal with it. They would dig a little area for them to run around and use the toilet (they would usually dig a path all the way round the pool in the back yard so they could chase the dogs to give them exercise or allow them to chase each other. The dachshund that just had to be put down was a short hair, he had to wear coats almost all winter long, even indoors. You always had to be careful when sitting down because you never knew which blanket contained a cocooned doxie.
9. i dont live in an area with a lot of snow, but my chihuahua is litter trained, so we dont need to go outside. but when we go out for a walk i put on her coat, sometimes her boots, and we go out and play. you may want to go out without the dog first and walk down a path so the snow wont be so high on the dog. if the snow is 18 inches or less, just let the dog run out in it.
10. I'm in Canada too, we get plenty of snow here. They pack the snow down and make trails. http://photos.imageevent.com/freenite/march2008storm2/websize/IMG_1342.jpg My only concern is if the snow gets so high they can go over the fence. That happened last winter, when we had the second highest snowfall on record, nearly 15 feet. I had to shovel around the inside perimeter of the fence to keep them in. Here's what the view was out the back door of my shed after a major storm. http://photos.imageevent.com/freenite/march2008storm2/websize/IMG_1408.jpg Here's a house in the village http://photos.imageevent.com/freenite/march2008storm2/websize/IMG_1394.jpg Mailboxes http://photos.imageevent.com/freenite/march2008storm2/websize/IMG_1398.jpg Where's that global warming when you need it?