Limping in the snow

[hoppsmom]

So I took Hopps out today for his walk like we usually do every morning. But of course we had a huge snow storm, so he was walking fine until I guess he got either snow, ice, or salt stuck up in his back paw and started limping like crazy. I checked his paw and massaged it, and then he was fine. About 2 minutes later it started again. I at first chalked it up to it just being cold, but after 5 times of it happening, and massaging it 5 times, I took him inside, and of course he is fine. The walk was so short though, about 15-20 min max. Hopps is a brittany/foxhound mix, so he needs his daily walk, but I just felt so bad for his feet! What is going on?

And he is 45 pounds, and I can't seem to find any boots or anything that will fit him. And I know it has to do with the cold. I just clipped his nails about a week ago, there was nothing stuck in his paws each time I looked, and he is fine in the house and was fine yesterday.

[adele]

Sounds like salt to me. Lola can't walk in town if there is salt on the roads/sidewalks. You mention that they use salt where you live. So, either you have to find places to walk him where there is no salt or perhaps Hopps may need boots.

You could try PAWS http://pawzdogboots.com/ That's the kind I use for Lola and I really like them. They are inexpensive. They are meant to be disposable (one pack contains 12 boots) and get holes easily but I've found that if its just a pin hole they still do the job (and I'm so cheap even patch 'em). Once you've used them once or twice they start sticking together so I keep 'em in a baggie with a tsp of corn starch to keep them supple.

[Barb Wright]

What were the temperautures during this walk? If it was really cold, say around 0 F then he may just have had cold feet. When this happens dogs will limp or lift up the coldest feet. The body catches on quickly to this and will respond with increased blood flow to the coldest spots which in turn helps "warm" the feet. Your "massaging" the foot could have the same effect, but it is better if the body controls the situation. When we lived in Alaska Cassie used to do this from time to time and eventually the feet warmed up on their own and she was fine. However, when temps were 0 or below I usually just put booties on her and that took care of the problem before it happened.

Also, it could be that Hopps had a tender pad and if the roads were salted then this would cause discomfort such as stinging. And, if he has much hair between his toes/pads you might want to keep it trimmed as it tends to collect snow and make ice balls in between the toes, very uncomfortable and in fact the ice balls can cause blisters if the dogs, or you, don't get the ice balls out.

[hoppsmom]

I found some boots his size at petco! He took to them pretty well. In fact, now I have a new problem, lol. I guess because his feet no longer hurt him, Hopps decided he had to run in the snow everywhere and completely forgot all his leash training! grr that dog lol. I did make him sit a few times and it helped a lot to make him pay attention, but part of me liked just seeing him run and have fun, a complete change from this morning!

[StFrost]

We use Musher's Secret on Sammie's paws when in the snow--it also works on hot pavement and salt...
Extreme exercise needs an additional treatment though.