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While canine paw injury prevention is key, it is also important to know how to deal with a paw injury if it does happen. Here are a few tips for identifying and treating sore and hurt paws.
Identify sore feet.
Being in tune with your dog’s activity level and personality can help you identify if they’re suffering from a paw injury. You should be able to tell if your dog is staying off his feet or favoring a paw. Look for the obvious – cuts, blisters, or in extreme cases a “sloughed” pad.
Customers often refer to our Grip Trex™ and Skyliner™ boots as “winter boots.” But did you know these boots were first created to provide paw protection on the trail year round?
There are major advantages to protecting your dog’s feet in the summer months. Among them, boots will prevent injury from over-exertion, new terrain, hot surfaces, and sharp rocks. If your dog has ever had a paw injury on the trail, you know that carrying a dog (especially a large one) back to the trailhead is no fun, so preventive paw wear should always be a consideration.
Go farther, longer.
As humans increase the number and duration of their activities, dogs are often not conditioned to do the same. Our gear-enhanced activities allow us to go farther, longer and on unusual terrain that unprotected dog paws are not equipped to handle.
Did you know dogs don’t sweat? Well, not really. Though they have a few sweat glands (mainly on the pads of their feet), their primary way of cooling down is by panting. So, the hotter the air, or the more physically demanding the activity, the less effective panting is at cooling a dog down.
A common scenario that causes heat stroke is leaving a dog in a hot car (anything over 72°F outside); but overexertion, humidity, lack of shade, and dehydration are also common culprits.
As the mercury rises, a dog’s tolerance to heat lessens, forcing them to find shade, lie down, and pant the heat away. Keeping your dog active in high temperatures is a challenge, and can even be dangerous to their health.
One solution is the Ruff Wear Swamp Cooler™ cooling vest. Whether in the desert, on the beach, boating in open water, or playing in the sun, the Swamp Cooler acts as an air conditioner to keep your dog cool.
How does it work?
The Swamp Cooler uses evaporative technology to help pull heat up and away from the dog. Just soak the coat with water, ring out, and place on the dog. As the water on the coat evaporates, heat is displaced, thereby chilling the dog, much like an actual swamp cooler does for a house.
In addition to providing a cooling sensation, the Swamp Cooler also reflects incoming rays, and acts as a SPF blocker against UV rays.
Bark at Us: What other solutions have you found for keeping your dog cool and active in the summer heat?
It was three years ago this past weekend that I first met Tiki. I wanted to adopt a dog from the local shelter. My new dog had to be athletic so we could run and mountain bike together, smart, and want to go everywhere I went. It’s a hard decision to make; there were so many dogs, all of them needing loving homes.
When I saw him, he was rolling on his back. I could hear him saying “pick me, pick me!” It was love at first sight. We went for a walk together and I found out he understood “sit”, “shake” & “down”. We went into the outdoor pen – he could run, fast! Quickly, I filled out the adoption papers. Tiki was getting a new home. Read the rest of this entry »
A bicycle is one machine that helps keeps us lean and green. May is National Bike Month!
To support “Bike to Work Week”, a few of the crew at Ruff Wear pedaled their way to work last week.
Our home state of Oregon has been ranked No. 4 in the most “Most Bike Friendly States” according to the Read the rest of this entry »
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