Paw Condoms

We've finally had some snow this winter, and it continues to fall through this week. My little dog Cody is a mini Australian Shepherd, and he absolutely loves snow and winter in general. He has endless energy and could spend all day every day walking. His only trouble is that he has tender paws. I take him for daily walks on pavement, but his paw pads have always been tender and susceptible to road salt in winter. When it snows, the snow melts onto his paws and the salt sticks to the melted snow and he just sits down and cries in pain.  

I looked for some little booties for him, but they are far over priced. I refuse to pay $80 Cdn. (right now that's about $63 US) for a pair, especially when I find these same expensive boots abandoned in snow drifts come spring. They just fall off the dogs' feet. 

I've not taken Cody for a walk since our heavy snowfall last Thursday, but he goes a little crazy if he can't go for a walk after a couple of days. Last night I headed back to the pet store and found these ...

They're like a thick balloon, and come in packs of 12. Disposable! Little paw condoms ;) And at $17 Cdn for three sets, a bargain! Cody thought they were a bit weird at first and he refused to put his paw down when I put it on him. Once all four paws were covered, he just lay on the floor with a look like "you've got to be kidding". I then used that four-letter word that all dogs crave "WALK!!" and he sprang into action. I just wish these things weren't fire engine red. Here he is trying hard to look dignified ;)

My little Twinkle Toes!

When I sent a photo to my daughter, she said he looks goofy. But she's happy I finally found something for his paws.

The booties worked great however, despite their silly look. I sent him through some deep snow at the soccer field (which he loves), and he came back to me every time with all four paws still twinkling with red ;)

I swear he was smiling again as we walked along together. No pain for him, and I no longer have to lift him over the heavily salted areas of the sidewalks.

This morning we followed the sidewalk snow plow, which made things a little easier too. You can see it in the photo below as the big yellow tractor with lights on the sidewalk.

Cody was thrilled to be walking again ... here he is back from the snowdrifts covered with snow. 

When we came back home, he wanted outside again!! I went out with him as he raced and raced around the yard, and came galloping towards me, full of beans and happiness!

While Cody burnt off some energy, I snapped a few photos in the backyard. A couple of times he surprised me by jumping right up in my face with the camera! He must have been feeling great because normally he would never dare to jump up at me.  The garden bench looked quite inviting with it's new thick down pillow. The shed is quite snug with a layer of snow on the roof.

My patio table is a good measure for the amount of snow that has fallen so far. It's still sifting down today, but I think the next big storm is expected tomorrow.

And here's my helper for the heavy snow we've had. We finally broke down and bought this for last winter. We got it just in time then! Last winter was a lot snowier than this winter ... of course it's not over yet. Since I do most of the shoveling of the driveway in this family, I'm thrilled to have this noisy beast rather than heaving the snow up high with a shovel onto the sides of our sunken driveway.

I just wish we had something for the stairs.

Well, that's my ramble for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Wendy