By Ann Wesley
Walking Kia around the neighborhood track was always a joy. We followed the same course each day and she was a happy chow mix – until the day she stopped mid walk and began whining and crying, She held her paws up and would not continue walking. At first glance, I saw no cuts or injury. But after removing my gloves and inspecting closer, I noticed ice had formed on the hair between her toes and was causing her pain. I removed the ice and we headed back home.
Whether walking on snow, ice or even hot pavement, extreme temperatures can make walking painful for dogs.
Foot wax, proper care of pads makes winter easier on dogs
We all know that street salt can burn a dog’s pads and cause extreme pain. While pet-safe salt might be used on the driveway at a pet’s home, the harmful salt can be hard to avoid on the street. When returning from a walk, dog owners should thoroughly wash and dry a dog’s feet to remove the salt – protecting the paws and preventing the pet from licking and ingesting the salt.
A good solution to protect dog’s feet is to coat them with a paw wax in advance. The wax – similar to a petroleum jelly is a natural solution to keep dog paws soft and free of pain. There are several brands known as musher’s wax – invented for sled dogs in Canada.
Friends and customer’s introduced to the wax last year, report great success.
One customer reported having a problem this year because her dog Maggie was extremely sensitive to rock salt. Maggie was in pain on walks and didn’t want to go out.
“The Musher's salve is fantastic!” her mom said. “It works wonders. It is made of all natural wax. No need to wash it off; just wipe with a soft cloth. Maggie went nuts, ran like crazy and pooped a ton.”
Another customer, with a chihuahua found her pet did not want to go out in winter, until she started applying wax to her feet.
“It seems to help Poppins a lot. If I forget to put it on her, she starts to limp right away. If it is on, she leaps around and wants to stay out longer!” said Karen Luerssen.
Dogs with longer hair between their toes, like Kia, should be groomed so the hair is clipped short to prevent ice build-up in this sensitive area.