Playing in the Snow

With all the recent snow, we had to get a bit creative for play time.  Trail loves to chase a ball but with the maze in the yard, there isn't much space to run. So, best solution was to throw it over the huge piles of snow but sometimes the person throwing the ball didn't do such a good job of it.

Brook would wander aimlessly and then head for the door to go inside. Since it was such a beautiful (and warm) sunny day she was better off outside. Hmmm...how about a snowball?

I knew she wouldn't play with it much but maybe she'd paw at it and break it down.  Nope. She decided to eat it. 

In The Trenches

We recently had four winter storms over eight days.  Lots of snow, cold temperatures and high winds.  As a result there was so much snow that the dogs could not get beyond the door without sinking in the snow to their chests.

So I grabbed the shovel and started digging.  After clearing an area outside the door I thought that they needed more space than that.  So, I decided to dig out some trenches.

Brook

As you can see, the level of snow is above Brook's shoulders and also the same thing with Bill.

Bill

This is what part of the yard looks like with the big piles of snow.

The main problem with this is that I can't see where they are most of the time!  I can't even see the tips of their tails most times so I have to walk around and find them.

There is still lots of room for rolling around and you can see the circular impressions from the Jolly Ball being tossed.

Callie

As you can imagine, navigating these trenches and big piles of snow is a bit of a challenge for the two blind dogs.  The good thing is that it is a great mental challenge for them to figure where to go.  If they miss a trench, they bump into snow which is mainly soft so they won't hurt themselves.  It was interesting to watch how quickly they figured out the maze.

Can You See Me?

We've been having some cold weather the past few days, daytime highs of -16C/3F with wind chills around -27C/-16C.  

The dogs are enjoying the wood stove but blind and mostly deaf Brook prefers to be tucked in on the couch for extra warmth.  I couldn't help but wonder if she thinks she is hiding by "wearing" her camouflage. 

I was telling a co-worker about this and he suggested that Brook might enjoy having her camo warmed by the wood stove first.  He went on to say that they warm a blanket for their (very spoiled!) dog every winter night at bedtime.

Falling Down

When we moved into our new home a few months ago, both of the blind girls, Brook and Hiker adjusted well.  They had very little difficulty with the stairs which were painted instead of carpeted as they had been used to. 

There was one incident with Hiker who slid down after losing her footing while turning around at the top but that was it until Brook developed a problem. Over the course of three days, little blind and mostly deaf Brook fell down the stairs seven times.  In fairness to Brook, the stairs are a bit steep and narrow. Now, you'd think that after the first or second time she would perhaps stay away from the stairs. Not our Brook.  She kept trying.  Luckily she never hurt herself.

Although it is not the most eye-pleasing, we now have sections of carpet runner stapled on the stairs for safety.  It works very well and no more falling.