For those whose dogs are holding up their paws it may be because of the type of ice melt that you are using. Some will irritate paws. Other types will cause the snow and ice to melt slightly and stick to the paws forming a thin sheet of ice that sticks to the paws. If it is just on your steps there are several types of melt that are less irritating but the ones I have used stop working at a higher temperature.

My friend's dogs hated the booties at first, but once the ground became icy and they walked on it with bare paws, they were much happier to wear the booties to go outside. They still won't wear them in the house. I think it's like anything else you want your dog to do, you have to train them with praise and treats.

My dogs have plaid coats...the dachshund red plaid, the Boston terrier mix , blue plaid. They're custom made and the dachshund and I took a walk tonight as it was snowing and he wagged his tail the whole three miles...Loves the snow but no booties for him.

I have Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I spent the winter months in Maine from 1994-2003. We regularly had 2-3 feet of snow all winter - never saw bare earth. And it was cold...VERY cold.

What we did have to do was have my DH put on his biggest old Maine hunting boots and go out and "tromp" a moat around the side of the yard that was enclosed with a picket fence. We quickly discovered they could just walk over that fence! So a nice wide moat, solved that problem.

He also "tromped" out a maze for them so they could go potty without the risk of them falling through the snow. He got quite carried away and it was very elaborate. He said when the snow finally melted sometime in early May, that he finally learned the true definition of "freeze-dried", when he racked up an entire big trash bag of freeze-dried poop!

Other than this, we put no coats on them, nor boots. They loved playing out in the snow - they would play "king of the mountain" on the mounds made from shoveling our path to the gate and car. They rolled on their backs and made snow angels. They were totally invigorated by the cold!

The "polar vortex" arrived in KY this evening. Everything is pretty much closed tomorrow. We've had all of 2-3 inches of snow, and it's supposed to get in the single digits tonight. I let my dogs out about an hour ago and had to work hard getting them to come back inside. Even my 12 1/2 yr old was like a puppy out there, running and racing around.

I cannot speak for other breeds, and I do know of people who walk their dogs in the city on salted sidewalks who must put boots on the poor dogs, but a 16 lb Cavalier is "winter hardy". Would I leave them out all day or all night? Of course not! But I also wouldn't do that if it was 70° outside.

If you don't want to try boots, you might want to get paw wax.

It was cold here in Coastal Maine yesterday (10 degrees with a wind chill of -6 or so mid-day) when we took our Golden for her regular long walk. When I say "we" I mean my DH as there is no way I'm spending over a hour outdoors at that temp. There aren't enough hand warmers, Mad Bomber hats, and lined pants to convince me that's a good idea.

We decided Ruby should wear her fleece coat for the walk - which ticked her off when she did her usual snow angels, my DH said. As soon as they came back and I removed the coat, she asked to go outside and spent the next 5 minutes rolling on the ice and snow in the back yard.

Anglo - your story about the paths in the backyard made me laugh. My DH does the same thing, although he occasionally uses his snowblower instead of a shovel. And no, it isn't good for the lawn, but then neither is the dog and we don't really care.

My dog doesn't seem to notice the cold weather, but, with it being so cold, I will definitely limit her outside time to just going out and doing her business. She doesn't have long thick hair so I cannot help but think that she could become ill from exposure, either frost bite or hypothermia! She has a little coat for very cold weather, but that doesn't help her feet and legs any. She has some booties that she will wear but they are getting wore out now and do not last for than a few time out on the road before the bottom wears out. I wish that someone would make a durable, yet comfortable and warm boot for the dogs. They need to have a soft leather bottom and be lined with something soft so that there are no scratchy sharp seams inside to rub their paws.

We normally go to the dog park daily but with this cold weather, I will not take her there. There are other regulars that are continuing to take their dogs even in this severe cold which I do not agree with. I just feel they are putting their dogs at risk...yeah, they can bundle up and keep themselves warm but they cannot bundle the dog up to protect them for negative 0 temps. I said "see ya when it warms up!"

I haven't read the replies but it was on CNN this morning that their paws MUST be covered. Until you can get doggie boots, use some thick socks. If necessary, go outdoors with the pet to encourage them to potty.

Oakley!

Our Sammie's feet get cold after a couple minutes when it's -33F!!! She knows what to do outside when it's this goddamn cold tho'!

I see most of OK is in the +teens/20. Callie likes walks when it's THAT nice! So do we!

Booties?!??! Hell no.

Faron

Thanks for all the replies!

I’ve never heard of paw wax, but will check into it this morning. We always go out with her. During the cold season, we get impatient when she does her wandering, so she will “go” (or hurry) when I tell her to. We’re navigating the unknown with this much cold and today is when the brunt of it is expected to hit. Her response to it yesterday with milder conditions was unexpected and alarming.

