Does your dog love to play in the snow?

Lots of dogs do, and it's fun to watch them splash into a deep pile and come up covered from head to foot, or burrow themselves in for a furry-dog nap.

But do be careful!

If you take them out to play, keep an eye on them, and don't leave them outside alone for more time than it takes to "do their business."

The snow covers up a dog's natural ability to sniff his way home if he wanders astray, so getting lost is a very real possibility for a dog who likes to take a romp around the neighborhood. At the very least they can give you some worried hours and cut a hole in your day.

My own dogs got themselves temporarily lost one morning a few years ago when they went out with me to feed the horses. One minute they were there and the next minute their tracks went off across the meadow. I trudged and followed tracks across meadows, up the mountainside and down the hill to the creek for at least two hours before I gave up in defeat and headed back toward the house. When I got within about a hundred yards, here they came - from the house!

So - the good news was they found their way home, but it could have been very different. And I wasn't worth much for the rest of the day after trudging around in a foot of snow all that time. For the rest of that winter I kept one of them on a leash when I went out.

Now that they're older they stick close, thank goodness.

The other danger of leaving dogs outside in snow is the possibility of injury. If heavy snow slides from the roof they can be buried and crushed, and if they play in a snow berm and get caught by a plow... I don't want to think about that.

So take them out to play - but bring them back in when you're finished.