Checking Dogs Paws During The Winter

[anthro-nerd]

This is something that comes up on my newsfeed on Facebook a LOT at this time of year.. but I can't say I've ever really worried about it... my Willis has never had a problem with his paw at this time of year. Should I be being more vigilant?

https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/winter-paw-care-for-dogs.html

[kvalidir]

TBH we've always had a great pack of dogs and have five at the moment and it's not something i routinely do, and they spend lots of time outside as the door is always open so they can come in and out at will. We've never had a dog with anything wrong with it's paws i can attribute to winter alone, but equally we never walk our dogs anywhere that's been salted, and you do have to watch for that very carefully as that can cause a huge amount of damage x

[woofgang]

People are often not aware of the dangers of antifreeze (and some winter screen wash additives) and yes, city dogs may have problems when the gritters have been out....also of course petcare websites and blogs have to do "seasonal" posts and there are only so many times you can do the "Christmas food dangers for your pets" post. It is one of the downsides of social media that some posts take on a life of their own...a few people share then a few people share those shares....then it gets tweeted...then it trends.....then it looks like a serious issue. I have seen it happen with "mushrooms are poisonous to dogs" and also "giving ice to dogs causes bloat" neither of which are true.

[dannyk13]

Apart from the danger of salt ther is also the danger of hidden objects in the snow (if there is any).I had a Pyrenean Mountain dog who cut his paw badly on some broken glass hidden in the snow.

[woofgang]

well yes danny, but sharp objects can also be hidden in long grass, dead leaves and so on so not really seasonal.

[dannyk13]

Agreed Woofie but snow also covers road and footpath surfaces where you would normally be able to see any broken glass etc. My dog's injury resulted from glass hidden in the snow on a footpath.

[anthro-nerd]

Mmm yes I do worry about antifreeze, my pooch was very poorly after ingesting something from the street, we'll never know what it was, but it was this time last year when the weather started getting very cold.