You can find them in all shapes and sizes, in every colour of the rainbow: as soon as winter hits, our canine companions don booties to go outside.
Some are knitted, some are sewn, but all of them play an important if fashionable purpose in keeping your pet safe.
Local veterinary technician Angela Hick-Ewing, who works at the St. Albert Animal Clinic, said dogs' paws are sensitive and need to be protected.“Dogs can get frostbite just like we can,” Hick-Ewing said.
Hick-Ewing said her own dog would get snowballs between her toes and got frostbite several times on the paws.
“Especially with the hot and cold freezing that we've had, their feet can get colder faster, because we're going from rapid ground changes,” Hick-Ewing said.
The veterinary technician said it is important to train your dogs to wear booties when they are outside on a stroll.
Even dogs who were bred for cold climates, like Huskies, can get ice pellets in between their toes that make them extremely uncomfortable.
Aside from the cold ground, Hick-Ewing said salt used to keep roadways ice-free can also irritate your pet's feet.
Anytime residents walk their dogs, Hick-Ewing recommends that after the walk the owners wipe their furry friends' feet off to remove any salt. While owners are wiping the feet, they should take a look for any abrasions caused by walking on the hard icy ground.
“Sharp ice can actually go and poke the pads, as well as they cause abrasions in between the toes that can be irritating in itself and very sore,” Hick-Ewing said.
Often when pets come into the clinic for a nail trim, Hick-Ewing will see sores and abrasions on the pads of pets' feet and she said most owners don’t even know they are there.
“I would say it's fairly common that we do find little stuff like that and owners, if they're checking their dogs' feet after every walk, they can sometimes find them and monitor them and keep them clean,” Hick-Ewing said.
On top of applying booties and wiping the feet down, Hick-Ewing said owners can also apply a balm to their pets' paws to help protect their feet, which creates a barrier between the pad and the snow. The balm also helps with any dry skin pets might get on their paws in the winter.
Juliann Cashen, spokesperson for the City of St. Albert said the city uses a mix of sand and salt on the roadways, which are both pet-friendly. The amount used depends on weather conditions. When conditions are very cold, only sand is used.
“The City no longer uses calcium chloride. In the past, it was only used on two of the City’s roadways – Ray Gibbon Drive and St. Albert Trail,” Cashen said.
Cashen added that the blue ice melt that is used in front of facilities is pet friendly.
