Dogs and De-icing

Depending on your local community, de-icing programs for road and sidewalks may be well under way. Such maintenance programs rely heavily on chemical compounds and may present a problem to your dog.

The chemicals may cause irritation or ‘hot spots’ on the paw. This may necessitate a visit to the veterinarian. Another concern is that the dog may try to remove any chemicals by licking. For some dogs, this causes an adverse physiological reaction.

The salts and other chemical compounds on the roadways are unavoidable. It may be advisable to begin a routine of cleaning the dog’s paws after every outing. A simple cleaning will prevent the ingestion of any chemicals and save on an unexpected visit to the veterinarian. Doing this cleaning after every trip will become an expected routine for the dog and soon any initial reluctance will disappear.

Catherine Forsythe