u live in canada, the alergies don't start for awhile yet... trust me I'll know when they start up.... I know the island doesn't use salt on their roads, but they use sand, which may have a bit of salt mixed in it... but I'm sure some of ur neighbours use salt or even ur parents... don't let his paws get too bad... another thing I learned is that if u bath ur dog once a month during the winter, their paws r much nicer looking & every 3 months during the summer periods, unless ur dog goes swimming then its evey month to every week...
when Max goes out for a swim I have to bath him right after or the chances of him getting beaver fever is very high... & soooo many dogs in town die of beaver fever