Currly haired dog and snow/ice problems

[C.C.'s Mom]

My friend asked me to post this as she doesn't speak much English.
Her 13 year old dog, a mixed breed with big curls (looks like a giant ginger poodle aka old rock star with a perm) has many problems now that we're facing too much snow and ice here in our little town. Benny (the dog) has big lumps of ice on his legs and between his toes and it seems to be very painfull. Vaseline doesn't work, neither do little socks (he doesn't like that). Is there anyone who knows what we can do to make the walks more enjoyable for this adorable senior? This morning he could hardly walk in the end.

[Pam]

C.C.'s Mom...My love affair with poodles began in 1970 and since then I have had 5 (four are at the Rainbow Bridge). I haven't really had the problem that you mention because all of my dogs have their feet shaved when they are groomed (on the bottom as well as between the toes). I would imagine that this sort of problem would occur with lots of dogs with furry feet, and some of those breeds do not necessarily need regular groomings so I am wondering how their owners deal with the problem. I know our own Leslie (Adore My Dogs) bought her sweet Graham some booties and, although they looked adorable, I am not sure Graham enjoyed them too much. Maybe some folks with shih-tzus, lhasos, pekes, etc. could lend a hand here since their furry feet are not normally shaved.

[Karen]

Saint Bernards don't have curly fur, but they do sometimes get those icy lumps. Dad's current Saint, Bruni, gets walked on the road after they are plowed, but we used to have to check our old dog, Freckles, when she came in the house. When outside, she'd begin to limp with one leg, and we'd lift her paw and clear the ice lumps from that paw. Wouldn't work with Bruni - she'll limp inside the house even on a warm summer's day sometimes just to gain some sympathy - but sometimes she forgets which paw is "sore" and switches to another one!

Pa, do you think if they trimmed the fur on his feet in the winter that it would help?

[AdoreMyDogs]

I trim the hair between Graham's toes weekly, otherwise he also gets snow clumps and he tries to frantically lick the snow out of his feet because it huts. I would start with clipping the fur off the bottom of the feet at least. It sounds like that pup might benefit from a haircut all around (not too short, so it won't get cold, but short enough to prevent so much snow buildup). I also recentally bought dog booties from a company called "muttluks" http://www.muttluks.com/

They have socks attached that go up the leg and they are pretty comfey to the dog (he likes them better the the Fido Fleece booties I bought him) and they absolutely do not fall off. They keep the snow off and they also prevent the pups from stepping in that painful salt.

So a haircut at least on the bottoms of the dogs foot, preventing snow build up, a possible full body clip, and good set of comfortable dog booties.