About the salt, we learned the hard way that it can burn their feet so we use that pet friendly melt now, but that’s just on the drive. She only potties in the back yard, where none of the melt is present.

Had to laugh at LoneJack’s post, I actually put down some left over puppy pads we have. One can always hope right? Ha ha!

Misty came in last night lifting her back feet up off the floor. She takes too long to find a spot to poop. I call out at her to rush but she takes her time. She has to smell for the rabbit scent too or for anyone who has been on the porch. Misty also has no limit how much water she drinks at one time. I have to tell her to stop drinking or she will drink full bowl of water and I want to limit how much she drinks so she doesn't have to go outside as much in this cold. I also am not letting her go out the side door and into the backyard in case she gets way back and hurts her feet and can't get back in so I have her on her tie out at the front so I can keep an eye on her when she needs to go outside. .

I go outside with Carmelita. She's wearing a hoodie inside the house and so I just put her winter coat over that to go outside last night and this morning. The wind has really picked up now so she pottied in the back yard in under 3 minutes. That's good for her. She is a real sniffer and likes to take her time but she wasn't keen on staying out at all this morning. We have snow on the ground, though not much, but it's better than having frozen grass to walk on. She will go potty out on the driveway if she needs to, so that is also good. Today is our bad day. It's -23º right now with strong winds.

Cherryfizz, I thought you were describing our dog! Ellie is also a drinker and she always wants to know everything that’s been going on in HER yard. She’s over 70 lbs; between her weight and all the snow, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get her back in as well yesterday. The long lead is a great idea! I have one and will use it!

Murraysmom, I didn’t know that frozen grass was harder on their feet than the snow. Good to know though. Thanks!

It's not even that cold here but my pup does not dilly-dally around much outside in winter. He is a real couch potato and dislikes being out of my view for long so does what he has to do and immediately comes back to the door (glass slider) to be let back in. And if I am not being sufficiently attentive, he will bark to get my attention.....something he rarely does for any other occasion.

If the weather is mild and sunny, he will occasionally park his butt on the septic lid and survey his domain. No way would he consider sitting on damp grass! In fact if it is too wet, he much prefers the covered concrete patio to carry out his business, which makes clean up very easy and impossible to overlook, like it is in the yard!

Let my dogs out this morning and they took their merry time. I went out twice in the freezing cold sunroom to tell them to come back inside. They finally did. -11 with the windchill.

We are not in the vortex area and do not get the kind of weather that you do. We have snow right now and on the few occasions we do have snow, we put down a tarp off our patio area and then uncover it once the snow stops. Also plastic on the patio up to the door. They do not have to wear booties, I'm sure our little one wouldn't, but if they don't, make sure you are wiping/drying their feet when they come in. I haven't heard of paw wax, but we have used some type moisturizer for paws. We were 60ish Saturday and will be again next week. Crazy weather for us here, but thankfully no vortex! I honestly don't think I could live in an area where cold/snow/ice, etc. is common!!

Back when we had our labs, after a heavy snowstorm, I'd go outside and stomp down the snow in an approximately 10 x 10 area for them to use. They never liked the location I chose and would fuss and fuss, trying to wade further out into the snow only to have to turn back due to its depth. After much arguing and what seemed like an eternity, they would finally go.

Being labs, they didn't mind the cold weather one bit and were happy to stay outside and play in the snow until the human decided they'd had enough and it was time to come inside. Of course, they never had to deal with the kind of cold many of you are experiencing. I don't know what their reaction would have been.

Do not limit your dogs water unless you have talked to your vet about it. It can lead to various health problems or be a sign of health problems the most common of which is diabetes.

When we had dogs I would go stomp out an area for them to use along with a path to put birdseed out. Of course the used the path for the birdseed which lead to me stepping into the snow. We have not had that much snow for about ten years.

Oh no, we never limit our dog's water! Also, ours does not like clothing (and I'm not crazy about it either), but she has a thick coat and actually the cold does not seem to bother her. Just the snow. LOL

My issue is with two of my four cats. Rocky and Scruffy are normally outside during the day and in the house at night. They have a dog house on the porch that I keep covered with a comforter in winter, with a warming disk or two inside. But tomorrow the wind chill is supposed to go down to -27 so I guess I'll put them in the basement again. We did this last time--which wasn't very long ago. The basement is such a dungeon; I hate to do this. But they adjusted, and they were warm. I can't just let them have the run of the house because they don't get along with my two inside cats.

Alisande, they actually make cat beds with heat. I assume that there is a layer of protection so claws can't reach electricity, and cords long enough to reach outdoor outlets. I'm not sure I would do this overnight because everything is subject to failure, but it might be nice on less cold days. Also there are multilevel indoor cages meant for cats although the cats I know personally including mine can be rather loud if they are not happy with a situation.

