It’s that time of the year again! The time that a lot of us dread but also love… WINTER. Depending on the breed of dog you own they may feel the same way as we do, they either love it or hate it. Unfortunately, our weather is all over the place! One day there could be snow and icy roads the entire day, and then the next day it’s all gone and sunny. But the one thing that seems to stick around is the salt. It gets everywhere, all over the house, clothes, and it ruins everything…. Including your dog‘s paws. When the dog comes in from a walk, usually we all have a towel or something else to wipe off their paws, and that’s the end of the story. But this isn’t always enough. I’m going to take you through some the different ways you can make sure your pup’s paw pads will stay nice over the winter.
Rinse/Wipe
When rinsing and wiping your dog’s paws off remember to get right in between the toes! Warming up a hand cloth and taking the time to go in between the toes is very important as salt likes to hide there.
Paw Balm
Paw balm helps them when they have really dry, cracked paws. Rubbing an all natural balm on their paws can help out a lot and make them feel less uncomfortable.
Trimming
Some dogs have very furry feet, so it helps to safely trim some of the fur that grows in between the pads so that more salt won’t stick to it and will help prevent ice buildup.
Booties
One of the best ways to prevent your dog from getting salt in their paws is to never have them come in contact with it (easier than it sounds of course). Some dogs refuse to even move if you put booties on, so getting them started when they’re a young pup is key if possible.
Pet-Friendly Salts
Doing this helps a lot, especially if your dog runs around outside the house often. There are many different ice salts on the market that you can pick up that if safe for them, and won’t burn their paw pads.
Doing everything you see above really does help your dog, it can be very uncomfortable for them to have salt building up in their paws. It makes it worse when they chew at their paw causing it to become more irritated and raw, which brings up a whole new set of issues. Take the time to look into these options and making sure you’re doing everything you can! They’ll love you for it.
Written by: Brianna Davis, CCS
