Raising Louis (Part 1)

So it snowed. For the first time properly in a long time. Not as much as some places get, but a lot for the south of England.Louis is nearly 10 months old, and about to see snow for the first time. I'm not sure what he'll make of it, as he's very sensitive to change (even the neighbours putting up a Christmas wreath has set him off), but he's got to go out in it sometime.

So I open the backdoor and let him out. He takes one wary step out before seeing the snow shift under his foot and immediately his eyes light up and he runs outside. He snaps at the snow as he runs, shovelling it up with his nose and biting at it. It's the best toy ever.

He stayed out there for at least an hour before we called him in, not wanting him to get too cold. All he wanted was to go back out, though.

We have a cup of tea and warm up on the sofa together, before he goes in his crate for his "long nap" (He has a series of naps during the day, or he gets cranky). He gets up a few hours later and I get ready to take him for a walk in the local nature reserve. We both wrap up warm, and head out.Within 5 second of being out the front door I'm on the ground. With the excitement of the snow Louis has forgotten his walking manners and pulled me over. I get up, dust myself off, and remind him to "walk nicely". Thankfully he remembers his manners.We cross the roads to the nature reserve, for once not having to wait for a never ending series of cars. As we approach the reserve I let Louis off his leash, he immediately goes into a serious play mode with the snow. Watching my feet for any little bits of snow that get kicked up, bouncing around in the deep piles of snow built up between bushes, and having the time of his life.

We get to the park within the nature reserve and meet his friend Daisy, a Weimaraner cross Springer Spaniel. She's just excited as he is. I spend some time throwing snowballs for the pair of them, Daisy eating every single one, Louis spitting them out. They tear around the park, chasing each other, catching snowballs, and having a great time. It's wonderful to see dogs in their element, enjoying each others company and a good game.Not too long after Louis other friend Sparx arrives, a Patterdale cross Staffie, and she's pretty excited too. She'd rather catch her ball than snowballs, though, but is enjoying the new texture and the challenge of finding her ball when it gets a bit buried.

Louis at this point is worn out, he's been running around non-stop for about half an hour. He decided to lay down, at which point I decided it was time to go home. His belly is still mostly naked, and I don't want him getting too cold. Plus, I can't feel my toes.

We say goodbye to Daisy, Sparx and their owners and head home, Louis watching my feet the entire way for the tiniest bits of snow I might kick up. I almost trip over him a few times, his nose is almost pressed to my boot.

We eventually get back home in the warm, where I have another cup of tea, and Louis promptly falls asleep on the sofa. His first snow day has been a success and I'm proud of him for taking something new in his stride.