Winter Road Salt

[Delilah]

If you live in an apartment complex like Cheryl, there is a good possibility that it is just salt. HOWEVER, if you live along a road that is "salted" by the city or a municipal government - it is no longer just SALT! I drive an 18-wheeler for a living and the chemical/salt combination they use now eats the plastic coating off the wires on the underside of the tractor and trailer! YES - definately wash the underside of your dog - regardless of breed - as soon as you get it back inside! We have to wash the underside of our truck combination every 3-4 days when we travel in the upper areas of our country in the winter time. Gets really expensive! If I am on the truck during the winter, my dogs do not get to touch the ground unless it is not covered by any chemical/salt. I carry them to the snow covered grass. In the case of my male chihuahua - I carry a small shovel to uncover the grass! LOL Most places he would disappear in the snow if I just let him down. I tried boots on my dogs - and they don't work because the dog either trips over his own feet or chews them off. I do use sweaters in the colder weather (anything 40 degrees F or below) or if the wind is blowing.

Almost lost my first chihuahua in Niagra Falls, NY from the blowing wind. I was hooking to a new trailer to start my next run and he stepped out from behind the tire (didn't listen to me). The wind was blowing so hard that it caught him and rolled him over and over across the empty parking lot. I chased him about 50 ft before I was able to catch him. I can just see the people in the building laughing at that crazy lady chasing the little brown paper bag all over the parking lot! He never stepped out from around a tire again after that! (Yes he was okay. He now lives in FL with my ex-husband - staying warm and eating everything he wants)

[Dillydoodle]

After I slathered a ton of the musher's secret on his toe pads and in between his toes, we, and walked on the very side of the road and I had him walk on everyone's lawn on the way down the street...I kept him in the grass as much as i could and away from all salt. He did great but on the way back he had one time when he started to hobble a little but he had been walking on the road for a few steps, so in my opinion this has everything to do with the salt and I am so aggrivated at the amount they dumped. My husband called the property management company who is in charge of this and left a message for them..ohhhh boy i would HATE to be in their shoes, I am sure they will get an ear full as Daddy doesn't like to hear that his little Dilly-doo cant take his walks becuase it hurts too much! I will just keep carrying him over road ways and putting him in the grass on walks, it is rough on my bad back but oh well, i dont want him hurting. I wash his feet immediately when we come in the house after the walks ...

Emilie