walking the dogs in the rain

[FrostyPaws]

I sit up and watch my dogs work a carpetmill and a slatmill most of the time. Put that alongside some flirt pole and sling pole work along with sprinting with 20lbs of extra weight, and I can afford to sit up and give the dog an extra day of rest if it's raining like 9 hells outside.

CYJ says it best. Too many days in a row will put your dog at a disadvantage. You don't have to walk the dog in the rain to get some work put in. Walking a dog is fine and good, but it's not gonna be a determining factor in a win or lose situation if it doesn't get walked for a couple of days.

[Kahlil]

First off, everyone on this topic has very valid points. The problem is that there is not 1 specific way to get the job done, we all have different ideas and for that matter different lifes. Take me for example; I'm a 9 to 5 type of person the majority of the time, so if the bad weather comes when WE are scheduled to work, we will have to work. I've used the dog jackets for a long time and I have never had a problem.If those fuzzy sled dogs can go for days in -30 below weather, my hounds can do the same in 0 degree weather for a few hours. Thats just me.

KD

[Limey Kennels]

Tru Every man has its on way. In my time and day nearly every body walkt dogs as a foundation prinsiple to get durabilety strenght. tredmill work was seen as a way of interval training,. to give a dog more stamina and to learn to recuver quiker in between first and sec wind. Nobody workt a dog on a mill alone, beside some bolio/tomstone breeders/dogman.
They simply did not have enoughg durable strenght and didnt need to have it.. to be able to compeat.. we walkt dogs in freezing temp snow rain storm you name it. those dogs are not poodles and can take it . BUT you need to dry em up good have good warm bedding and keep them out of the draft. and of the ground. can remember working LK CH Alligator on the Jack Kelly golden keep. witch was more like Grenshaws keep. we would power walk him upto 2 1/2 hours and gave the dog 3 x 25 min mill sesion with 25 min cool douwn walks in between. and rub douwns inbetween the power walk and mil sesion start.
we used that keep more then ones in winter time .. never ever did one of the dogs suffer from walking in the rain ore on the snow ore ice ore in the hard winds that we faced..
Later we left that keep for wat it was. and compleatly canged to a less can be more aprotch..
now having said the above i do realize that not every famely/bloodline wil be able to take wat we used to do.

The defensive typ of dogs like many a Bolio/tombstone strain(read many not al)at the time that where over here. where dogs that could not take it. .
Let me ecsplain why .
As it is back then WE always belived that those screeming tail douwn tuck away legs runn away dogs where curs.
but later when more nolige and ecsperiens setteld in we belived that these typ of defendsif dogs had a mutch >>>lower pain resistance!!<<<. making them defendsif dogs to stay out of trouble and to get to the place where the pain came from>THE HEAD<. they where just as game but simply feld more pain...

These type of dogs are mutch more vunereble to outside influenses like cold rain freezing temp. they where more raingier build dogs on a finner frame,they iven showed it in there recuvery afther a show ivend!!.
These type of dogs do need a diferend aprotch to be sucsesfull then others.. Like many a ofendsive dog from a ofendsive bred famely/ bloodline. Who are sometimes to toughf for his own wel being!!. and simple takes to mutch!!!.

A comon problem umongst Paterdale breeders and hunters, where many a patterdale take to mutch damage in the holle uder ground. witch shorten there career... hensh these guys breed them softer from time to time..... This is why some people can work with one famey and not with others!. and thats why there are many contracditions where many a discusion about quality dogs from diferend bloodlines come from..

[FrostyPaws]

I think all dogs can be worked in the rain and snow. I don't have any doubt of it. I'm just not working a dog in the rain. The only walking my dog does is from my house to my shop to be worked and sometimes on off days. I don't walk a dog in a keep any longer. I did that when I first started working dogs many years ago, but I've since dropped that as it's simply something I don't feel is needed. When I read the keep that Bert Sorrells used, I started using carpetmills, and I've not handwalked a dog since.

I simply am not trying to get sick during a keep, which in turn, makes me miss work and possibly make things worse for the dog. In the job I have, I can't go to work sick with the flu, or any significant sickness, due to the people I care for are immuno-compromised. So while I get some people do it, it's simply something I can't and won't do for aforementioned reasons.

[TopShelfKennels]

If walking is needed, then the weather doesnt matter. I use a different keep for different style dogs, they all do not have the same amount of walking in them. But if walking is a big part of the keep im using, then thats what we have to do. Rain, snow or 100% weather, we still walk.