Keeping outside dogs feet warm?

[mittens1997]

My poor poor baby girls are so cold outside [INDENT]

They are full time outside dogs, (i'd love to bring them in, but my parents wont let me)

They DO have shelter though. They have an insulated barn, with tons of straw to sleep in and a heat lamp.

Their breeds are:

-anatolian/maremma X
-Husky/border collie
-Golden retriever/border collie X (possibly husky or another blue eyed breed, since she has blue eyes)

So their not short haired breeds.

But today when i was outside, all three of them kept putting their paws up.

I don't think they'll put up with keeping boots on, as we've tried similar things before

[Barkingdog]

Did you check your dogs paws to see if there any wrong with them ? Are you using any de-Icing pellets ?

[rottysrule]

if you are using a de-icer you could be burning there paws if its not pet safe salt

[Longblades]

Another vote to see what might be causing that. How cold is it outside? When we had an outside dog ( I was a kid) he could take
-20F and I never saw him hold his feet up. It's more likely to be a problem for an inside dog who goes out only periodically. And straw in a heated barn would be quite cozy. Our dog had straw but not a heat lamp. Closest thing to a breed to describe him would be an English Shepherd, one of the heavy coated ones.

[mittens1997]

No, we're not using any de-icer.

And the barn isnt heated, but its insulted.

The day i posted this, it was about -20, but its up to -15 now

[Barkingdog]

I would not have pets if I could not bring them in the house.

[Longblades]

Originally Posted by mittens1997

No, we're not using any de-icer.

And the barn isnt heated, but its insulted.

The day i posted this, it was about -20, but its up to -15 now

You said they had a heat lamp though. It just seems weird to me that all three dogs would have a problem. None of them are tiny, fragile breeds. What about the possibility their feet had gotten wet? And then were sticking to the cold snow? Causing an unpleasant pull on the fur on their feet? I am making wild guesses.

You do mean they are lifting their feet when they go outside, right? Not while they are in the barn?

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Longblades

You said they had a heat lamp though. It just seems weird to me that all three dogs would have a problem. None of them are tiny, fragile breeds. What about the possibility their feet had gotten wet? And then were sticking to the cold snow? Causing an unpleasant pull on the fur on their feet? I am making wild guesses.

You do mean they are lifting their feet when they go outside, right? Not while they are in the barn?

Maybe they have snow balls stuck in the pads of their paws. My last dog would hold his paw up if that happen. I wonder if Musher 'secret would help , I used this on my dogs paws and help it keep the snowballs off his paws and I used it on his nose too.

[mittens1997]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

I would not have pets if I could not bring them in the house.

I would love to bring them inside, but we live on a farm, and they are farm dogs.

[mittens1997]

Originally Posted by Longblades

You said they had a heat lamp though. It just seems weird to me that all three dogs would have a problem. None of them are tiny, fragile breeds. What about the possibility their feet had gotten wet? And then were sticking to the cold snow? Causing an unpleasant pull on the fur on their feet? I am making wild guesses.

You do mean they are lifting their feet when they go outside, right? Not while they are in the barn?

I don't see how their feet could have gotten wet, besides their water (in the barn under the heat lamp) everything else is frozen.

Yes, only outside.

[mittens1997]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

Maybe they have snow balls stuck in the pads of their paws. My last dog would hold his paw up if that happen. I wonder if Musher 'secret would help , I used this on my dogs paws and help it keep the snowballs off his paws and I used it on his nose too.

Yes! The border collie/ retriever and the maremma both get ice balls. The border collie worse.

What is this Musher secret?

[mittens1997]

i appreciate all the replies!

[Marty11]

Although my preference is indoors, I had an outdoor dog once. He was absolutely fine. He had an insulated dog house with hay, and good thick winter coat. Alberta is nice and dry as well, but cold. Check for ice balls stuck in the fur, this apparently can bother them. Your not trimming the fur between the pads right? This is extra insulation for them, although it gets filled with ice and snow. Most dogs hate boots I wouldn't bother.

[Longblades]

Originally Posted by Marty11

Although my preference is indoors, I had an outdoor dog once. He was absolutely fine. He had an insulated dog house with hay, and good thick winter coat. Alberta is nice and dry as well, but cold. Check for ice balls stuck in the fur, this apparently can bother them. Your not trimming the fur between the pads right? This is extra insulation for them, although it gets filled with ice and snow. Most dogs hate boots I wouldn't bother.

Me too, when I was a kid the dog was an outdoor dog. He had a heavy coat, safe, sheltered spot, insulated house stuffed with straw, shade in summer. We brought him in when it went below 0F and he was miserable in the house, used to being out in the cold. I think it's far worse to alternate them, in at night, out during the day as our neighbours did.