With the extreme cold, hope everyone's pets are safely inside or well protected.

I limit my dogs water because she does not know when to stop. She would drink a gallon or more if I let her. Her health is good as per the vet. Don't worry she gets more than enough water, she is allowed to drink whenever she wants but you have to tell her to stop

Thanks, Lucille. The warming disks do a nice job, and Rocky & Scruffy would have been okay for most of the daylight hours if they'd both been willing to hang out in the blanketed dog house with a couple of warmers. But I think Scruffy (a very small alpha female) kept pushing Rocky (much larger male) out. So I brought them inside in mid-afternoon. They are in their beds in the warm basement, and their adversaries, Peachy and Pogo, are on the second floor--where I'm about to join them in my pre-heated bed. Temp is below zero, and the wind is howling.

We have a heated electric cat house in the barn for our barn cat, Lewis. However last night was going to be so cold that we put his cat house and a litter box in the insulated and heated tack room.

It's about minus 4 right now. My dog goes outside for about 3 or 4 minutes and then wants back in. Normally she has to smell every square inch of her back yard. Then she comes in and begs me to take her walking...apparently thinking that if we go walking, it would be different. HA! I don't think her little brain realizes that the back yard and the street are the same temperature.

We went out yesterday to the store and OMG it was horrible just walking from the car to the store...I swear the wind was gusting 40 mph! Today the wind is not as bad but it's colder.

Bob I'm impressed, you do your kitty right. And you too Alisande for getting them inside.

Bob if I had to guess, I'd guess that the horses are not going to freeze either.

Your comment about the horses reminded me that yesterday six of the chickens were too cold to walk. My DIL had to carry them one at a time back to their coop. They're confined to their coop today, and received warm oatmeal with vegetables for breakfast. (My DIL's chickens are lucky chickens. lol)

Not much new in this article from Whole Dog Journal, but maybe a helpful tidbit for someone.

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/blog/Getting-Your-Dog-to-Potty-in-Winter-21992-1.html?ET=wholedogjournal:e327142:1459773a:&st=email&s=p_Blog013119

My dogs are such wimps. We are in So Cal and they hate going out in rain. Sometimes I have to pick my Shih Tzu up and carry him out. Once out he reluctantly does his business and hurries back in. My larger mixed breed dog does not like the rain either, she hides when I call them to go out. Once I coax her outside she runs through all the plants with wild abandon making sure to get very wet and muddy. Must be revenge. Today we have heavy rain with thunderstorms, so it will fun. Thinking of putting them on leashes for the trip out.

Can not even imagine dealing with my dogs during the crazy below zero temps many are dealing with now. Applauding all of you have figured it out.

I can’t find the post now, but someone posted about clearing a 10x10 space in the snow for their dog. When I read that I had one of those forehead slapping moments and asked my DH, why didn’t we think of that! We did paths but not a big patch. First thing this morning, I went out and cleared a huge patch closer to the house and the problem was solved. Even though it isn’t her first choice, she knew what it was for and used it. I suspect she was thinking, “well it’s about time you got it together, geeze!”

Cherryfizz, I’m curious as to what breed of dog you have. Ellie is a Lab and she’s the same way with her water. She drinks more than a gallon a day and there are times I have to distract her to get her to stop. The Vet told us that some dogs are just like that.

When we had about 18 inches of snow a week and a half ago, I went and shoveled a very large area, probably 10 X 15 ft or more and some side trails off of that too. So what does she do, she does her business in the deep snow instead...UGH! She does pee in the cleared area, but just has to walk all around before she can get the urge to do number 2...HAHA! We then had a big thaw that melted it down and it became packed.

Socks, thanks for that link. It did have some good ideas I can try. Thanks. The shavings is a brilliant idea. I wish I wasn't reading this late at night!!

lukkiirish, that was me with the 10 x 10 patch. Glad it worked out so well for you. When I did it, the dogs would look at me like "not here, over there!", but once they realized I wasn't going to clear another patch, they dealt with it.

arkansas girl, your dog must be modest about doing her business which makes her want her privacy! ;-)

Lukkiirish I don't know what breed she is, I thought she had some Rotti in her but I was told no, but maybe some lab. Poor girl, I am her 3rd or 4th owner and have had her for almost 3 years. Such a sweet, gentle girl. The Humane Society didn't know her age but they thought she was about 10 years old at the time. Before her I always had black labs, Loki was 17 when he passed away a few years ago but none of my dogs drank water like this one does. She doesn't know when to stop

She is so cute and huggable! Has she ever been tested for diabetes?

So, you own Triumph the Insult Comic Dog?

