Looking forward to  the cold wisconsin winters we have ahead in a few months.....

How do you exercise your dogs? WIth such thin fur I afraid that she'll get too cold. (even with a sweater on). Throwing a ball around the house will not be enough for her- she needs to run full out every day. I can start working with her on booties- but I already know that that will be a challenge- the ice they put down on the sidewalks can be pretty rough on dog paws.

Looking for some creative ideas if you have them too. I don't have access to a treadmill- I figured training her on that would work as well. I would rather have a relaxed rattie than Sammy in a box.

Thanks ahead of time!

You can go to PetSmart and walk around.

In the winter is when we do a lot of our training. Tricks, basic commands or just shaping exercises with the clicker. I have found a tired mind leaves a tired dog........

I must be blessed with very mellow dogs.......... (knock on wood)........... although in the summer we're outside as much as possible, in the winter, they don't like the cold/snow very much (upstate NY).  But there are times when they get a little cabin fever, and I throw them all outside..........

I love him, I bet he would be so cute in booties!

Hello fellow Wisconsinite.  I have two and they loveto play in the snow when it is not below 0.  they do wear jackets, sweaters and fleeces.  I also have boots for them and when it is really cold they leave them on.   Walks are less outside becasue of the cold so we go to Petsmart and Petco alot.  Also we have a bathtub that is the right size for a wading pool that they play in and after that they do the Rattie 500.  Also there is a Doggie Daycare by us that has an "open gym" on Thursday evenings that we can go to for a small fee.

I am originally from Portland, Oregon! I am here in Beloit through the winter and will probably return to Portland this spring sometime. I'm teaching first graders- very much like working with a rat terrier....... Anyways, the photo was taken on one of the many gorge hikes we took this summer- I can't remember the name of it for the life of me. I'll look back and find out !

http://www.rat-terrier.com/Home/tabid/37/forumid/17/postid/241582/view/topic/Default.aspx

Here's a link to an video that I posted on here  of Bailey exercising in the winter.  lol

We don't usually get this much of snow so we usually just exercise in the house running after tennis balls. 

Living in Central Florida, when it is not raining, they can usually go out in the backyard, and run around. We don't get much snow...

I live in Wisconsin..  funny thing is, my Taylor loves the snow, and doesn't get cold if he's got his jacket on.  He climbs to the top of the highest snow bank he can find, and leaves presents for mommy up there that she can't go pick up, if you know what I mean...

I have put booties on him if he's gonna be outside for any length of time, and I've found that the easiest/best way to do it is to have yourself ready to walk out the door, and the pup ready with all but the booties (coat, lead, etc...)  Then put the booties on, get excited, and make a mad dash out the door!  They get excited and forget that you just put booties on them, and usually they'll settle into a walk, even with booties on, in a few minutes.

I have the middle of the line petsmart booties for Tay.  They were like 20(ish)? bucks, but well worth it for the times Tay and I played in the snow or took walks any longer than about 10 minutes.

Pet stores, as already suggested, and indoor training, as suggested, are also very valid options, provided wherever you live plows the streets well enough that you can MAKE IT to the store.

Will be interesting to see how my new little one likes (or hates) the snow.  Maybe she and Taylor can do the ratty 500 at my dad's house in the snow!

Good luck with your pup this winter!  I'll let you know if I think of any other ideas, since this will be only my second ratty winter (Taylor and I were in Vegas his first winter, cause I was still in the military.)