Winter, murder on the feet!

[NerdyDogOwner]

So we have been having the coldest winter here in Norway. And they expect it to get colder…poor Gizmo! :(

Anyways, I have noticed his nails are pretty cracked up. Some even go all the way up (not splinting his nails in half, but a small crack on the outer layer). And I can imagine it must bother him when outdoors on the icy and snow covered roads/sidewalks.

I did get an ointment for Xmas for his feet, but it doesn't seem to be helping much.

Any suggestions? Tips?
Should I just let it be and let his feet "toughen up" naturally? Or maybe….god forbid....use shoes on him?

[Kananga]

I've never used any ointment on Kananga's pads. He sees some pretty cold temps too (coldest was probably -25F).

His pads are in decent shape. I think he takes care of them on his own.

[AJs Human]

I've actually considered getting shoes for AJ. The reason I would do this is we are never in the frigid cold long enough for him to properly acclimate to it and therefore, he wouldn't have time for his feet to "toughen up" before moving on to a warmer climate. There have been times we woke up at -5F (-20C) in Upstate New York and went to bed at 50F (10C) in Virginia that night.

[Nemo]

How do you cut Gizmo's nails? I haven't had any issues so far with nails cracking due the winter before, but my dogs don't typically stay outside for that long of a period of time.

And I hear that Musher's Secret (I think that is the name) works well to protect the pads of the feet, but I don't know about the nails.

[ibi_n_sane]

i am sorry, i cant help you, we have a quite severe winter here in the Netherlands as well, ,loads of snow and where we live it is at night - 12/-15 and during the day it varies from -3 /-8 very cold for the netherlands, I dont do anything about it, just let my dogs not as long and often outside as I used to do in warmer weather, and we shorten our long walks a bit, as their paws and ears freeze….very bad for them!
what you can do is put some vaseline on the paws when you get home, first you dry the paws and then put vaseline on them, so their pads will stay in better shape and become not too dry. BUt my basenjis dont like it , they lick it off immediately :p but maybe it is worth to try.
I dont know how it is in norway, but people straw salt here againt slipping danger ( I think it is called brine in english ) anyway it hurts the dog feet as well, and you must make sure they dont walk too long in the salt, and use some vaseline then too, you can also use it BEFORE you go for a walk, but it is kind of sticky so I am not sure if a basenji wants to walk with vaseline on his feet :D

what are people now nagging about the heating of the earth hey? :p

[Janneke]

Yeah.. it IS cold here in the Netherlands!! I love it :D

I don't put anything on the paws.. and because of the holiday we have made long walks (2+ hours) in the snow every day and their paws look fine.. Sometimes they lift a leg during the walk.. I rub it and they are good to go again :D

But Vaseline may do the trick for Gizmo's feet.

[renaultf1]

I use Musher's Secret - but have heard that both Bag Balm and Vaseline can work as well. The kids love having the spa treatment when I put it on their paws. :D

Mine don't spend a ton of time outside in the winter - their favourite place in the winter is in front of the woodstove. :D

[Knipper]

We have cold, dry winters here. -38C. Blaze has mastered the two pee, one poop a day as soon as it gets below -10.
I use Vaseline before the walks, then wash his paws off after the walk. A lot of people use salt on their walks her, and our city uses sand. This can either burn their feet, or cause pitting in their nails, which lead to cracking and they both dry the pads out really badly. Another thing that I learnt the hard way was to grind his nails instead of clipping. Our dry weather here seems to turn any little nick in his nail into a monster of a crack… it's the same with the humans. I tried booties, and he use to put up with them, but since he's aged, he is getting more stubborn. He will lie down and grumble if I put those booties on now, and he also has decided when it is time to stop the walk. If it's windy, wet, or cold, I can make it to the mail box. Then he flops down and grumbles. I can either carry him the rest of the walk, or turn back home, in which case he will then trot infront of me, glancing back to tell me I'm a good pet human...

[Basenjimamma]

I can either carry him the rest of the walk, or turn back home, in which case he will then trot infront of me, glancing back to tell me I'm a good pet human…

I love it..I laughed so hard when I read this..Otis is the same way if it rains..simply refuses to go any further and will park his behind on his hindlegs..god forbid it touches the wet ground..once I turn around and decide to go home again he is leading the way, glancing back at me at times.