Dogcicle

Melissa called tonight for our weekly play-date with the dogs. She and Kona met us at the corner and as we crossed the street the whole park glistened orange and blue, a diamond mine for a playground. We let the dogs off leash, and with the exception of a brief incident involving two German Shepherds who did not like Dunc, the evening was nice. Melissa and I stood off to the side, our poop bags full, watching the dogs roll and wrestle, fight over sticks, leap up and crash back down into the snow. Kona, I discovered, enjoys having snow kicked in her face as much as Duncan, so I spent an exhausting hour kicking and scooping and kicking some more, but when it stopped melting off of Duncan's face I become concerned. His muzzle and ears were coated in ice and I could see large balls snow collecting between the pads of his feet. We came home and I noticed a slight limp when he walked, so once got inside I ran a tub with mildly warm water, tossed him in and watched the ice melt. He recovered almost immediately and I got wondering what else I should know about Winter pet care. I found the following information, most of which is common sense, but still worth taking a look at.