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| Beautiful view from the car traveling through New Mexico |
We drive from Phoenix to NY at least once a year to visit family and friends. We stay for a few months so having our car with us is essential. We've made this road trip many times now, but on the last leg of our road trip home to Phoenix I had a Winter Safety scare with my Siberian Husky, Isis (a.k.a. Icy) that caught me off guard.
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| Safety when traveling with our dogs is priority one! |
I had just taken Icy for her morning potty walk when 3 college girls who were traveling came bounding over. They wanted to meet this gorgeous Husky! I was happy to oblige and so was Icy, she loves meeting new people! She has a tendency to flop over to get belly rubs from everyone she meets. No such thing as Stranger Danger for her!
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| I did not get any belly rubs in the cold outside, I stayed safe & warm in the room! |
I knew she'd soon start licking her paws and her belly to clean off the ice melt. I was starting to panic, knowing that ice melt products are mostly made of Sodium Chloride, Calcium Chloride, or Magnesium Chloride which can irritate paws and can be harmful to pets if ingested. If a large enough amount is ingested, it can even poison them. Drooling, vomiting or seizures are symptoms to watch out for. If that happens get your pet to a Veterinarian as soon as possible.
When I returned to the room I grabbed a washcloth, wetting it with warm water and a little soap. I wiped down her Icy's paws, belly, and even her back to get the ice melt OFF her body.
Thankfully, I was able to wipe it all off before she licked any of it. Potential crisis averted! Even if you don't live in a cold climate, if you plan to travel into colder climes with your pets beware of ice melt in parking lots, on sidewalks and bags of it that may be stored nearby!
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| Beautiful snow covered evergreen trees as we drove through Flagstaff, AZ |
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11 comments:
Great post! The ice melt is definitely a scary thing! I'm glad you were able to get it all off before she licked it! I usually have my dogs wear booties when there's any ice melt around!
Luckily we have not. When we lived in the city, I always cleaned the paws when we were out for the salt. Where we live now they use sand, so I don't have to worry. Our biggest concern is the temperature. Which we monitor closely.
One great thing about Florida is this isn't a concern!
Great tips!
I know here in Canada, the weather can get so cold that even my huskies don't want to be out there. It can even start to hurt their feet!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
When you aren't used to winter precipitation, it can really throw you for a loop! I don't even think our city has rock salt! That's why we shut down if it snows.
Thanks Lauren! I'm glad you liked the post. Booties are a great idea when there's ice melt on the ground.
Sand is much better than ice melt, no danger to pets with sand. Yes, the temperature is a big concern for most dogs, they can't be left out in the cold just because they have fur!
True, not much ice melt being used in Florida, huh? Same thing here in Phoenix If you travel North however, there may be snow & ice. Northern AZ is very cold and gets a lot of snow & ice I need to be conscious of that.
Oh wow, I can't imagine it being so cold that my Husky wouldn't want to be outside. She loves the cold, I can't keep her inside!
It really can throw you for a loop, especially if you're traveling from one climate to another & are not prepared for it.
We struggle with it all winter long. 8 paws to wash after every icy walk can be a pain in the butt. The stuff works so well to melt the ice though so it's worth the trade off for us.
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