Protect Your Dog's Paws In Winter
Oct 05 '00
I own a small dog who was born in Arkansas, transported to a New Jersey kennel, came to New England and fell in love with the freezing snow here. Tiffany has always loved to romp in the snow in winter. Through the harsh winters, I was concerned about her paws because she had been licking them constantly for years. Relatives and friends kept giving her little boots for Christmas but the ones I tried didn’t work at all.
I can still see her now with her first pair of boots standing completely motionless and after a long period of time, each step she took lifting her little legs high appearing as if she was marching all the while giving me nasty looks. She refused to go out and eventually she just tore them apart trying to get them off.
One winter I broke out in eczema on my right hand and tried every cream and ointment prescribed by my dermatologist. It came to the point that I didn’t know what to do. One day I tried plain old Vaseline Petroleum Jelly and found it to be very soothing so I covered my hand at night with a cotton glove and discovered my own solution to easing the problem.
Last year I decided to use the Vaseline Petroleum Jelly on Tiffy’s paws before I took her out to do her duty in the freezing snow. I rubbed some on each paw and carried her outdoors. I carried her back in and placed her on a clean old rug and with paper towels, I gently rubbed off the vaseline and blotted the rest with a warm wet paper towel and then dried them. Although it didn’t protect her little feet from the cold, I did find out that my dog was no longer licking her paws.
Vaseline Petroleum Jelly protected her paws by acting as a shield from the snow. It moisturized her tiny paws preventing paw cracks and flaking and absolutely worked in stopping her from licking them. I admit it was very time-consuming putting it on and gently taking it off but it did cure the problem. A few times I did offer my 6-year-old great-niece a dollar for doing it for me and she was happy to make a buck while learning a new trick in keeping her own dog's paws protected. Pet lovers will go out all for their pets.
Also last winter I decided to walk her through the town and the vaseline solution was out of the question. I tried out one of the pairs of boots that were nicely made that I stored away and never used. They are called Bark ‘N Boots and are soft and furry inside. The bottoms are made of recycled tires. These boots are very lightweight and protected her paws from salt and snow and slush. Tiffy did reject them at first but she later learned that she didn’t get to go for walks if she didn’t keep them on.
Each time she balked at having these boots on, I took her leash off and started to ignore her. She'd stand there motionless and let out one bark at a time.(this means she is rebelling) She eventually learned that she was to wear them if she wanted the walk. Then slowly...very slowly... we would make our way to the door but once she was outside she forgot all about the boots and investigated the different environments we passed by. These boots are also great paw-protectors from harsh salts on ice and snow.
Bark ‘N Boots are also great for autumn walks for protecting tiny paws from thorns, sharp stones and anything that can danger your pet’s paws. I called the relative who gave her these boots to find out where she had gotten them. She told me she bought them at a gift store in New Hampshire but didn’t remember the name of the store nor the town.
Although I won’t be using them quite as much this year as Tiffy is getting up in age and her walks are limited, I thought I’d share this bit of information with the readers of Epinions. After all, some small pets have paws that just don't take to freezing temperatures, sticks and stones and whatever else is out there to injure little pet's delicate paws. They have to be protected. Thank you for reading my review. I hope It will be of help for some readers who have the "licking paws" problem with their pets.
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Location: Massachusetts
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Life's not about waiting for storms to pass...it's about dancing in the rain.
Vivian Greene
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