My dogs are equiped for winter too well. So depending on the temperature we bundel up and go in the wood or stay inside.

At the moment we don't have much snow and it is more like a skating ring outdoor then any thing else so we are stuck inside.

When I can I drive off to place were we can play lie the agility center. Most store don't allow pets including the Home Depot.

Here in West Michigan it's been raining for pretty much two months straight. We get some snow that melts quickly and refreezes into ice. Not fun for me, but the dogs are loving the weather because they can finally expend all of their energy and not over heat.

When it's just too cold for me we go to pet stores and do some distraction and self control training and I allow them to wander around and investigate things. Were I am I live within a few miles of three or four pet stores and a Lowes store that allows well behaved dogs.

As far as I know, Home Depot banned pets a few years ago from their stores because of someone's dog acting aggressively and biting an employee. Lowes still allows them but it's at the manager's discretion. I typically keep my dogs in the lumber and indoor gardening areas because it's usually less populated than other areas. It also helps to buy a vest that advertises 'Dog In Training' or something so that employees will be more understanding and friendly toward the fact that you have a pet in their store. You can always tell them that you're working on obedience or working toward becoming a therapy dog.
It's worth a shot to ask your smaller local hardware stores. Many of them don't mind someone coming in with a well behaved pet because they usually don't have carpeting or soft materials being kept at the dog's height.
Some auto part stores allow pets to shop with you, you just have to call and ask or show up, keep your pet in the car, and ask permission from a manager. Some may be worried about possible poisoning but it's fairly easy to calm their fears if you explain you keep your dog well under control.
Old Navy also allows pets in their stores at the manager's discretion, however it MUST be a store with a parking lot entrance instead of one located in a mall or something similar. Only service dogs are allowed inside of malls.

We don't keep our cars in the garage. Instead, we have rubber flooring down and a place to work the dogs in the lovely Maine weather. We have a carpet mill and a motorized treadmill. A spring pole, and a flirt pole. And that's the "we don't feel like a snow adventure" gear.
Cause for outside..... We have a kicksled, and sliding snowshoes!!!!
And just in case they don't sound quite spoiled enough.... We also have a 5k square foot, BJJ/mixed martial arts gym that doubles as our bad weather "yard". We have enough room there to let them play, or set up agility runs. Hell we even do weight pull with them there!
Yeah.... Our dogs have it pretty rough.

 Quote: Jay Jack

We don't keep our cars in the garage. Instead, we have rubber flooring down and a place to work the dogs in the lovely Maine weather. We have a carpet mill and a motorized treadmill. A spring pole, and a flirt pole. And that's the "we don't feel like a snow adventure" gear.
Cause for outside..... We have a kicksled, and sliding snowshoes!!!!
And just in case they don't sound quite spoiled enough.... We also have a 5k square foot, BJJ/mixed martial arts gym that doubles as our bad weather "yard". We have enough room there to let them play, or set up agility runs. Hell we even do weight pull with them there!
Yeah.... Our dogs have it pretty rough.

"We also have a 5k square foot, BJJ/mixed martial arts gym that doubles as our
bad weather "yard". "


Hmmmm ...... I don't know ..... you didn't mention a mirrored wall.

Connie- We have no mirrors in the gym.
A- I'm quite unattractive. B- It's dangerous. We have people, and weights flying all over. C- Proprioception and kinesthetic awareness are actually hampered by visual feedback.
So..... Yeah..... No mirrors for us.

Treadmills are great....but I won't put a young dog on them. I'd wait until the growth plates close...which in a GSD is 2 years old.

thank goodness for s florida winters
upper 70s low 80s
my only drawback is light issues
nighttime and a black dobie dont mix well together
i have so many lights on my dog she looks like a
christmas tree ( fits the holiday season well though )

shem hetep
nuk au neter

Eric, do you know about these?

http://leerburg.com/1201.htm


I love them!


Also, they are not round like a ball ..... the photo looks a bit like that, but they are more like a flattened ball (or flying saucer), so they aren't in the way when the dog lies down to sleep. Scroll over to the right-most pics to see the side view.

You can make them flash or steady.

Hey Connie
I've got one of those on my dog
The only drawback is they only work from the front
So I also have an led on the back of her harness
As well as a lite up collar
You can see my dog for miles lol

Shem hetep
Nuk au neter

I wish we could do that, but my husband has his word working stuff in the garage. So, its indoors we have to play. I use a treadmill, but lately with it raining, I don't take them out on the patio to use it. I need to get back at it. We also have a carport and I need to use that more too. We usually work on individual behaviors, and I also take them to petsmart to exercise and explore and visit people.
We have a puzzle we work with, and also play 100 things you can do with a box, or a cup. Sometimes I just take them for a drive.
It is funny how you say your dogs have it rough, we say the same things about our dogs. Right now they are all asleep on their blanket thrown over their mats. They have their crates in our bedroom and eat breakfast each morning. (had to implement this when cody got out of the hospital, he wasn't feeling well each morning, so I started giving him a small breakfast each morning) My dogs go camping and have their own built in crates. They love camping!
Love the pups though. have a blast training them, and spending time with them. sharon