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🐶 Paws Up for Healthy Pup Feet

Maintaining your dog’s paw health during winter is crucial, as their paws are particularly vulnerable to harsh weather conditions. Exposure to snow, ice, and cold surfaces can lead to cracked or dry paw pads, while salt and chemical de-icers used on sidewalks can cause irritation or burns and may be toxic if licked off.

Keeping an eye on your pup’s paws is especially important if they’re older. As dogs age, their paw pad skin starts to thin out, which can cause dryness they didn’t have before. So they are even more exposed to winter weather. Prioritizing paw care ensures your dog stays comfortable, active, and safe throughout winter.

Sit & Stay Pro Tip — Tips for Keeping Your Dog’s Paws Healthy This Winter

Winter weather can be tough on your dog’s paws, but you can keep them safe and comfortable with a few proactive steps. Just like humans’ hands can get dry and cracked in winter, so can our pups’ sensitive feet. The big difference is that they can’t talk to us to let us know what’s going on. So it’s up to us to keep a vigilant eye on them and their behaviors to see if anything is amiss.

Here are some helpful tips:

1. Protect Their Paws

• Invest in high-quality dog booties to shield paws from ice, snow, and harmful chemicals. Our editor LOVES Walkee Paws, a legging boot with suspenders that are far less likely to fall off.

• If your dog isn’t a fan of booties, apply a pet-safe paw balm or wax before walks to create a protective barrier.

2. Clean and Inspect After Walks

• Rinse your dog’s paws with warm (not hot!) water after every walk to remove salt, ice, or other debris.

• Dry their paws thoroughly to prevent irritation or cracking.

• Check for cuts, redness, or signs of discomfort, and treat any minor injuries promptly. Sudden lameness or limping can also be a sign of paw injury.

3. Use Pet-Safe Ice Melters

• Standard de-icers can burn your dog’s paws and are toxic if ingested. Opt for pet-safe ice melters around your home and encourage your community to do the same.

• Avoid sidewalk salt anywhere you can, even if it’s pet-safe, as it can get stuck between paw pads or toes.

4. Keep Paw Pads Moisturized

• Winter’s cold air can dry out paw pads, making them prone to cracking. Regularly apply a dog-safe moisturizer to keep pads soft and healthy. Avoid human lotions, which can be harmful to pets.

5. Trim Hair Between Paw Pads

• Long hair between paw pads can trap ice and snow, leading to discomfort. Keep this area trimmed to reduce build-up.

6. Limit Exposure During Extreme Weather

• When temperatures drop significantly, limit your dog's time outdoors to prevent frostbite or other cold-related issues.

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PROTECT YOUR PET

Dog Food and Supplement Recalls

Here are the recent recalls and advisories:

• Blue Ridge Beef - Puppy Mix for potential salmonella.

• Hollywood Feed - Carolina Made Chicken Chips Dog Treats for potential salmonella.

• Gaines Family Farmstead - Chicken Chips Dog Treats for potential salmonella.

• ANSWERS - All beef and chicken dog foods for potential listeria and salmonella.

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Vet Recommendation — Trim Paw Hair When Needed

Keeping your dog’s paw hair tidy isn’t just about aesthetics. Vets recommend doing so in the winter because unruly hair can lead to irritation from stuck snow or other foreign debris.

Trimming the hair around your dog’s paw pads helps with inspection and cleaning while preventing ice from accumulating between their toes during snowy weather. It also reduces the chance of painful matting, which can lead to paw chewing and potential issues like hot spots or skin irritations.

Treats

• 🐶 Olive becomes a children’s book star: Read all about Olive, a rescue dog in Missouri who is now the star of her own children’s book.

• ✍️ Curated dog content: I Love Every Dog creates adorable, heartwarming, and real (not AI) daily content about dogs, like this post about a dog and her birthday cake.

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