winter is coming, poor little paws...

just thinking about how to deal with how cold the ground will be and whether that will affect dogs paws. do any of you do anything in particular before or after walks to ensure they don't crack and dry?

I won't even ask about winter coats - we got a coat for Jelly and she is simply not interested in wearing it.

I was thinking about buying a coat for zeus as its getting cold here now but I can't see him wearing it at all.

I never thought about the paws.. it'd be interesting to hear peoples views on it ...

Moo has a coat but the only thing I do differently is when the roads are gritted I wipe her paws down to get rid of the salt when we get home

i've seen foot creams and such for dogs and thought OK I fall for it every time, stuff that will be good for her that's just a gimmick. not sure if I should try it this time...

although I have to say the Green-ums tablets I give her for brown spots on the lawn seem to have worked.

I have coats for the girls but I haven't ever used anything on their feet. I usually try not to have them out too long when it's icy so that they don't get sore feet.

You can get little dog shoes for her . As for the coat, you can try leaving it on her while you play with her/give treats to distract her and she might get used to it?

i think we'll try that. i can't handle the pathetic sad puppy face when I put it on her, but really should get her used to it.

i draw the line at boots. for now.

Dogs trust make a paw protection cream if that interests you

http://www.dogstrustproducts.com/pawprotectioncream.html

Suki had a coat which after getting her used to it she is happy to wear. We don't do anything for her feet but it doesn't get too cold here

thanks Lisa, yep, that's one of the creams I saw. Would be nice to buy it anyway as it supports Dog's Trust

Rocky just has his little coat for when it cold and rainy its an Ancol one I think or Muddypaws something like that. We usually get all his stuff from our local garden centre Pets Corner who have a pretty good selection of stuff given thats its quite a small place.

i dont use any creams on memphs feet but i wash them whenever he been out were salt/grit may be down not just for the burning/cracking it causes but also to stop salt poisoning from licking paws

OK. THIS I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT
since me and Romeo live in the damn Artic
So, i think because it doesnt drop below -20 where you live you wont need to worry about shoes for your dogs. Romeo needs them because last winter it got to -36 degrees at xmas. He hates them, but its not big deal here because everyones dogs are wearing them in the winter here unless they are a snow type of dog.
But, if the boots are not your thing you can buy ice wax. it is a tough wax that you wipe on your dogs feet and it protects against ice, salt, grit and helps provide grip.
A once a week mositurizing cream also helps them from cracking and bleeding. You should make sure that after washing your dogs feet though that they are dry between the toes as in this kind of weather you can get yeast infections, trust me, Romeo had one last year

great excellent tips Taryn and Kathy!

The cold doesnt bother marley but as has half husky thats no suprise. But what is a concern as janey points out is the salting... I got shot peaned by a gritter last year which made for an amusing post but to be seriouse make sure they dont eat the grit/salt as its not good for them and can accumilate into quite a pile while a gritter is stood still.

And you can get booties for the dogs as well. Iditarod mushers use them for the long runs. Ive seen them in "the complete outdoors" shops

Daisy and I live where it can get super cold out, and then we have wind chills of -60 and lower, when we go out I have a sweater we put on her, she loves it. and then when we have finished walks we wipe the paws, and use petroleume (vaseline) jelly on the paws. to help with the cracking. She has gotten pretty good through thte years to let us know when she is ready to come. Also, we have went through and placed a humidifier in the house, so her skin doesnt become to dry and itchy from the Cold weather, and coming into the house where the heat is on.