Ice Paw

[pikehunter]

Hey all,

Anyone have tips on how to prevent my dog's paws from icing up? Last winter we had a couple instances where after a couple hours hunting pheasants in snow-covered fields, my Brit would start to hobble, and I would find large ice cubes stuck to the bottom of each of his front paws. (Literally the size and shape of ice cubes you would get from the tray.)

My best guess is this was caused by warm paws meeting cold snow and some kind of condensation freezing, and growing the more he ran around in the snow. They were impossible to get off without warming him up and letting it melt, since it seemed to be stuck to the hair between his pads.

He's my first hunting dog and last winter was his first season, so I don't have any experience with this, but I assume it's something others have run into. If I'm going to need to put him in dog boots, I'd rather start getting him used them now. Thanks in advance for any help you han provide!

[Capt'nMorgan]

I talked to a guy about this once and he uses Mushers Cream or Mushers Secret, he claims it works great. I have never seen it used or have not used it myself.

[nofishfisherman]

You can try keeping any hair growing between the pads trimmed. I've noticed the ice and snow seems to build up on the hair and can lead to issues. My Vizsla never seems to have any issues with the snow or ice and he's out there running in it all winter long. I think his lack of problems stems from the lack of hair growing between the pads. Just not much for the snow and ice to build up on.

Might not be a 100% cure all but it might help a little.

[pikehunter]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the help!

[setterguy]

If its not too cold spraying their feet with cooking spray can help.