A Westie Snow Maze
Today is so warm and sunny, it's a little hard to believe that only a few short weeks ago, we had almost two feet of snow on the ground.
What do you do with that much snow and two fickle terriers who want to go out to sniff and explore, but who don't want to get snowballs stuck on their legs and bellies?
What do you do with that much snow and two fickle terriers who want to go out to sniff and explore, but who don't want to get snowballs stuck on their legs and bellies?
Plow a snow maze for them:
^ It's not quite an Olympic bobsled track, but they like it
The day after the big February storm, both Keli and Penny could barely contain themselves and could not wait to go out and romp and roll around in the new snow. But after they came back inside covered with snow balls stuck all over their legs and bellies, they refused to go back out. again.
After most snowstorms (even the little ones) we usually clear a small area for them to take care of business; after a few days they usually get bored with this small area and try to walk on top of the frozen crust of the deeper snow.
We were all starting to get on each other's nerves after being stuck inside for so long -- the Pesties needed some exercise, but a long walk was out of the question. While Rich was clearing the snow from the sidewalk for the third or fourth time, I asked how difficult it would be to use the snowblower to clear a winding path in the backyard for them, and the Westie Maze was the result.
For the first few days, Keli was obsessed with the new path and wanted to stay outside and sniff and dig for what felt like hours. Penny alternated between almost tunneling underneath and climbing on top of the new mounds of snow. Rich and I were both happy to be able to walk with them and not get snow inside our boots.
We can't take complete credit for the maze idea -- we were somewhat inspired by an episode of It's Me or the Dog on Animal Planet, where the owners of a wacky Jack Russell terrier set up a series of tunnels as a mini agility-type course for him to run around and play to burn off excess energy. Penny has a tunnel to play with in the basement, but Keli is petrified of it and won't go near it. We needed something they could both do outside on leashes, and since the snow is tall enough to build forts it seemed like a good idea to plow a meandering path in the back yard.
I don't know why we didn't think of this before; maybe having two dogs made it seem worthwhile. Or more urgent.
After most snowstorms (even the little ones) we usually clear a small area for them to take care of business; after a few days they usually get bored with this small area and try to walk on top of the frozen crust of the deeper snow.
We were all starting to get on each other's nerves after being stuck inside for so long -- the Pesties needed some exercise, but a long walk was out of the question. While Rich was clearing the snow from the sidewalk for the third or fourth time, I asked how difficult it would be to use the snowblower to clear a winding path in the backyard for them, and the Westie Maze was the result.
For the first few days, Keli was obsessed with the new path and wanted to stay outside and sniff and dig for what felt like hours. Penny alternated between almost tunneling underneath and climbing on top of the new mounds of snow. Rich and I were both happy to be able to walk with them and not get snow inside our boots.
We can't take complete credit for the maze idea -- we were somewhat inspired by an episode of It's Me or the Dog on Animal Planet, where the owners of a wacky Jack Russell terrier set up a series of tunnels as a mini agility-type course for him to run around and play to burn off excess energy. Penny has a tunnel to play with in the basement, but Keli is petrified of it and won't go near it. We needed something they could both do outside on leashes, and since the snow is tall enough to build forts it seemed like a good idea to plow a meandering path in the back yard.
I don't know why we didn't think of this before; maybe having two dogs made it seem worthwhile. Or more urgent.
update:
Nov-14-2018 Replace SewAmazin Flickr photos, uploaded to Blogger; remove link to SewAmazin Flickr slideshow
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