Moving to Bethel with kids Questions

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Surely the OP has gotten it figured out by now. Still this thread has come up again, so I am going to add a few things.


I've never lived in Alaska but I have lived where it gets just as cold and I live where we get plenty of snow.


Dogs are fine with the cold as long as they are moving and active. I've owned many German Shepherds and they were happy when it was -10 or -20 degrees outside. It would take me about an hour to break ice off the stock pond and throw feed out for the cattle and the dogs thought it was a lark. After the hour, though, the dogs were ready to come inside where they snuggled close to the fire to warm themselves. Very few breeds of dog are OK as outside dogs in that weather.


When it snows the snow blower is used to clear the driveway and it is also used to clear a circular "racetrack" for the dogs in the backyard so that they have a place to run and do their elimination. Dogs are fine in deep fluffy snow and they are fine in hard packed snow that supports their weight. They are not fine at that stage where the snow is soft but has a frozen crust that will support the dogs for just a second before it dumps them down into the snow. That sort of difficult going brings the risk of tendon injuries. The smaller the dog, the more they need a cleared space where they can go outside. I've also had 6 pound Papillons and they handled the cold just fine as long as they were moving, and that breed doesn't have much coat. Depth of snow is a problem with the tiny dogs ans snow sticking to the coat is a problem with long haired dogs who have silky coats. I'd have to melt snow off of the Papillon feet; it wouldn't pull off. it would stick on there good and tight..



As for moving kids, it depends entirely upon the kid. Mine would have been thrilled to move to Alaska, but he was a hunter and fisherman and raised money while he was in high school with a firewood business. A different kid might not be so thrilled, but if you have to move, the kids have to go with you and they have no choice but to adapt, and kids adapt pretty quickly, regardless of how much they whine as they do it..