How Do These Winter-Puppy Feet Work?
I'm trying to figure out how to get all my dogs to function in the snow and cold. Lilliput, my Corgi, is a real snow bunny. She stays warm, and the longish hair between the pads on her paws do not collect snow balls, no ice chunks freeze between her toes or pads. I've yet to keep her out too long.
But my old, 14 yr old Springer Spaniel has always been another story, and keeping them together is a puzzle. We've been out to the dog park every other day all year until the first big snow, then the big freeze, then the next big snow, next big freeze. Lilli and I have scouted out suitable parks that we thought the old dog could manage, and today we took him with us.
Oh, what happy, happy dogs! She is the old guy's seeing/hearing/guide dog so he follows her off the groomed path into the deep snow. Happy like a puppy. For a while. But then the ice chunks begin to form between his paw pads, and between his toes. He would drag his hind legs, paws up, as if paralyzed, until I cleaned them out with my fingers. Then he'd collapse to bite at his front paws, until I cleaned them. I put him on Lilli's little leash, and fortunately did not have to carry him all the way back to the car.
Needless to say, next stop was the dog store where we purchased boots. I had tried Paw Wax on this excursion, but clearly it didn't help.
So my question is: Why don't Lilli the Corgi's furry little paws collect snow balls and ice chunks? According to all I've read her paw hair (between pads) is too long, but she's fine. Is there less space between pads on her breed? The Springer's feet are enormous, but regularly and professionally groomed. And between the toes I couldn't really tell if Lilli grew hair like the other dog. How come wolves can run around in the snow? Don't they have big feet too? I believe sled dogs wear boots. Although many dogs at the park were wearing jackets, (even though it was 20 degrees), not many wore boots. What's the deal with dog feet and snow?
But my old, 14 yr old Springer Spaniel has always been another story, and keeping them together is a puzzle. We've been out to the dog park every other day all year until the first big snow, then the big freeze, then the next big snow, next big freeze. Lilli and I have scouted out suitable parks that we thought the old dog could manage, and today we took him with us.
Oh, what happy, happy dogs! She is the old guy's seeing/hearing/guide dog so he follows her off the groomed path into the deep snow. Happy like a puppy. For a while. But then the ice chunks begin to form between his paw pads, and between his toes. He would drag his hind legs, paws up, as if paralyzed, until I cleaned them out with my fingers. Then he'd collapse to bite at his front paws, until I cleaned them. I put him on Lilli's little leash, and fortunately did not have to carry him all the way back to the car.
Needless to say, next stop was the dog store where we purchased boots. I had tried Paw Wax on this excursion, but clearly it didn't help.
So my question is: Why don't Lilli the Corgi's furry little paws collect snow balls and ice chunks? According to all I've read her paw hair (between pads) is too long, but she's fine. Is there less space between pads on her breed? The Springer's feet are enormous, but regularly and professionally groomed. And between the toes I couldn't really tell if Lilli grew hair like the other dog. How come wolves can run around in the snow? Don't they have big feet too? I believe sled dogs wear boots. Although many dogs at the park were wearing jackets, (even though it was 20 degrees), not many wore boots. What's the deal with dog feet and snow?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Spaniels have fur a little more like human hair. It's softer, an it holds dirt.
Corgis have a harder outer coat that is dirt-and-weather-shedding. Things don't really cling to it as well at all. All the dirt will brush right off a Corgi once it's dry, but the same isn't true of a springer. Think of it as the difference between non-stick pans and stainless steel. :-) The ice doesn't stick because of the texture of the coat.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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We had a Standard Poodle that the snow would ball up on really bad. Poor thing would be covered with little balls of ice until we found a jacket that covered his body and legs well. That is one of the great things about corgis, dirt and snow falls right off them. However, we saw a fluffy while camping last year and it looked like everything stuck to him.
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Permalink Reply by LaRissa L. Head on
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My fluffy has a problem with ... well everything! We adopted her in the fall and everytime we came in from a walk or the backyard i had to sweep up every leaf that came in riding on her "butt curtains".
Now during the winter i have to use wax products such as musher's secret or oil products (just plain olive oil or pet. jelly) to keep the ice from spreading her toes.
I try and shave Roslyn's feet between the pads every week now.
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Permalink Reply by Jessica on
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Sorry - totally off topic, but the "butt curtains" remark. You actually had me laughing in my chair.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Al has gotten visibly sore feet from long hiking in spring snow, near or above freezing. I noticed nothing during the ascent of the mountain, but after running hard to keep up with me on the descent -- I was on nordic skis -- he slowed dramatically and started stopping to lick/chew at his front paws. I believe this was not from ice chunks collecting, but from simple abrasion by the snow on the soft skin in between the toe pads, or behind the toe pads. I've noticed similar stuff after long walks in soft sand. Mostly the front feet. I've seen raw lesions right behind the toe pads, but no really obvious damage to the soft skin, although it did seem warm and pinkish.
I think in soft surfaces, the paws spread open for flotation (leaving tracks that look much larger than you'd expect), allowing snow/sand in between the pads, irritating unaccustomed soft skin. Maybe they get used to this? My dogs are city tenderfeet, really.
I've tried these Pawz booties pawz and the jury is still out on them. They're easy to carry for emergencies. They can fill with snow, fall off, like that. Blue (med) or red (smaller) for corgis.
Al may be a tenderfoot, or it may be he's such a rocket compared to Gwynnie that he wears his pads faster, but they do seem to wear thin with all the concrete soccer playing he does.
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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I wonder if we could invent little doggy booties with a halter type thing to keep them on (think suspenders).
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Permalink Reply by Abbea and Vivi on
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When we took Vivi to play in the snow for the first time, I was expecting it to collect between his paw pads since his paw fur is so long. I felt really bad for not being able to trim it before the trip, but it all ended up fine. I checked his paws pretty often while we were there, and there was never any snow stuck on the fur, which surprised me. Corgi fur is great!
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Permalink Reply by Julia on
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It definitely could be the spaniel fur, Beth. He's always been our "velcro" dog, while the others have been "teflon", or at least waterproof. It makes sense that ice might stick to him, too. Since Bev's poodle had the same problem, do they have that same type of fur? Or those Fluffies?
My old dog can't handle the park two days in a row, so we haven't tried out the new red boots yet. Tomorrow we'll dress up in style, matching red jacket as well, and see if he can keep them on while diving through the snow after his Corgi. Or if Lilli will decide they are just another Corgi-toy-attached-to-Spaniel (like the ears) and pull them off.
Julia
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