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Old December 10th, 2009, 12:20 PM
jazzy jazzy is offline
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Dogs and winter.

I have an 8 month old Shiba Inu. He's potty trained, but sometimes has some accidents inside. He alerts me most of the time when he has to go. I live in Iowa, and we just had a bad blizzard so it's frightful outside. There's over a foot of snow, ice all over, and the temperature is currently 1 F.

So, the questions:

1) Am I still supposed to pick up poop in the winter? How do I get it to not form a giant snow ball of poo? (I live in a small city)

2) Jack didn't seem to like the sidewalk this morning. He hopped around and then just sat in the snow instead of going potty. Could this be because of the salt/sand on the sidewalks? The cold? What can I do?

This is my first pup, and my first time living in a city, and the first snow of the winter, so any other tips for having a dog this time of year would be helpful.
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Old December 10th, 2009, 12:34 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Welcome to the forum.

Indeed you must continue to pick up after your dog even in the winter. There is no specific technique on picking 'it' up but practice makes perfect and you will figure how not to pick up more than necessary.

Perhaps try putting doggie boots on your dog. This may help.

Have you ever taken dog courses? Maybe this is something that could be considered since the breed that you have is a tuff breed as it is for even someone who is not a first time dog owner. Something to seriously consider.

Good luck.
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Old December 10th, 2009, 02:01 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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If you're out with him, picking up his poop right away is your best bet. We use plastic (fold-lock-top, not zip-lock) baggies and just scoop it right out of the snow. If it's fresh, the snow won't have a chance to form an ice ball around it.

Probably it was cold feet that made him not want to move around much. Dogs' feet can pick up salt off the sidewalk (which in itself can irritate their pads), and the salt can melt snow which then refreezes to form iceballs on the hairs between the pads. Ouch! Like walking on golf balls! BenMax's suggestion of booties is a good solution if your dog will tolerate them.
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Old December 10th, 2009, 03:13 PM
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TKW TKW is offline
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Check under his paw to see if he needs some hair trimming between the pads. Ice form on the hair make it uncomfortable to walk on.
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Old December 13th, 2009, 12:14 PM
Etown_Chick Etown_Chick is offline
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Shibas also have short hair. Might not hurt to get him a nice warm fleece jacket to keep his core warm when he's outside.
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