so the cold weather has hit and this is the first winter for me with my dog, the past 2 mornings have had to carry him home from our walk, he starts limping from the cold. Our early morning walk is about a half hour, was surprised that he became so uncomfortable in this amount of time....any suggestions on what to do? should I get boots for him or will he adjust? it is only -6 today and it get alot colder than this through out the winter, we live in Ontario, Canada....

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Personally I'd just shorten the walk. I know some people have success with the booties but they can be hard to fit.

I would also try to shorten the walks...maybe she will get used to it and her feet may get a bit tougher. We live in MN and the weather here gets very cold too and tons of snow also. I watch so mine aren't out as long especially when the winds and below temps start. There are some old discussions on here you could look up about boots, not all are the same.

okay thanks

he is 3 years old, I adopted him last spring, and he loves his walks, so will shorten them while he adjusts, thanks

-6 C of -6 F? Becca is usually ok until below zero F. Any lower than that and she picks her paws up and has a hard time walking. I shorten our walks on really cold days and play brain games inside. I have some treat toys and a Hide a Squirrel that only come out for bad weather.

Be careful on areas that have been treated with salt and chemicals. They can burn a dogs feet. I am lucky that sand is used here. I still take her through clean snow and  wipe her feet off when we get home though.

hi it is minus 6 c

Be sure to keep the hair between the pads cut short....it decreases the chance of ice balls getting stuck in there.  But when it gets really cold (below 20) then short walks are better.  I've been stuck carrying a corgi home more than once.

yes I heard of this, thanks, we will cut the hair on his feet....they are very furry and shorten the walks while he adjusts, thanks

I take it you mean -6 centigrade, which is about 21 F.   Most dogs should be able to handle that, but all are different.   Have the roads been treated? Was there snow?  Our Maddie starts limping if she walks through treated areas;  I think she gets ice balls in her feet.  Rather than carry him, have you tried warming the paw in your hand to see if that helps?

Do you have a treadmill?  If so, you could try training him to walk on it during the colder months.  I've done so with my Eskimo Dog, Yuki, and he absolutely loves it.  He was terrified, at first, but we took our time and he was eagerly jumping on for his "walkies" by the end of the second week.  We have since moved from that rental and had to ditch our treadmill, but we've recently been given another one from a friend (also moving) and I plan to train Ellie to use it, too.  It makes it much easier on all of us when the bitter cold weather hits here in NY!

hi thanks for all the comments, shortened his walks to 15 minutes at a time, then slowly added a few minutes a day, so far so good!!!

We are going through this right now with -17 temps and more:( Mine go out to go potty and play a bit in the fence but I'm always aware of the wind and how long they've been out! I'll be glad when we get up to zero again.

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