Winter arrived in Calgary with a vengeance in mid-January with windchills in the -40C range. This resulted in very few outings for us as it was just too cold to go anywhere. Keeping an active pup occupied during this time was a challenge, to say the least, but we got through it with a little creativity.
I got Cliff a puffer jacket and matching Muttluks so that we could take some walks during the cold snap. He looks very sharp in red but wasn’t overjoyed to be all bundled up. However, when he realized he could go outside and not freeze his feet, he was a little more enthusiastic about getting dressed up. When we were indoors, I took the opportunity to work on some training exercises. Cliff was also entertained by a few food puzzles and managed to crack the hardest one we had. He’s very smart and persistent when he knows food is involved!
The weather finally improved after what felt like forever, and we took the opportunity to get out for a long walk and some off-leash running time. Cliff was very happy to be out without all of the cold weather gear, and so was I.
Cliff had his first birthday on January 22 and celebrated with a homemade cake. The cake was made with all of his favourite flavours from peanut butter to pumpkin. It took a few days for him to eat it all. He loved having dessert every evening and must have wondered why it stopped once he started getting used to the tasty nightly ritual. He is moving quickly from puppyhood to becoming a very handsome dog.
Submitted by: Tracey
