He doesn't have to snort it, although that's fun too!
January 1, 2011 8:26 AM   Subscribe

Why does snow make dogs high?

He loves the surf, he frolics in the sand, he bounds through meadows. But he is freakin' out of control delirious when it snows. I have discussed this with several dog-owning friends, and we concur: Snow makes dogs high. Why is that?
posted by thinkpiece to Pets & Animals (21 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: The snow retains scent better than any other medium. Instead of surround sound, it's surround smell.
posted by Xurando at 8:37 AM on January 1, 2011 [3 favorites]


It's fun!
posted by cecic at 8:44 AM on January 1, 2011 [1 favorite]


Snow makes little kids high, too. I didn't grow up around snow, but now I live in a very family-oriented neighborhood in Chicago. The kids have fun jumping in puddles when it rains, running around in the grass when it's warm, but they go completely nuts in the snow. Snow is just really, really cool. It's all pretty and white and cold, but not wet, but it'll get wet if you touch it too long, and you can pick it up and play with it and throw it and build with it and dive in it and roll in it and--honestly I think I want to go play in some snow now.

It might smell good to dogs, too, I don't know. But it's a really fun medium to dance around in, especially if you're a dog/child with no concept of how messy or uncomfortable you'll be later.
posted by phunniemee at 8:52 AM on January 1, 2011 [4 favorites]


Confirmation bias?
My (wife's) dog absolutely hates, as in pulls-on-the-leash-and-won't-budge hates, the snow. Then again, she is a 12 pound Chinese Crested and a little diva princess.
posted by jozxyqk at 9:00 AM on January 1, 2011


Response by poster: Check. I mean, some dogs.
posted by thinkpiece at 9:05 AM on January 1, 2011


Best answer: Because there is nothing more perfect for dogs to play in than snow. You can jump in it, tunnel in it, eat it, hide in it, and it makes great sounds when you walk in it. It's pretty much dognip.
posted by azpenguin at 9:38 AM on January 1, 2011 [1 favorite]


There might be mice underneath it. They make tunnels. One year our snow melted in this perfect way so that the top few inches were gone and you could see the rodent tunnels everywhere. One of our dogs used to run around using her nose like a snowplow and snorfling deleriously and we always figured this had something to do with it.
posted by not that girl at 9:42 AM on January 1, 2011


My husky loves the snow... of course.. the video is her first encounter with snow when she was about 6 months old...

She still bounces and bounds through deep snow and seems to love it.

Also, the mouse/rodent thought above is also probably true.. she'll plow through snow and pounce on invisible mice all the time, especially when we're in the woods or fields....
posted by HuronBob at 10:26 AM on January 1, 2011 [1 favorite]


This year after the first snow my corgi/chihuahua stopped at the end of his leash two steps outside the door and wouldn't budge. I turned around to look at him and he squinted and just sort of leaned, face first into the snow in front of him like a kid sinking into a ball pit and rooted for, like, two roots and got up and walked normally. He plainly knew what it was and seemed to savor it for a moment. I guess he could just remember it from last year and love it, or maybe there really is something about it. I've read before that dogs (and most animals) can smell water. Maybe it smells amazing.
posted by cmoj at 10:45 AM on January 1, 2011


My dog complains about the heat for most of the year, even when he's had a haircut, but when there's a nice powdery snow he rolls around in it happily. I think it's the only time he ever feels sufficiently cool.

Obligatory cute video
posted by moonmilk at 11:00 AM on January 1, 2011 [2 favorites]


Late winter snow is probably really really awesome for dogs because a whole winter's worth of, er, "expression" is preserved under the base layer of snow and ice. Must be like having newspapers and text messages saved by the dozens, almost readable, but just out of reach.
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:06 AM on January 1, 2011


Because they're smart!
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 11:47 AM on January 1, 2011


I'll echo phunniemee - it's fun, for dogs and kids. And I've had experience of both. I think it's fun, and there's plenty to play with, in terms of experimenting with its properties.
posted by carter at 12:09 PM on January 1, 2011


Best answer: I used to work on Wall Street in NYC. During the first snow of the season it was amazing to see all these Wall Streeters in their suits staring up at the sky in awe at the snow flakes, they were like children. I think most dogs like snow for the same reason people like snow, it is unusual, awesome, and fun. It changes the familiar into the "sort of familiar," changes the way the world looks, smells, tastes, and sounds. I had a Great Dane who kind of hated the snow though.
posted by wandering_not_lost at 12:52 PM on January 1, 2011 [5 favorites]


I've known many a medium-to-big size dog to go absolutely nuts in the snow, I never imagined a chihuahua would enjoy it. A few years ago, it snowed in South Texas (I still call it the XMas Hell froze over). My mother's chihuahua bounded joyfully at full-speed through about 6inches of snow to the end of the street. The snow came up almost to the bottom of her little belly, but that dog just didn't care! I think this adds credit to the theory that snow makes dogs high.

Needless to say, my sister and I were less-than-happy to be chasing this desert-breed dog in snow. South Texans *rarely* own actual winter clothing.
posted by MuChao at 1:12 PM on January 1, 2011 [1 favorite]


It's something a dog can run, jump and play in that won't result in them getting a bath when they come back in the house.
posted by tommasz at 1:39 PM on January 1, 2011


1)A dog works out that it can eat snow.

2) The world is covered is snow.

3) THERE IS FOOD EVERYWHERE! OH MY GOD!!!!one!!!one111
posted by idiomatika at 1:57 PM on January 1, 2011 [2 favorites]


I have a part lab and she is unbelievably playful in the snow. She plays constantly chasing birds and anything else that comes across the yard, she drags sticks to our door when the rest of the year she is pretty calm. I believe this is her element, the summer heat is hard on her.
posted by sandyp at 4:40 PM on January 1, 2011


My Giant Schnauzer absolutely, positively, totally LOVES the snow! I mean to the point where she's go all "frog-legged" out (no winter picture yet) where she spreads her rear legs/hips out flat like a spatchcocked chicken and pull herself across the snow and ice with her two front legs. Done this ever since she was a pup.

Another thing she goes crazy for is to stand by the snow-blower and let the snow blow directly at her and down over her. Total craziness.

But the best is when I take her out for a long winter walk running free and she comes back into the house with her black schnauzer beard totally covered with icicles, her furnishings frozen solid and then she clip-clops around the house on paws that have little snow balls inside them.
posted by webhund at 7:07 PM on January 1, 2011


My dog goes insane for snow. He rolls in it everyday, putting the side of his face down in it and then skating his body down the hill by pushing with his back feet. He snuffles it and smells amazing smells. He takes off baying at long gone forest animals. When I shovel snow, he stands right where I am throwing so he can get hit full force in the face with it and, if I don't shovel fast enough, he barks at me. He also will fetch snowballs, the only kind of fetch I've ever seen him take part in. I think his favorite parts are the wonderful smells, the zing of coldness, and the cushioning effect it has when playing.
posted by Foam Pants at 11:46 PM on January 1, 2011


Response by poster: webhund, I call that the Frosty Mug! I love these dog stories and this is what I mean -- not just happy, joyful, everyone-loves-it-too, but HIGH. I have a 90-lb standard poodle and he practically levitates straight up in the air, like he's on springs, through the snow. He walked right into a snow-covered bush after the blizzard, grabbed a branch and started shaking, so that it was all falling on him and he emerged doing the panting-smiling thing, completely covered in snow. Thank you for sharing these great stories!
posted by thinkpiece at 5:50 AM on January 2, 2011


« Older Seeking 365/daily project suggestions   |   What genre of music do the tracks on the It's... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.