Foot Care: You need to check your dog’s feet on a regular basis. Many dogs don’t like their feet touched. Start slowly, letting you dog get used to having his feet handled. Have treats, patience, and lots of praise. Then make an exam of each foot part of your regular “snout-to-tail” assessment.
While you may not all live in a climate where snow is the norm for winter months, due to storms or travel, you may need to think about the special care your dog’s feet need during the winter.
1- Keep the hair between your dog’s pads clipped short. First of all, longer hair may cause snow to build up into little snow balls between his toes. These can be cold and uncomfortable. (If they do form, take your dog inside and dip each foot in warm water to melt them easily.) Longer hair on your dog’s feet can also decrease his traction on icy surfaces.
2 - Keep your dog’s nails trimmed. This is always a good idea, but even more important in the winter. Longer nails will cause him to splay his toes and walk more on his heels. The wider his toes are spread, the more space and chance for snow build up.
3 - Rinse your dog’s paws in warm water when you return home, if you’ve been walking on wet and salted surfaces. The salt can irritate his pads and skin and be harmful to him if he licks it off. Most dog owners are also aware that even a small amount of anti-freeze is deadly. Rinsing his paws and legs will prevent his licking off anything that he may have walked through. Be sure that his feet and legs are dry before you take him out again. A wet dog is a cold dog.
Consider boots - see the product review of Ruff Wear Bark’n Boots.
4 - Check the pads. The cold weather may cause them to crack - which is painful. However, the pads are meant to be rough. They act as shock- absorbers and also to provide traction for starts, stops, and turns. Don’t use a human hand moisturizer on a dog’s pads - that can soften them too much.
Did you know that a dog walks on his toes - like a horse, not on the soles of his feet - like a bear or a human.
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