Adventurous German shepherd shows off his snowboarding skills
Did you know dogs could snowboard? We sure didn’t!
In fact, that’s not even a skill we have up our sleeves.
Snow day
A Huntsville, Alabama-area family might never have known how much their dog enjoyed it if not for a winter storm that brought several inches of snow to the area in February 2021.
Local ABC affiliate WAAY 31 TV happily shared a video sent to them by resident Bryan Schram, who lives in the northeast Huntsville/New Market area.
Schram and his family – including two German Shepherds – decided to have some fun in the snow. The dogs were so excited that one of them, named Styker, decided to try his luck on a snowboard.
A new skill
We’re not sure what led up to the dog taking off on the snowboard, but it’s likely that he saw his family sliding down a hill on it.
As he placed his paw on, he kicked off and began to move. Schram can be heard in the background yelling “Go, Styker, go!” as a woman laughs.
The other German Shepherd didn’t seem to know what to do!
Styker managed to get down the shallow hill and down to what looks like a driveway all while staying upright, so it’s pretty clear that he’s a natural at snow sports.
His sibling looked a little annoyed to be left out of the fun though. He or she goes trotting down the hill to meet Styker like they’re not sure why they got left behind!
Not the first, not the last
Styker is certainly not the first dog to take up winter sports. In fact, there are dozens of YouTube videos showing dogs snowboarding as well as websites devoted to giving people ADVICE about how to snowboard WITH their dogs.
Perhaps you’ve seen Chuey, the Jack Russell Terrier taking on Nevada’s Mt. Rose on his snowboard. (Apparently, he also enjoys surfing and skateboarding!)
And here we’ve just been letting ours run around on its own 4 feet in the snow. How rude of us!
Words of warning
According to Snowgoing, if you’re going to take your dog snowboarding, you could make sure there’s less than 5 inches of fresh snow so they don’t get too exhausted running through it and keep inclines to a minimum.
If they’ll let you put some snowbooties on them, that’s even better. And they even recommend spraying their tummies with Pam to keep snow from caking on their undersides!
Of course, this is just if the dog is going to run along aside or behind you.
Teching your dog to get on the snowboard is probably not the safest idea and requires a lot more attention and a much less steep hill.
They want to be like you
While it seems like a strange idea to take your dog snowboarding, never assume that having them around while you play winter sports doesn’t require some special care.
Just look at the Coletta family. Their Golden Retriever Stella went out to the slopes with them last year and no one expected her to run the whole way down the slope with her dad!
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So whether they’re on or beside your snowboard, keep your pup’s health and safety in mind!
Be sure to scroll down below to see the short video of Styker taking off with the family snowboard on his own.
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Source: WAAY13 Tv, SnowGoing, The Dodo