Monica Knits

Heidi and our other German Shorthair Pointers showed us new ways of exploring and enjoying winter. Heidi always displayed a joie de vivre and would never walk if she could run, prance or leap. As I mentioned yesterday, the dogs have a way of engaging us in play and I fondly remember Heidi's habit of catching snowflakes, bounding through the snow and tracking. I managed to find a few photographs that made me smile, including one where she was catching snowflakes on her tongue during a pretty intense snow storm. Read more... to see additional photos of Heidi in the snow.

Catching SnowflakesI had forgotten how she used to submerge her head in the snow to get a good sniff, and then pop up with a face full of snow, as in the photo on the left. The depth of snow and temperature were no deterrents to play! If you click on the photo at right, you will see her catching snowflakes with her tongue.

She used to get snow caught in her paws and would stop occasionally so we could clean them for her. So I purchased some suede dog boots for her. My supervisor's dogs wore boots when he took them hunting, so that their feet would not get injured when they ran for miles in rough terrain. Heidi though, liked going bare pawed in the snow--I tried the boots once. She gave me a look that said, "What were you thinking?", stood in a splayed leg stance, and wouldn't budge until I took the boots off. I wish I had a photo of that look and pose!

Click on any thumbnail to view a larger image.