You meant to take your dog outside for a simple walk and game of fetch, but instead, they returned home with painful nicks, tears and a new salty snack embedded in their paws. “We see lots of salt usage over the winter with the rough winters that can happen, cold temperatures and icy conditions,” says Dr. Grant Little, a small animal veterinarian and veterinary expert at JustAnswer. “There are lots of salt products that people use to keep the freezing temperature of the ice lower, and some of them are more problematic for pets, and some of them are ‘safer.’ I use the quotes, because overall it depends on the dose of how much a pet licks off.”
While your dog’s paws can be quite resilient to ice-melting salt and other debris, they aren’t invincible. “Dog paw pads are relatively tough, as they are composed of thick calloused skin, fat and connective tissue,” says Dr. Liza Cahn, veterinarian at Embrace Pet Insurance. “However, they still need protection from weather extremes like hot pavement, snow and ice.”
In order to lower the dose of salt your dog ingests, or to mitigate the physical harm it can pose on their paws, Little says there are steps you can take and items worth the investment. Here, the best vet-approved protective dog products to keep your furry friends safe on salted sidewalks this winter.
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