Please Don’t Make Me Go Out There

Please Don’t Make Me Go Out There
Chemical de-icers — particularly those containing the antifreeze material known as ethylene glycol — pose, perhaps, the biggest threat: not only will a dog hold up its paws in pain and temporarily limp away,
but the ingredients can also prove harmful should a dog accidentally ingest them.
Shaina Stelzer, the owner of Brooklyn Haute Dogs, a pet care service based in Dumbo, advised dog
owners to watch out for the thick, yellow salt that is often spread near the entrances to parks.
Rock salt, in particular, can be tough and jagged to a dog’s soft paw, said Dr. Erin Wilson, a veterinarian
and the former medical director of the ASPCA Adoption Center on East 92nd Street in Manhattan.
Owners can coat the dog’s paws with it before a walk; petroleum jelly, like Vaseline, can also work.
They are the cold-weather bane of city dog owners, dog walkers and the dogs themselves: the salt and chemical de-icers
that are regularly sprinkled on the streets, sidewalks and crossways of New York when it snows.
“That’s why it’s really important, if your dog isn’t wearing booties, to wipe their feet, belly
and undercarriage off thoroughly with a towel when you come home from a walk.”
For longer walks, Dr. Wilson suggested bringing a towel along.
When Dr. Wilson first dressed her Corgi in them, the dog went into what she described as “bootie paralysis,” falling over and refusing to walk
“It can be really bad for their kidneys, or other organs,” said Dr. Wilson.