Yesterday we had a “big” snow event in Southern Indiana. I say big in quotations because 4 inches isn’t a lot of snow in many places, but we don’t often get that much at one time here. When we lived in Upstate New York 4 inches of snow occurred regularly and didn’t require running to the grocery store or closing schools or businesses. That was not the case here yesterday. Schools and businesses closed and kids were sledding and building snowmen. I stayed away from the stores, but image they were busy.
Sunny and I took the opportunity to use the snow as canine enrichment. She LOVES the snow. She likes to run around and get her nose right down into the snow. Sunny even likes to eat the snow. So yesterday I took her outside a couple times. The first time I let her off leash and practiced her recall. She loved running around, but then would stop to check on me and come running when I yelled “Sunny, COME!”. We did this early in the morning before anyone else was out so there were fewer distractions. She did fantastic and came running like her tail was on fire every time I called her. I’m pretty sure giving her treats for being such a good girl were the motivation.
A little later I took her back outside on her 30 foot leash and just let her explore the backyard. First she ran around with sheer joy at the sight of the snow. Eventually she started to explore and stick her nose down into the snow to smell the ground beneath it. At one point she even saw some deer in the distance and was quite interested in watching them. We spent about half an hour outside because I am a wimp about being outside in the cold. It was about the perfect amount of time. Enough time to explore and run around without getting too cold for either one of us. I won’t lie and say I’m not ready for winter to be over, but at least while it’s here we can still get outside for an interesting adventure, even in if it’s just in our backyard.
