Broken Nail Due to Snow and Prevention

[GoodbyeHalcyonDays]

Hi folks,

 

So for those of you who live in the tri-state area, you'll notice we've hit quite a big blizzard last night. I took Caleb out to play this morning, and noticed his claw was cut when we got back inside. He wasn't limping or anything, and it seems like a minor cut, but he's never had his nail torn, so I'm a little worried. Suggestions?

 

Also, I'd love any recommendations for dealing with paws in the snow/salt. He won't wear any booties. I've heard some people recommend musher's wax.

 

 

Thank you in advance!

[D'Elle]

You say that he won't wear booties, but I have to wonder how he was introduced to them. No dog will wear them the first time that they are put on. It takes a long time to get a dog accustomed to wearing something on his feet. They think that they cannot walk because they can't feel the ground any more.

 

My experience is that it takes several weeks or even months of daily slow work to get a dog truly comfortable with wearing footwear. The first week is spent just showing them to the dog, and giving the dog treats. The first time they go on the feet the dog gets a treat and they come right back off, without the dog having to walk at all. A couple of days are spent like that. Then, they are left on for five seconds, and taken off. The next day, seven seconds. All accompanied with treats and praise.

 

Anything like this has to be done extremely slowly. You can accustom the dog to wearing them, but you have to be very patient. Imagine how long it would take you to learn to dance on stilts, perhaps. You'd need lots of patience and practice. And then remember that if you were learning to dance on stilts it would be because *you* chose to do so, and your dog is not choosing this, you are choosing it for him. I don't know if footwear is the answer to your problem or not, but if you think it is, try again and just go very slowly.

[moosikins]

Poor baby, that looks painful! Can you put some vet wrap on that one paw during outside time for a week or so while it heals? He might not object to vet wrap if it's tight (but not painfully so) because it's pretty lightweight. It probably also needs some sterile gauze wrapped around the toenail first though, so as not to directly touch the sore spot! I think that vet wrap is okay directly on fur because it sticks to itself and isn't tacky, but double-check online first!

 

Callie also refuses to wear footware. She's fine with it when they're shown to her and she won't get off the ground and then immediately tries to gnaw them when they go on even a single foot! My family also stared at me like I was stupid when I told them I wanted to get my dog booties for the snow. Apparently if it's got fur between its toes, it's winter-worthy.

[waffles]

Personally, I wouldn't do anything. I live in western ny and snow is on the ground most of winter here. My dog is more than happy to hike/walk on snow covered ground for more than hour with no issue ever. If he happens to get snowballs packed in his pads he just pulls them out and keeps going. This usually only happens if there is fresh unpacked snow. If you walk places where people put a lot of salt down you could wipe his pads when you come in.

[dsmbc]

For nails in the winter, the best thing to do is keep them very trimmed.Have a jar of quick stop handy. musher's secret, paw magic or tuff-n-up are all great to project pads in the winter. This past summer my dog ripped up his pad and had to wear a boot. It did not take long for him to get use to it. I put it on just before we went out to work stock. he forgot all about the boot the second I opened the door. he associated it with work, so was fine with it.

[Ttiffany20191]

Mine wouldn't wear the shoes with the hard bottoms either but I found a plastic bootie called Pawz that is like a second skin almost. They are reusable and washable and they stay on unlike some of the other types of dog boots. They lay down ice melt here and without them it burns her pads. I found these at Petco but I see you can buy them online as well. They come in a package of 12.

[B Point]

I've become a bit of an expert on footwear. Man, I've tried them all. Tio scuffs his back paws and without footwear he soon wears down his claws to bloody stumps. PAWZ are ok but they don't last very long and are a bit of a pain to get on especially if they've been used a few times. Most of the neoprene type booties end up flipping around. The ones I like the best are the socks with a vulcanized rubber paw pouch. You can get them on ebay for cheap and they last a pretty long time. Like these ....

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301054149432?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&var=600188402187&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I usually order about 4 or 5 sets at a time and those will last 6 months of everyday use. The average BC will take size #5. You have to take about 6 inches of black electrical tape (works the best) and wrap it around the ankle or the socks will fall off. The tape doesn't need to be very tight. They are good for indoor use for dogs who have trouble with hardwood floors. A lot of times we just leave them on all day. Works a charm..

I'm not sure how well they'd work on the snow and ice though and....the soft rubber PAWZ might be better on ice.

[border_collie_crazy]

just keep em trimmed nice and short. I work at a doggy daycare and this is a major issue every winter(to the point that we issue an announcement on the subject and offer nail clipped at a discount), even slightly too long nails crack and splinter really really easily on the snow and ice.