No doubt there will be more installments of Dogs In Snow, with more snow coming later this year. (Click on the small pictures to see them full-size--they are much better that way.) For now what little snow we have Sofia pretty much ignores. She's done her Happy Happy Joy Joy Dog Snow Dance, but she'll do it again when there is more snow to play in. Ole, on the other hand, has never seen snow, and as a dog who loves to eat ice cubes, now thinks the whole world is covered in delicious "cookies." FYI a "cookie" is anything yummy to eat, or that I am eating. Or that seems yummy. At any rate, he continually walks with his nose down, slurping up as much snow as he can get.
Of course working on the hole in the middle of the yard hasn't stopped yet. The ground isn't frozen enough for that. You can see how deep it is. Ole has his bottom on the ground and his front legs in the hole.
They've played so much that the backyard is mostly snirt. A nice, brownish, dry mixture of snow and dirt. Because of the snirt Ole has learned a new trick: catching treats in his mouth out of the air. He found out that if he lets the treats fall in the snirt they realllly don't taste so good!
By the time they get done playing Ole and Sofie both have wet faces, and sometimes their fur is all twisted up like a kewpie dolls up and down their backs. Here they have a hold of each other. Ole cheats by grabbing Sofia's collar, something that I make clear is not okay. Her collar has to be tight to keep her from slipping it, and if he twisted she could really get injured. Removing her collar outside is NOT an option, so he's going to have to learn. Maybe Sofia's collar is going to be sprayed with Bitter Apple, who knows?
I love Sofia's nose in this one, with a nice dollop of snow on it!
When Ole first got here he couldn't play longer than 10 minutes before he was pooped out. Now he NEVER gets pooped out, much to Sofia's joy!
Ole is shaping up to be a very good-looking guy!
Noble beast!
What was that? It was a magpie, a bird that is moving into Interior Alaska from the South. They aren't supposed to live up here, but due to global warming are moving on up. I hear that more of the Southern bears are moving north, too. Yikes.
