I believe Maya is a Retriever mix (?) and having such a breed before Katie, I know just how tough they are in cold conditions. She would swim at W. Rock beach in minus temperatures. Crazy.

In general, dogs are very good at hiding any pain, but Katie can give me a number of signals I keep watch for. One is those puppy-dogs eyes she is displaying above. I would bet her paws are cold in that moment, but because she is still right on my tail, I generally assume she is okay still. If she is falling behind and giving me that look, it's getting close to the point of turning around. But there are times where she will start falling behind, pausing, giving me that 'look' and lifting a paw or 2 out of the snow. It came to that point on the day of that picture. Very slow pace, and during one of my many breather-breaks, she was lifting a paw. She couldn't get warm because I was doing all the work and stopping so much. She was much happier on the way back because she had a broken trail and could lead the way at her own pace. Mostly because she hates following. : )