Functionality

The Function

If you live in any cold climate where snow is prevalent, you'll know that when there's a heavy bout of snow and ice, the pavement and roads are often salted to help melt the snow faster. Unfortunately this proves dangerous for dogs on two occasions:

Dryness, cracking & salt burns
Ice's temperature, when combined with salt, will actually drop below freezing point because of a chemical reaction that occurs when the two elements interact. Not only is this extremely uncomfortable for your poor pup (imagine yourself walking not only on freezing snow but on surfaces even colder than freezing point!), but the temperature can cause freeze/salt burns on their delicate paws.

The salt can also result in dryness and eventual cracking of their paw pads. This leads to blisters, bleeding and general discomfort for your fur-baby.
Toxicity to their bodies
If that wasn't bad enough, if your pup ingests any of the salt-snow mixture, it can cause toxicity to their bodies. The chemicals they use in the salt mixture isn't as pure as the table salt we use and can prove toxic to their systems if they ingest any whether it's directly during their walk or if they lick their paws afterwards and consume it indirectly.

When it snows, wearing dog booties is essential to build a barrier between the salt, the snow and your dog.

Hot Climates

Live in a hot climate? You're not exempt from paw burns either! If you can't safely place the back of your hand on the pavement for longer than 5-10 seconds, your dog isn't safe to be walking on the pavement either. Protect their delicate paws from the heat to save them from heat blister-burns and in turn, bleeding and infections. Please note that all shoes are designed for temporary and not long term wear as dogs may overheat in the Summer.

Learn more about our solution and shoes here.

Paw burns & ice blisters depicted below.

Image courtesy of The Holidog Times.

Further Sources