Walking Dogs in Winter - Road Salt? (clean, natural, effects)

[roadpony]

The neighborhood we moved to recently does not have sidewalks, and the road is regularly salted in the winter. I've read that road salt can burn dogs' paws, but my pupster doesn't seem to have any ill effects so far. What's the best way to deal with road salt if there are no good alternatives routes for dog walking in snowy/icy weather?

[subject2change]

Boots are the best of course, but I have yet to find boots that stay on very well. Clean your dog's paws when you get home. S/he may just have to deal with shorter walks at times.

ETA, there are quasi-boots called Pawz, that are really just like rubber ballons. They'll keep salt off the feet, and keep them dry. They don't do much for keeping the feet warm. They tear easily but they come in packs of a half dozen pairs or so.

[Katie1]

Boots & wash feet when you return home. Not only does it burn its toxic for them the lick & can burn their mouth.

[Driller1]

We run our hounds in the winter....no problems.....unless they get cut.

[jaybb]

My dog yells from the pain of the road salt. I make sure his feet are washed off well when I get home so he does not ingest this poison, not does it become part of my carpeting. Do my best not to walk him on the road when salted.

[foxywench]

boots...

if your not interested in oots make sure to wash feet after eac walk, dry an put some baby safe lotion ect on (something like vaseline works well) the salt dries out the pad which will eventually if not kept ontop of lead to cracking the splits and cracks then allow the salt past the protective paw pd and thats where the pain comes in...the cracks and splits can be so minute that you cant even see them...

[DawnMTL]

Artie does his "stuff" in the back yard and doesn't have to deal with salty roads. However, we just came back from a trip to Montreal and there was no fenced-in yard where we were staying. To make matters worse, it being Montreal in the winter, the roads were heavily salted. Every few steps, he'd lift one of his paws for me to wipe it. He was clearly agitated from it, poor guy.

When we lived in CT and walked on salted roads, I used a product like this (because Artie's too cool for boots):
Amazon.com: Invisible Dog Boots - Protect Paws From Sand, Hot Pavement, Ice, and Salt with All Natural 100% Wax-Based Cream. For Dogs Who Just Won't Wear Boots. - 60gm: Pet Supplies

Shmear it on before walking.

It really seemed to make a difference.

[roadpony]

Originally Posted by Driller1

We run our hounds in the winter....no problems.....unless they get cut.

It's good to know that your dogs don't have any problems. Thanks. Mine doesn't seem to either...yet.

Originally Posted by DandJ

When we lived in CT and walked on salted roads, I used a product like this (because Artie's too cool for boots):
Amazon.com: Invisible Dog Boots - Protect Paws From Sand, Hot Pavement, Ice, and Salt with All Natural 100% Wax-Based Cream. For Dogs Who Just Won't Wear Boots. - 60gm: Pet Supplies

Shmear it on before walking.

It really seemed to make a difference.

This looks like the best alternative - THANKS!!!!! No way could we deal with boots.

[Dogmama50]

I use Musher's wax too. Not so much for the salt, but for the cold, Sophie has very sensitive feet. I just open the jar, swipe her paw and rub it in a bit.

[roadpony]

I just ordered the Musher's Secret. After doing a quick web comparison, Amazon does seem to have the best price. Thanks everyone for your comments and help.