Tully, a 4 year old lab, was so excited, he went to romp in the snow with his friend, Balto the Alaskan Malamute and fell into a nearby pond. Firemen rescued him while his 14 year old human brother shouted encouraging words for the exhausted pup to hang on.   It was a happy but frosty ending for Tully’s Adventure.

There was a Black Lab mix who fell into a storm drain after a snowplow had knocked the cover off.  Again, a happy ending, but this guy needs a home and a safe lap after his ordeal.  Fire fighters score another dog rescue!

And then, just when you think it’s safe to go out, a dog gets mugged for his coat!  First reported by the New York Post,  it happended in Brooklyn of all places  -  Tony, where are yous guys when we need ya?  Again, Lexie got off with just a few chills and a renewed commitment of supervision from his owner.

So, the 3 Busy Dogs have come up with 5 things to do with your dog to keep them out of trouble while you are still digging out from winter.  Nothing takes the place of knowing where they are at all times but here goes. . .

1.  Stair Race:  Need 2 people (unless you are training for the next Olympics) and a favorite toy

With one person at the top and bottom of staircase (preferably carpeted to prevent slippage), toss the toy up and down the staircase to encourage Fido to fetch it.  A couple of runs will give him a good workout and naptime will ensue.  It’s like monkey-in-the-middle with an elevation thrown in.

2.  Peanut butter ‘n toast tea party:

Nothing gets the 3 Busy Dogs’  juices flowing than the smell of toast in the morning.  The toaster is a favorite gathering place in the morning.  Why not have a little tea-party with your furry friend and treat him to some PB on little pieces of toast.  He’ll think he won the lottery!  And maybe he’ll share some with you.

3.  Hide and seek:  best played with several bored children

Brush up his tracking skills by playing everyone’s favorite game.  You may have to ‘help’ him get on the scent but once he catches on, he’ll want to play until everyone is found several times over.  Be sure to whoop it up to let him know he found his query.  He won’t mind being ‘It’ again.

4. Belly rubs in the snow followed by catching snowballs:  Requires winter gear for you.

Dogs love to roll in the snow.  Enhance their experience with a good belly rub and watch them go!  They don’t mind a little snow on the face but watch for ice in their toes and don’t let them eat too much snow – it’s not fattening but it can bloat them.  Snowballs are so much fun – you can catch and crunch in one swoop.  The energy required to jump up to catch them will result in a great follow up nap.

5.  Dress up

If you have kids stuck in the house also, give them some old clothes and let them have a ‘fashion show’ with their pup. It’s a great opportunity to take fun pictures and build a “Here’s what I did on my snow vacation” Flickr album.

If you have any great pictures from these suggestions – send them to us and we’ll post them on our blog!!

Have a great day inside!