Our friend had one of the early detector dogs, a Lab, for the Ministry of Natural Resources and she had to stay outside. We were surprised but the trainers said she had to ready to sniff at a moment's notice and adjusting from inside to out would impair or delay that ability. She rode in back of the truck, away from the heat. She had a sturdy, secure, warm house outside. My OH was part of the team that built her housing and provided support.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by mittens1997

Yes! The border collie/ retriever and the maremma both get ice balls. The border collie worse.

What is this Musher secret?

http://musherssecret.net/



It's like vaseline jelly and you put it on dogs paws to protected it them from ice and snow. Musher secret is not greasy like Vaseline and I would use a little too when my hands got chapped in the winter. It really helped my dog paws in the winter .

[hazelrunpack]

Barkingdog, would you trim the hairs flat as they extend past the pads before you put the Musher's Secret on? I want to try it with the Pack, but not sure if I should trim up their excessively hairy feet, first...

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

Barkingdog, would you trim the hairs flat as they extend past the pads before you put the Musher's Secret on? I want to try it with the Pack, but not sure if I should trim up their excessively hairy feet, first...

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-ca...care-tips-dogs

My Standard Poodle paws had the fur trim by his groomer .The fur was trim to be even with his paw pads . I would put the Musher's Secret between his pads too , they where getting cracked and I did not want dirt and sand to get into the cracks . Finlay paws healed nicely , we would take walks in the snow at a park , and his paws would be fine . I did put a lot of Musher's Secret at a time, I think maybe more than I needed .

[Longblades]

My dog does not get cracked paws and does not need Mushers Secret but if I don't trim the hair between his toes it does attract ice balls and snow build up. In summer he wears it off.

You know what is really good for trimming that hair? Nose hair trimmers. LOL, really. Borrow your husband's or father's or brothers and see what a good job it does. If you don't say anything wait and see if they comment on their nose hair trimmer all of a sudden smelling like corn chips.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Longblades

My dog does not get cracked paws and does not need Mushers Secret but if I don't trim the hair between his toes it does attract ice balls and snow build up. In summer he wears it off.

You know what is really good for trimming that hair? Nose hair trimmers. LOL, really. Borrow your husband's or father's or brothers and see what a good job it does. If you don't say anything wait and see if they comment on their nose hair trimmer all of a sudden smelling like corn chips.

I am not married anymore, my dad dies in 1967 and I have nothing to do with my brother. The Mushers Secret helped keep the snowballs from forming on the paws , and it protected my dog paws from all the sand and salt used in the winter. Does your dogs mine having their paws and legs touch? Marty hate it , I guess his first owner did not touch his paws and legs when he was a puppy. I will have to try and find a nose trimmer . I am not looking forward to winter .

[Longblades]

Originally Posted by Barkingdog

I am not married anymore, my dad dies in 1967 and I have nothing to do with my brother. The Mushers Secret helped keep the snowballs from forming on the paws , and it protected my dog paws from all the sand and salt used in the winter. Does your dogs mine having their paws and legs touch? Marty hate it , I guess his first owner did not touch his paws and legs when he was a puppy. I will have to try and find a nose trimmer . I am not looking forward to winter .

My dog doesn't mind anything, nail clipping, eye drops, ear cleaning, nothing fazes him. I'm so lucky.

LOL, I guess you'll have to buy your own nose hair trimmer. When I told my Vet about this I called them Men's Nose Hair Trimmers. He burst out laughing, started to say, "Oh, I think ladies use ...." and then he stopped. As soon as I got home I went to check myself in the mirror. Nope, ok.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by Longblades

My dog doesn't mind anything, nail clipping, eye drops, ear cleaning, nothing fazes him. I'm so lucky.

LOL, I guess you'll have to buy your own nose hair trimmer. When I told my Vet about this I called them Men's Nose Hair Trimmers. He burst out laughing, started to say, "Oh, I think ladies use ...." and then he stopped. As soon as I got home I went to check myself in the mirror. Nope, ok.

LOL! After I read your comment I when and checked myself in the mirror .
Nope here too.

[hazelrunpack]

Longblades, you cracked me up!

[Dog Dancer]

Okay I'm not commenting about the nose hair trimmers.... lol

I couldn't find Mushers Secret but I bought a product called Pad Guard Wax for dogs. Same thing. Haven't used it yet though, we haven't had snow and ice yet.

I don't think I'll trim the dogs hair though, I'll just smush it on.

[hazelrunpack]

We've tried the Musher's Secret without trimming the hair, DD, and it didn't seem to help That's why I asked about trimming... With the long hair (maybe 1.5 cm extended past the pads), the Musher's Secret just seemed to make their foot hairs sort of greasy without really helping with the snow and ice buildup. I think I'll try again but trim the hair flat to the level of the pads this time....