In Praise of Snow Boots

When it snowed last week, I thought Alfie would be cold and maybe even avoid going outside.  I know he's got long fur, but when the wind blows it can part it right to the skin -- brr!  But, basically, Alfie proved that he's a lot tougher than me when it comes to cold weather.  He loved the snow.

He snorfled in it and ate it until his whiskers were white...

...went exploring the whole yard as if it were new, digging up sticks and leaves to play with...

...even (gasp!) lay down in the snow for a little snooze!  

All day he was in and out, in and out...never wanting to stay inside too long.  Reminded me of a little kid!  Well...if any of you readers have experienced this, you'll know what it led to:  snowballs developing in between his toes.  I'd clean them off every time he came in, then he'd go out and get more. Ack! 

Time to get out the snow boots!  When we bought these, the weather was warmer and they were on sale.  They're nothing fancy or professional, just basic and functional.

One thing you must know about me:  I am not, repeat not, a person who enjoys dressing up my dog!  So this was all about keeping his feet snowball-free.  I'd gotten them remembering the blizzard we had here last winter...this winter has been much milder, but hey, a dog has to be prepared!  Here he is, all dressed up:

Snazzy or silly?  Time for some product testing...

We put them on inside first.  He pranced around high-stepping for a few minutes, then seemed to settle in all right.  Out he went into the snow, and it took only a few moments for him to realize, wow, he had really good grip with them on!  If he liked the snow before, he loved it now -- he zoomed around the yard faster and faster in giant circles, zigzagging and bounding through the snow.  It was hilarious!  They stayed on really well with their velcro closure and were clearly a big hit.  So -- yep -- these boots get a resounding 4 paws up from the Alf.

But wait, there's more!  Alfie loved the boots so much, in fact, that he didn't want us to take them off when he came back in.  The whole main level of our house has hardwood floor and he's never been able to run around without skidding.  With the boots, though, he was unstoppable -- he circled through the kitchen, careened past the dining room, raced through the living room--around and around again, with the greatest of ease.  Show-off!  When we finally did take them off and left them behind closed doors in the sunroom, he asked to go out -- only to run in to the sunroom, grab his boots, and bring them to us so we could put them back on again!  Finally, to stop him incessantly asking to go out, I brought the boots inside the kitchen to dry, putting them on the top of the fridge.  Charissa and I were watching tv a few minutes later when we heard a strange scrabbling sound accompanied by some rather pathetic vocalization...went in to the kitchen to investigate, and sure enough, there Alfie was on his hind legs, looking longingly up at the top of the fridge!

...And, nope, I'm not getting anything from EthicalPet for this endorsement, although I think I should!  

Think we'll get any more snow this winter?!