Winter Dangers

[rebecca23]

Hi everyone!
Just wanted to share this experience as a warning for everyone else. I walk Jake all the time at a local dog park, but last week we had a real scare. Off one of the paths there was a low land area that had gotten flooded and then frozen over. I always keep Jake on leash around the duck pond in the park, but I didn't even think of there being water in a place like that so unfortunately Jake ran onto the ice and fell through. He "swam" for a second and then found something to stand on so his head was above water. Needless to say we were both terrified and I ended up having to go in after him. The water was up to my thighs in one area! We were very lucky it all worked out ok though. Other than being wet and cold we both survived unscathed. Poor thing feel down my new hardwood stairs and pulled a muscle 2 days later so he had a rough week though! I'm getting a runner for the stairs!

Enjoy winter but beware!

[French Queen]

Hi Rebecca - thanks for sharing your experience with us, glad to hear your both ok, you must have been terrified. Its a good idea to get a runner for your stairs as some of them race up & down & as they are top heavy they have a job to stop & can go over head over heels. Maybe you could carry him up & down for a few days till his leg is ok or stop him going up if it's not necessary.

Some of mine would plough straight into icy water if I let them, the cold doesn't seem to bother them. I confess I hate the winter; you have to watch their feet on the salted paths/roads, sometimes their eyes run when the cold air hits them too. I usually grease mine up before I take them out.

My heart stopping moment concerning water happened a few years ago in the Autumn, I took some of them for a walk (1 rottie, 2 frenchies) into the woods, a river ran all the way through it. I wasn't partially concerned as all of them weren't keen on water, if any of them so much as got a paw wet they would think they were being drowned :eek: We came to a part where the river narrowed, it was covered with a blanket of leaves, you can guess what happened next the rottie thought he was still walking on the path he went straight in & under, it seemed ages before he surfaced, when he did he didn't move a muscle, the expression on his face was saying "help Mom I'm stuck" :eek: I tied the two frenchies to a tree then I tied the rott's long training leader around another & lowered myself down the embankment to him, he wasn't stuck; the big bugger just wasn't going to budge. I clipped his leader on I didn't know if the leader would take both our weight so I scrambled up the bank then pulled him up, I couldn't stop shaking, as I know this river has terrible undercurrents; it has claimed a few lives over the years, I never took the dogs back.

Have a great Christmas & a happy & healthy New Year

Best wishes

Queenie & the little clowns:)

[rebecca23]

Wow, that would have been terrifying!! Thanks for all the tips!! His leg is healed now, thankfully and I don't let him go up or down the stairs by himself. I go in front of him or behind him, just to be sure. Happy holidays to you!!