Frosty paws - advice needed for Ziggy

[hheldorfer]

Ziggy, our Silky/Shi Tzu mix has very large front paws for a little guy and we let his coat grow longer in the winter. The problem is that he gets excessive snow build-up on his paws which causes him enough discomfort to stop in mid-walk (or mid-frolic) and wait for us to clean them off. My first thought is to trim the hair on his paws much shorter because the little ice balls mostly cling to this hair. A woman at the dog park suggested putting Vaseline on his paws to repel the snow, which is a good idea but I don't want little oil spots all over everything. We may have to try booties, but they'd have to be a really good fit.

Any thoughts or experience with this problem?

[pindrop]

I can't wait to hear what others have to say on the subject of booties. I had an Australian sheepdog that loved to walk in the woods with me when I went cross-country skiing and would have the same problem with balls of snow building up to the point she wouldn't continue. I bought booties and to this day will never forget the antics played out by her with these on her feet. It was hilarious - like she had no control of her legs and each leg would go a different way (and that was only in the house!) The look she gave me was pitiful - I just couldn't subject her to being a laughing stock - so on longer walks I would leave her at home at it seemed to be the best solution. Hope you find something to help.

[kjwarnold]

I trim the hair between Packy's pads in the winter and it does seem to help. We tried booties but he just lost them in big snow drifts. Good boy that he is, he dug into the drifts and retrieved them for me! Anyway, they just didn't stay on, and the snow doesn't seem to bother him anyway. He loves snow and would stay out all day if I let him. By the time we come in, he's covered and has little snowballs stuck all over. A good towel rub and then the hair dryer do the trick for us.

We've had a discussion similar to this before. Try searching and see what you get. I think someone did try the Vaseline trick but I don't remember how it worked. Good luck!

[Hawkeye]

I also trim the hair between their pads shorter during the winter to minimize the snowballs. I never tried the doggie boots, to be honest I can't imagine either one of them keeping them on. Bailey is not a fan of the winter wonderland and prefers to do his business then come back in. Radar on the other hand loves it and will stay out much longer. When we take them for walks, we are using sidewalks and roads and which are usually cleaned up some.

[josie&holly]

I seem to remember last year someone highly recommended Mushers Secret wax as it is better than vaseline for a dog.