One of the hardest times of year on your dog's feet is the winter time. Here are three things that you can do to help take care of your dog's feet during the winter time.
Trim Back Hair On Your Dog's Paw
The first thing that you need to do is trim back hair around your dog's paw. Long hair around your dog's paw can easily get entangled with snow and ice. This can form painful buildups of ice on your dog's paw that can tangle up their hair and make it difficult for your dog to walk comfortably. This can be prevented by trimming the hair on your dog's paw or by having your dog's groomer trim the hair around their paw.
Clean Your Dog's Paws
When your dog comes in from outside, you should always clean their feet off. You can use a damp and dry rag to clean off your dog's feet. This will help remove any ice, dirt, or salt that is stuck to your dog's paws. Be sure to dry them off nicely with a warm towel. If you have a sink near your entrance, you can also rinse their feet off in the utility sink. This will help keep your dog's feet comfortable and your house clean at the same time.
Provide A Layer Of Protection
You can help prevent ice and salt from sticking to your dog's paw pads by protecting them before your dog goes outside. Put a little petroleum jelly on your dog's paw pads before they go outside. This will help keep salt and other chemicals used outside to melt snow and ice from coming in direct contact with your dog's paw pads and should make it easier to clean your dog's paws when they come inside.
Protect Your Dog's Feet When They Go Outside
You can reduce your dog's exposure to ice, snow, and salt by protecting your dog's feet when they go outside. If you have never put dog booties on your dog before, start out by putting same baby socks on your dog's feet and see if your dog will tolerate their presence. If your dog will tolerate their presence, then invest in some dog booties to put on your dog when they go outside. This will help protect your dog's feet from the worst of the winter conditions and will help keep your dog's feet warm.
Finally, if you spend a lot of time outside with your dog, pay attention to the color of your dog's paws. If they start to change color or look pale, get your dog inside right away as dogs can suffer from frost bite and hypothermia just like humans. If you think your dog's paws have suffered frostbite, take your dog to an animal hospital like Loving Care Animal Hospital right away.
