Being lucky enough to have a very athletic German Shepherd/Beagle mix, I don't often get out of the task of dog-walking. Mickey doesn't care if it's 90 degrees or -20. He is up for an outing any time one is offered. And, living in Ohio, we routinely have temperatures at both extremes.
For those of you who aren't acquainted with the joys of taking a winter's walk in Ohio, I thought I'd explain what it is like:
1) Check The Weather Channel to see how many layers of clothing I need. Today it was 20 degrees--but felt like 14!--at 12:30 PM.
2) Put on one pair of thermal underwear.
3) Add a pair of yoga pants on top of the thermals.
4) Put a pair of lined nylon running pants on top of the yoga pants.
5) Put on a long-sleeved tee-shirt
6) Put a short-sleeved shirt on top of the first.
7) Put on a pair of thick woolen hunting socks.
8) Lace up my waterproof, faux-fur lined dog walking boots.
9) Work a generous amount of Musher's Secret into the fur between the pads of Mickey's feet to prevent snow and ice from building up.
10) Dress Mickey in his waterproof nylon, fleece-lined dog coat.
11) Wind scarf around neck.
12) Put on heavy Carhartt jacket.
13) Put on lip protectant.
14) Put on ski hat.
15) Put on ear muffs.
16) Put on gloves, making sure they're tucked firmly into my sleeves.
17) Put on sunglasses to block the glare of sunlight on snow and ice.
18) Pull scarf up over the bottom half of my face.
19) Put Mickey's leash on.
20) And off we go... for a walk that might last as long as it took me to get ready.
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