Alternitives to exercising dogs in heavy snow?

[Suki Wingy]

Hi guys.
Niño has a load of energy he needs to burn, only problem is we have quite a bit of snow, expecting more tonight. He gets cold very easily, and the places where the ice and snow has melted are full of that salt that hurts his paws. We have a fenced in yard but he gets really cold and wants to come in soon, then he still wants to play more.
Is there any sort of place I could take him, preferably free or very cheap that he could burn off some energy? We have a doggy daycare but it is expensive and I worked there for about a week-- I don't like the owners or the way it is run. Would be benefit more from some sort of training or just getting to run around and play?
We're in N. IL, if that helps.

[jackie]

do something mentally challenging with him, toss him the kong with frozen goodies inside, work on his training in the house, play tug of war, etc, etc.

[Vette]

Do you guys have a treadmill? maybe you could teach him to walk/run on one it if you do.

[Giselle]

We have a treadmill which I put Ivy on when I'm feeling lazy or when it's raining (I'm a wuss ). You could also teach some tricks or do hide and seek recalls around the house.

Because I'm trying to condition her for agility, we also do Swiss ball exercises, some flatwork, and we're currently working on directionals, which is taking up a lot of time. It doesn't tire her out like a good jog will, but it gets the job done!

[Suki Wingy]

What do you guys think about weight pull? Niño is very strong, his idea of a frisbee is a kiddie pool. He will pull us around in it (by his teeth) and he doesn't hesitate to pull when he's on his walking harness. He even pulls me on a skateboard, but I made a makeshift cart for him once and he just froze up. Do you think a club would let us sit in on one class and give it a try before committing to a whole course and harness?

He won't touch his kong. It's "too heavy" a toy for him. He's such a dufus because one of his favorite activities is dragging around the top of a fisher price sandbox or a kiddie pool, with or without someone standing in it.

[Danegirl2208]

What do you guys think about weight pull? Niño is very strong, his idea of a frisbee is a kiddie pool. He will pull us around in it (by his teeth) and he doesn't hesitate to pull when he's on his walking harness. He even pulls me on a skateboard, but I made a makeshift cart for him once and he just froze up. Do you think a club would let us sit in on one class and give it a try before committing to a whole course and harness?

He won't touch his kong. It's "too heavy" a toy for him. He's such a dufus because one of his favorite activities is dragging around the top of a fisher price sandbox or a kiddie pool, with or without someone standing in it.

Weight pull sounds like an excellent idea! I'd sit in at a few like you said, to see if you and Nino like it.

If you want to get involved let me know..I can refer you to an online store with good priced harnesses and such.

Here is a great article you may want to check out as well.
http://www.game-dog.com/forums/article.php?a=127