Walks/exercise during storms/heavy snow etc

[Doodledangle]

New to dog ownership so not had to contend with winter yet but with a severe weather warning what will you all do about giving your dog exercise (& general toileting) if they are saying it's too dangerous to go out?! We live in a village and there are trees in every direction. We have a small garden so no good for running around & letting off steam

Ditto heavy snow/ice - are they ok going out still?

High winds = open fields or playing fields.
Snow etc = any practically built dog (terrier, spaniel, lab etc) will be able to cope so long as you keep moving. Just watch for snow clumping in longer coats.
It's cold, wet, windy weather and standing around that chills them.

Depends on the dog, some don’t like wind or rain, some want to be walked no matter what.

Most are ok with snow though.

But the occasional day with no walk and some indoor games and stuff is totally fine.

Games/training in the house, combined with walks for toileting (mine has to walk for a bit before he can poo!)

Good waterproof coat and hat for me, and generally the walk is much better than the anticipation!

If it's too dangerous we just skip a walk - he's happy sleeping or having a lazy day.

The other day it rained non stop. They are miserable after about four minutes so just let them out on the garden for quick toileting then they ran back in. But most days there's a bit of a break in the weather and we go out then. Snow doesn't seem to be an issue though one of my dogs needs a coat.

Well it seems letting him out in the garden isn't going to cut it - I don't normally just let him free reign to poo/wee so he may have been confused plus was in and out suspiciously quickly and has just done a poo on the kitchen floor

Short 'round the block' walks will be in order today and thankfully I'm off work- just need to go and get the poor thing a coat. Thanks all.

When it’s raining I get mine ready for walk and then she usually decides to turn back home very quickly. After that she’s settled and happy to be at home.
My dog adores the snow! Last year we let her off the lead in a big empty car park full of fresh snow and she had an amazing time. Many dogs do love the snow. Mine wears an equafleece to keep her warm and so she doesn’t get too covered in clumps of ice.

Dogs love snow, rain not so much. Mine will be very fed up with rain today.

I’m late 50’s and have come from a farming/equestrian background and have always been around/owned dogs. I’ve lived all over the UK only once in my whole life had it been actually unsafe to go out that was when we had real blizzard conditions and 8 feet of snow. Where I live now lots of strong wind and rain are part of everyday life most of the year round.I walk my dogs everyday and in the pitch black regardless. Invest in waterproof/warm clothes warm clothes for yourself and good footwear it’s so wet here I buy high end (not fashion statement) wellies and wear them all year round. Neither of my average type dogs wear coats. I also have reflective clothing for myself and flashing reflective collars for the dogs. I can virtually guarantee you and the dogs will be fine.

Missing one or two walks will not kill your dog

However walking the in extreme conditions might.

Depending on your dog type, you get both of you kitted out in in good weather proof gear.

I have a diva greyhound, she has a fur lined waxed jacket and a snood for cold/rain.

She has a thick fleece coat for cold days

A light rain jacket for summer showers

a gold puffer jacket just because

She also has balm for her paws

Wouldnt take her out in snow.

Various pjs

She has a cool/wet top for summer months

Dont take her out on hot days

I have wellies, waterproof jacket, waterproof hiking boots, various fleeces etc

In short, dont get a greyhound they need a bigger wardrobe than you

For wind with my smaller two I have to consider if it’s too strong after forgetting wind lifts and turning corner to head off for a walk to my middle dog lifting off the ground! Quickly turned back and learnt my lesson that day so please consider weight of dog when the winds really really bad

Same here. We all feel better for being out and about. Dogs get washed and dried, then I shed my wellies and waterproof and go in glowing! Mine are used to a decent daily walk and I get restless legs if we don't go out.

Decent weather we go to the park or down the woods.
Rain, ddog had a dog coat, she doesn't like getting wet.
Snow, we walk her round the block in her dog coat.
High winds or thunder she's not going anywhere and makes that quite clear.
Sometimes we have to cut a walk short because she's scared of the sky (seriously) looks up fearfully, tail between her legs and heads for home.
We play ball in the garden in all weathers, loves playing ball.

I cant think of a day that we have not walked due to bad weather in the UK.

We may have changed the time of the walk or the location but we always go out.

The mad weather walks are the fun ones (and quiet ones!)

I’m in the ‘shirt round the block’ camp.

Regarding snow, last year, he kept himself amused playing in it in the garden. He was only a pup then so still on short walks.

Both of mine go ew no, it’s raining if I go to let them out in the garden, one can be trusted to decide when he’s actually desperate enough to brave the wet, the other I have to give him no choices and watch him.

But they’ll both happily go for a walk in any weather 🤷‍♀️

I put a coat on mine this morning and we were back within 15 mins, she’s had enough of the rain!

Statistically you’re significantly more like to be run over by a car/lorry/tractor or slip over in damp /icy conditions and fracture something.
I largely walk alone and in the winter in the pitch black in a very rural location the only weather conditions I don’t like is when there’s ice on the lanes because I could slip over. I still go but let someone know where I’m going and txt them when I come back I don’t fancy being stuck a mile from home in the freezing cold with a fractured ankle and a poor mob signal!

I walk as normal. I can either drive or get a good quality walk from home.

Terrier and last dog was a terrier cross hound. Built for work. A bit of rain won’t stop them.

If the advice is don’t go out then it’s garden only. Other than that it’s walk as normal, aim for a break in the weather, and dry off when home. I’ve never bothered with coats

Husband normally walks The Terrier during his day (WFH). He had major surgery a couple of weeks ago so she’s on 6 am walks with me before work. We’re loving it. Quiet, peaceful, no rude dogs, no rude owners, lots of sniffs and varmits to ‘hunt’.

We’re in the SW and went out as normal this morning.

'Normal' heavy rain or bad weather and we walk as usual, offlead on beach/woods. We live in Wales, I'm well prepared for really poor weather! Even on awful days I look at the forecast and there's usually a break at some point where it eases off and we go then.

However - on days with truly awful weather the whole day, hammering rain/wind/hail - we just skip the walk that day. I'd say it probably happens once every week or ten days through winter. We have a working springer who loves being out but she's absolutely fine with this and we just do training/ball throwing/tug of war inside instead. She has a toilet area separate to the rest of the garden which she uses.

I went out very early this morning before the really horrible weather arrives later. Neither dog or me mind the rain, my kids still have to walk to school in bad weather so I’d feel bad if I just stayed home because of rain.

I would only stay in if it was hurricane winds/risk to life weather which is rare in southern uk.

We get out and about in all weather. It is rare that it is dangerous to be out, and even then it doesn’t tend to last for a prolonged period.

My one unfortunately doesn't do the just around the block walks, once we are out he demands we go our usual route, he get's super annoyed 😀

He doesn't seem to bother with rain except shaking every 2 minutes. Other than that I don't think he has experienced really bad conditions. He has experienced snow once or twice in his 7 year old life