That's a lot of cuteness there...

My dog Chewie will eat and drink until he vomits. I learned to not fill the bowls up all the way. The other day I noticed he was eating all the food in both bowls. He is getting so fat and Emily has been losing weight over the past year or so. I never noticed him doing that until the other day and now wonder how long he has been doing it. She normally dominates the food until she is done and then allows him to eat. She is around 19 years old now and has been losing muscle in her hind end. I just thought it was her age and that I was feeding them both too many treats.

lukkiirish - After buying 3 pairs of professionally fitted boots I know suggest that people start with baby socks or balloons to even see if their pups will wear boots. I wish we had gone that route. Our dog understands the relationship between very hairy feet and ice balls/salt but obviously that is our fault!

He also has a coat. Eskies are funny - very hairy but despite being double coated it is most definitely hair like rather than fur. He also has pink skin which shows on his tummy when you get through all of that hair. Thank heavens for chewable heartworm and tick prevention. He also considers them treats which also helps because there is nothing wrong with his appetite! But putting on his coat has become a challenge since he is now 15 and has various aches and pains. He has always been a dog that will only go out with one of us on the other end of the leash.

Cherryfizz - our dog also loves water. He is jealous even of people watering their lawns in the summer. He is also a snow eater. The other day we had so much snow that our 25 lb. Eskie disappeared when we took him out - we pulled him back in fast so that he wouldn't eat a tunnel.

Actually, he loves water so much we even had him tested for diabetes a few years ago. Fortunately, he was clear.

I'm so happy to see it is warming up. We were able to go on two abbreviated walks today but still no dog park. It was only 5 degrees this morning at our normal dog park time. So it was too cold for her to be out from very long. But then it warmed up to 16 and felt like heaven! The difference was amazing!

It was amazing here too. It was 19º here this morning but Carmelita happily came outside and ran around and did her thing. It made such a big difference. We are currently at 30º. Every day gets better!

I never would have imagined that 17 degrees could feel so good, but it did almost felt like spring today! Instead of running out real quick to pee, the first thing Ellie did when she went outside was go to find her ball!

Dawn! Clearing the patch for her COMPLETELY solved the problem. Once she knew it was “her” spot, she was good. I wish I could contain her mess in the summer the same way!

Cherryfizz, your girl is so sweet looking, I love the look on her face, her eyes and smile say it all; she knows she has her forever home. I would have said rott too, maybe shepard lab mix. Doesn’t matter, she’s a keeper!

Eccentric, You sound like me buying and trying over and over. I have 2 coats now that she’ll wear around the house, but refuses to wear outside. (Defeating the whole purpose of course!). I only hope that our lab will make it to 15 or 17 like your dog and Cherryfizz’s lab. She’s (only) 8 and I hate when her Vet calls her an older dog.

The cats stay inside so they don't notice, but the chickens... well, they got "cooped up" in the chicken coop for two days running (temps bottomed down to minus 10 this time, better than the minus 13 in January), and they couldn't wait to "fly the coop" when I let them out yesterday afternoon.

Have to say, it felt mighty balmy to go down when it was a plus 7 degrees to feed and water them. (Around 350 feet from the house.) Just went out this morning at 30 degrees, I almost wanted to switch to a t shirt! Ahem, not quite! But I can see it coming... 50 degrees, in shorts and a T!!! And hey, their water won't freeze over in a few hours!!!

Artemis, did you see where some chicken owners bought tents from Walmart, filled them with shavings and put their chickens in them in the garage during the recent Vortex? The flaps were rolled up so the screening provided lots of fresh, but warmer, air. Great idea, I thought. Of course it depends on how many chickens you have. :)

I'm running my AC today so I hope the Vortex is gone for y'all.

When it was the worst weather, I did not let Izzi out, she had her wee wee pads. I was not going to let her out and she get stranded and I would have to go out there myself to rescue her! Someone would have to rescue me! Izzi is always pretty warm, she needs no coat to warm her up. She likes sleeping by the front door when it is cold out! So blanket or coats for her.

Sue and Izzi Too

We got a new dog (12 pounds now) in March of 2017 (5 months then). We potty trained for outside, but by the winter we started using old towels for pee/poo pads in the bathroom. He would not use the plastic thing with the paper pads, those were a toy. It was the best thing we ever did with a dog! He will go in there at night or if we are gone or if the weather is horrible! I just throw them in the washer, hot water, Tide powder, and extra rinse. They are off white, so it is very easy to see if clean.

Please, he likes his privacy in the bathroom, don't look if he goes in there!

The Vortex is GONE as is the ice and snow! It’s been in the 50’s for the past three days. We’re so waterlogged, Ellie had fun in running in the watery mud.