Help! Ice/snow balls on belly, legs, paws, chest!
Allie just played outside with the Boxer next door for about 20 minutes. The snow is about 10 inches deep, packy snow. She came in and just stood still, afraid to move. She has ice/snow balls caked all over! Belly & legs the worst! I have spent about 1/2hrs trying to melt with my fingers and hands, then got the scissors out and started cutting them off her belly. We are heading up-north (Where snow is 3 feet plus) for the holidays, I think I will go nuts! I tried a pair of boots from pet smart. She freeked out, plus they would not stay on. 
Any suggestions? For the body also? Her hair is about 6-8 inches right now, I would like to wait till Spring to shave down....For the warm weather. |
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There is wax for her paws, but if you want to protect her hair, I'd suggest a snow suit.  Just google it, you'll find tons of them. |
| This is always worst when the snow is a bit wet. If your trip North is to a colder area, it may actually not be as bad.
We always use booties and jackets on our pups when the snow is that "sticky" consistency...it took each of them a while to get used to them, but they take it in stride now!  We also have started routinely clipping tummies in winter...the trade off of having to wear a jacket vs constant matts made it an easy choice. |
| I plan on ordering the Muttluks on line, but they will not be here by the time we leave...So I may try another brand of booties from the local pet store.
The trimming of the tummy is a great idea! Thanks, I will do that this evening when she is dry and I have her brushed out. What about a T-shirt? I was not sure how you keep it tight in the back area.... |
| If you're going to a local pet store anyway, just look for a coat that covers the belly, too. |
| A warm bath melts the snowballs off without having to trim the fur. . . |
If its snowball weather have fun...  Colder the better does not stick... warm bath... also if snowball weather get their fur cut around thier paws, mine came running in the house slipping and a sliding, like they were skating, they had snow balls on their bottom of their feet. Nice big bowl of warm water took care of it, But they sure did not know what to think. |
| Thanks everyone. I am not having an luck at the local pet stores for boots that stay on. Will order the good ones on-line. Hopefully they will stay on. I also trimmed her belly last night, found an old T-shirt I put on her. Looks real cute, but not sure how to keep it around her belly. So She wont wear that playing in the snow.
The hot bowl of water sounds like a great idea for the feet! Easier then a whole bath for her, she is not into grooming It is a fight to just brush her everyday!
And I will not let her play with her Boxer friend outside when the snow is like this. They will have to play in doors. Today we are at 37, it is soooo sticky/packy snow! |
| I was speaking to someone else on this forum who puts a boys' t-shirt on her dog and sewed a seam up the belly to keep it tight. You can also bunch it on the back and hold it in place with a hair elastic.
I will be trying this, too. Right now we have over 2 feet of snow outside, and it is definitely a pain to dry Tucker off! We also keep a hair dryer right beside the door and melt the ice off of him, which works alright, too. |
| Melanie, I will try that for the T-shirt. Just put it on when she is rough housing with her pup friends...I just took her for a walk and it is warm, so the snow is really packed down. She walks on top of it. So hopefully it wont be as bad today when she is out.
We tried the Blow dryer yesterday, she was spazzed!! It reminds her of the groomer, which she is terrified of...But is good while she is there. |
well just got up over a foot of the white stuff  |
| I am the one with the t-shirt. It worked really well last winter on Chewie.
I used a boys size 10-12 long sleeze t-shirt - he was about 55 pounds with full coat . I stitched up the stomach a bit to match the contour of Chewie's belly, and snipped off the cuffs to make the arms the right length. It cut down on the packed snow a lot. Plus, I got about 4 more t-shirts at the thrift store for 50 cents each, so really cheap too! |
| Dawn, Thanks! I have already put the T-shirt on her, she looks so cute! Our School in Riverview, is the Riverview Pirates, gold/Maroon. So I got one of my sons old Basketball shirts, she could be the school mascot! I will try it out later today when she plays with the pup. |
| I love the log sleeved t-shirt idea!!!! Brilliant!!!! I have 3 sheepies and lots of wet snow ball making snow!!! |
| Lots of snow today and forgot to lock doggy door, THANK GOD bedrooms were closed.... lets say they had fun and my floor is very clean. |
ej wrote: warm bath... also if snowball weather get their fur cut around thier paws, mine came running in the house slipping and a sliding, like they were skating, they had snow balls on their bottom of their feet. Nice big bowl of warm water took care of it, But they sure did not know what to think.
One small word of caution on this....if its VERY cold out, heating their feet too fast (as with warm/hot water) can be painful.  This go's for people too...very often newcomers here in Alaska think that putting their (very) cold hands or feet under hot water will help...OUCH!
EJ...I know youre a fellow far-Northerner, and knew to do this gently!  |
| just seen this, right I should have said cool/luke warm. |
| Click my camera, those are snowballs! MO's coat is in better condition this winter and Glacier was shaved last fall so now, no more "eggs." She's in the plush animal catagory right now and just a doll.
there's a very narrow range of snow conditions that cause the balling. So if the snow is drier and colder, it won't be a problem. T-shorts work. I use my husband's and he's an XLT, which is fine for the bigger dogs, but not little MO. She needs something smaller. Anyway, with the extra fabric, I just pull it up and knot it over the backbone. I've even seen t-shirts used for "pants." Never done it as I couldn't stop laughing. As for getting the balls off quickly, yes a trip to the tub and luke warm water is the "fastest". A force dryer would probably work, but I don't have one and my house is kept around 63-65 so no warm spot to speed melting. I burned out a hair dryer drying to melt balls years ago. |
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