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Well, I have to admit that I've not "walked" Abby much in the last couple of months. Way too much snow, no sidewalks, icy roads, and I'm a klutz. She's had lots of exercise in parks, etc. chasing her toys, and all that, but the actual "walking" definitely went by the wayside.

Tonight I tried the umbilical cord walking / running with Abby - never done this before.

At first when we were just walking, she was a pain! (And we'd already been out for a 20 minute rollerblade / run 2 hours ago!!) The walking mode appeared to be "forgotten."

So, I started running. Let me be the first to admit as a smoker who does NOT run on a regular basis, it was a bit painful for me ... BUT she followed me to perfection ... I was so impressed. We ran / walked / dodged / twisted / turned and all those wonderful things ... all in the middle of the road of my subdivision (lots of people came out to see what the heck the crazy lady was doing in the middle of the road) But she did awesome! I was so impressed that she picked up on something that she's never been taught before so quickly.

Once we stopped the running, a couple of people came over to ask me what I was doing. I explained it to them, and they were all impressed! It was loads of fun, and I was so proud of my dog!!! A couple of them admitted that they'd seen me playing with her and her ball, but because of her size were afraid of coming to say hi. They were able to pet her and all that, and she lapped it right up (this has actually never been a problem for her, so I wasn't worried there!) An older couple was asking me where they could more information b/c they were thinking of getting a dog (they just retired). I told them all about this site, and the book and the wonderful people. I even volunteered to run their dog for them!!!

It's funny, b/c I've always believed that Abby is well trained, and while I still believe she's well trained, I'd now put her on a scale of 8 out of 10 ... I'm now striving for a 10!!!

Marion

I too have been out for walks with Abby just in the past week...We've been to the park but way too much snow still to do umbilical.
I struggle during walks and have been doing the umbilical of course. She was a better walker before winter came along. I've been doing all the turns. My sons said I look like I'm dancing... step front, step back, side & side. lol

I'm looking forward to using obstacles. She needs that!

Why do all you guys keep saying there is to much snow for umbilical?? I live in a town that is 1000 meters above see level and has snow from start of November to at least sometime in May (more that 6 feet at times) and I am still out walking and doing umbilical at least once a day year around with 3 dogs. There is no good excuse for not walking a dog as the need daily stimulation and parks will not provide the level that they need. Yes it is harder in the winter but you just have to be more creative and put on some boots.

Sorry not trying to be negative I just want to open peoples eyes as I am pretty sure Brad would say the basically same thing if he was to work with you and your dog.

My eyes are open and I have boots!!! I live in a snow belt and beside the lake! I fell twice walking her! She wasn\'t pulling either! Where I live, there are no sidewalks. This winter,in most parts of Ontario, it would melt then freeze. (It was a crazy winter!) The streets were extremely icy. Trust me, there\'s nothing I\'d like more than to walk or jog with my dog every day. I had to put her on the treadmill. As soon as I saw pavement (it wasn\'t until a week ago) I was out there. I have been out now every day!!

When I was able to walk her cuz of sand trucks, I had to find another strategie to do umbilical. From great advice recieved on this forum, I was able to snap sit my dog when she pulled too much or step back. But, like I said, when the weather got weird melt and freeze, seriously, it was extremely slippery. Before Christmas, I would walk her in feet deep snow cuz they take awhile to clean the streets. But back then, there was no ice!

When I went to the park, Abby was able to play with another dog. I was excited so I moved to an area away from the street... It was up to my knees!

Well that\'s my piece for the day!

When\'s the full moon?

I hear you Michelle.
I fell 3 times here and once in Toronto. The first day in Toronto Brad had me all hyped up about going new places. Bad idea. Ended up going down on the ice and hurting an already bad knee. Next day in Toronto, about 5 minutes into the class I went down again. Made for a rough street training program but I still managed to learn lots.
This past week has been wonderful. out several times a day.
Yes I was out a couple of times EVERY day this winter, just somedays a lot slower and more cautious.

Thanks!

The second time I was being cautious thow!
I\'m glad I didn\'t get hurt!

I guess thats one thing I kinda take for granted here, we have groomed trails that dogs can go on all winter and other ones get well boot packed. I have still managed to fall the odd time though but at least on a groomed trail its not so bad.

I still can't wait for the snow to be gone here, Ive been driving down lower for a lot of my training the last week

We have a big yard, so she would run around the property and up and down snowbanks. She loves it! I would point to a snow bank and she'd climb it. Some were about 7ft high. I was like agility!

I wish we had groomed trails! But,we have lots of snowmachine trails! lol

It's just been the last 2 weeks here that it's actually possible to walk down the road without meeting icy patches. I've finally stopped wearing my boots...yipee!!!!

2 weeks ago I took Bayley to the park in Kingston, the snow was deep enough to cover the seats on the picnic tables! Today we went and lo and behold No Snow and even the lake has thawed out!!!!! She went for her first swim, I think the water was a bit cold and of course she just ran in..cough cough gasp!! Not too many dogs today but she had fun playiing with the ones she did meet. Lots of trees there to run around but today I just let her run and play.

Misfit,

I'm not trying to be rude, but not all of us are physically capable of running through 6 feet of snow with our dogs. I live in a residential area that had so much snow that the roads were inaccessible for three days. I had to park my car at the end of the main street (along with everyone else in the subdivision) and walk through paths that people had crunched down with their feet. The ONLY reason we got the roads clear enough was b/c everyone in the subdivision got together and shovelled / snow plowed the roads and the parking lots. This happened on 5 occasions when we had big dumps of snow. The city was simply not able to keep up with it, and neither were all the people.

The first winter I had Abby I was walking her outside and I slipped on a patch of ice. I did the splits for the first time in my life and tore my hamstring. I couldn't walk properly for a month, and I was in physio for three months. Thankfully, at the time, I had a number of friends who were more than happy to walk Abby for me.

The second winter Abby slipped on the ice (we were walking quickly) and tore her cruciate ligament (she was just over a year old). Thankfully, I had pet insurance, b/c the surgery was $$$.

The day Abby came home from the vet I went into the backyard to scrape the ice of the steps so she could go to the bathroom without either of us slipping on ice. I fell on the ice and tore my achilles. Thankfully, not in half, but enough to have me in physio for 6 months, and on crutches for nine.

This winter, I was very hesitant about being outside and falling. I am no longer covered by insurance b/c I changed jobs, so if I get hurt, I can't go to work, and I don't get paid. I still made sure that Abby was outside every single day for exercise, and on really cold days she got two or three short spurts of exercise (-50 with a the wind chill is too cold for any thing - dog or human - to be outside in long periods of time). I also drove to my friends house (who has dogs and acres of fenced in yard) every weekend that the snow permitted so that Abby would be able to play with other dogs and have fun in the snow).

On the nights / days that it was virtually impossible to be outside for long periods of time, and to ensure that she was mentally stimulated, I played her "find it" game in the house (she's 2nd level trained in SAR) with her toy. We would do this for a minimum of a half hour at a time, twice a night ... or 4 times if it was during the day.

Please don't be critical about people that can't walk their dogs every single day in the winter. Even though I wasn't able to, I still ensured that Abby got lots of physical exercise and mental stimulation.

And here I was trying to show off how smart my dog was, and I get told to open my eyes and buy boots ... Shame on you.