Comment

Comment by Denis J. on January 23, 2014 at 8:10am

Just an example.   Yesterday we've received that North Eastern Vortex a.k.a. simple snow storm.

I took Wally through the brushes and connected in the park.    I had fesh powdered fluffy snow to my ankle but Wally was loving it, jumping like a jack rabbit and every time a little mound came he would run through it.    Once in park we started walking but I was worried he might get cold.

We did the entire circle, about 2.5km in fresh powdered snow at night.   The sights were amazing as we were the first ones to cut through it.  The wind would push the snow, crating wave like mounds in the snow.   A few snow mobiles grooming the inner trails for the Cross Country skiers would create coming lights through the trees, something reminicent of the X-Files...    :)

Wally lasted the entire walk and even back home after over an hour he was still going strong, rolling in it, digging and eating some along the way.   Tonight we're at it again, this time it fun in the snow hill created by the plow.   

 

Comment by Denis J. on January 22, 2014 at 7:25am

Same here.    I live by a community park with walking trails and I've cut myself a path in the bushes and branch to access the trails.  This way we're avoiding sidewalks full of salt.    Wally's paws are completely filty when we come back if we use the roads.  Not sure if it's the oil or fuel from all the city work trucks running but they're black and smell very strong of like the inside of a car garage.

Comment by Holly on January 21, 2014 at 7:48pm

I don't think the cold is that problematic. My dog seems t love frolicking in deep snow, but she does have trouble in some instances. She starts to limp after walking for a few minutes in sub-zero temps on snowy and ice covered surfaces. I think it is the chemical salt and de-ice material that hurts her paws. She is fine as soon as I rinse her paws in lukewarm water, but she really seems to have trouble waking on treated surfaces if the temps are minus zero on salted surfaces. Not sure what di-icing materials are used in other parts of the country, but in our area, wooded country paths seem less difficult than the main, salted/de-iced asphalt surfaces.

Comment by Denis J. on January 21, 2014 at 12:54pm

The way I see it is that Corgis have a few 1000 years of genetic material ahead of us before being domesticated for simply house pets and/or show dogs.   They worked on farms and landscapes showcasing castles, green pastures and generally a place I would kill to visit one day..    :)     I wouldn't worry about it.   

Below -20 Wally will let me know by laying down and licking his paws a few times.   But at -20 and above, he's like a kid in a candy store.

 

Some fun facts about where the breed comes from:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardigan,_Wales

Comment by Nora on January 21, 2014 at 12:37pm

I agree with Beth. Because of the double coat, most of the corgis are fine with cold weather, sometimes really.

I just move to a place there were a few weeks are around -30C. My corgi doesn't mind at all and LOVE running in and out of the snow.

The only thing ever concerned me were her paws where less hairs. I use Musher's secret wax which works well sometime, no luck with any booties though. After a few weeks arriving here, she grew out long hair from her paws.

I found she is OK and play without any concerns as long as the temperature doesn't drop below -20 C.

Therefore, if your place is not as cold as my place, your corgi should be fine. Just supervise the play time and watch out for limping or lifting her paws up.

Comment by Beth on January 21, 2014 at 12:07pm

For MOST Corgis (if he has a good coat already at 6 months), cold won't bother them until it drops into the single digits or there is a heavy rain. As far as the dog's health, the more outside time the better. Most of us are too busy to give dogs as much outside time as they really want, but if you can get him an hour or so a day total plus some inside play and training time he should be ok.