January question winter tips and tricks for you and your guide

[Jessica Snyder]



Hello List,

As a topic of interest, what do you and your guides do to get through the winter weather. Do your dogs have boots and coats? Do you use musher’s secret? Is there something else you use? I will be interested to hear from those who live in cold weather climates with Snow and ICE but those who have milder winters what if anything do you do for your dogs during this time of year?

Jessica Snyder

-treasurer, membership coordinator, social media chair

National Association of Guide Dog Users

(346) 439-7444 •jsnyder@nagdu.org

www.nfb.org • www.nagdu.org

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Secretary treasurer National Federation of the Blind Human Services division
Treasurer National Federation of the Blind of national association of Blind government employees

Jessica Snyder

-treasurer, membership coordinator, social media chair

National Association of Guide Dog Users

(346) 439-7444 •jsnyder@nagdu.org

www.nfb.org • www.nagdu.org

Subscribe to the NAGDU public calendar

Facebook Group • Email list • Mastodon

Secretary treasurer National Federation of the Blind Human Services division
Treasurer National Federation of the Blind of national association of Blind government employees

[Sidney Horn]

Hey there, 

I love just playing tug of War or playing with toys with my dog. Yes, she has booties. She's from The Seeing Eye. Her name is Carrol and she's a black lab. 

Do any of you ever get kind of lazy when grooming and skip a day or two? Haha! 

Sidney

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[Ann Chiappetta]

Hi all-

I use Musher’s secret and it helps and I apply it once a week. My pet dog gets a chapped nose and a little of the paw wax  helps keep it from drying out too much. She doesn’t even try to lick it off. Lol

I have booties for my dog from Ruff ware and rarely use them. I don’t go out when it gets below 30 due to breathing issues and do indoor work for now.

We practice targeting inside with a bell and he loves his jolly ball and bones.

 

Wags,

Annie and Iowa

 

Ann M. Chiappetta, MS

President, Friends In Art, Inc.

pres...@friendsinart.org  www.friendsinart.org

914.393.6605

www.annchiappetta.com

"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."   - Ray Bradbury

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[carc...@access.net]

I have a coat and a couple sweaters I’ve acquired over the years.  I put the coat on Igloo the other week when I was going to be running around outside for a couple hours, but if I’m only going out for a bit I don’t use it.  I probably would if I wasn’t retired and still had to stand at the bus stop early in the morning.

I have the RuffWare boots issued by The Seeing Eye, but, when I use boots, I usually use Pawz.  They’re very thin rubber and kind of tight, so they stay on.  They’re cheap too, so if one falls off or gets torn, it’s no big deal.  But, being retired, I don’t go out much when it’s icy out anymore.  I just wipe Igloo’s feet when we get somewhere. 

It’s been a cold and icy winter here in Jersey, so I’ve only gone out when I need to, every other day instead of every day.  Luckily, Igloo is a pretty laid-back guy and seems OK with just playing on the days we don’t go out.  I really should get out the clicker and work on some things, like recall and touch.

We’re getting a thaw this week, so I should be able to get out more and get us both some exercise even when I don’t have any errands to run.

Tracy

 

 

From: Jessica Snyder <jsn...@nagdu.org>
Sent: Monday, January 5, 2026 7:33 PM
To: dis...@nagdu.org
Subject: [NAGDU-Discuss] January question winter tips and tricks for you and your guide

 



Hello List,

--

[Joy]

One thing that I do is I use layers just like I do for myself here in the Portland Oregon area.

I use her raincoat as an outer cover to block the wind and I use an under fleece to give her a little warmth.

Most of the time we don’t need it here in this area, but it’s helpful cause that wind can get to be a bit much and the rain. We seem to have a little more than our share of, but it doesn’t usually rain really hard so the raincoat helps. Keep her a little bit dryer the boots she’s not a fan of, but I use them both when it’s icy and when it’s extremely hot.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 6, 2026, at 5:30 AM, carc...@access.net wrote: