The Urban Fisherman Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Most of you guys will remember Sheba, the lab we recently adopted, who lived in a 10x10 cage outside for the last 4 years or so. Well, after being alone for so long, she wasted no time at all making herself right at home with the family, and the INSIDE of our house... ...yes my wife talked me into setting up the tree already... Anyways, she loves pulling my daughter around the snow on her toboggan, and that got me thinking maybe she'll love hauling my gear around the lake this winter to! The problem is that when she's on icy spots in the yard for a while she starts to do the 3 legged dance because her feet are cold. The lake is usually slushy and wet where I fish, so I'm thinking it'll be worse for her. Any idea's on how to deal with this, or should I just leave her at home when we go out. I know she'd have fun out there, and I usually go on solo missions so I'd like to take her along for company.... Thanks in advance.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leecher Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 (edited) UF check out the following links.... may be the answer for your dog http://www.ultrapaws.com/Merchant2/merchan...oduct_Code=303R http://www.petboots.com/ Leechman Edited November 28, 2008 by Leechman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Urban Fisherman Posted November 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 lol - my wife had boots for her yorkie, but I didn't know they made them for "real" dogs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 (edited) Big lab like that shouldn't have any problems. Ours did 13 winters outside (free roam on 120 acres+) and never had a frozen paw pad...but then of course he was conditioned for it with extra fur.. seeing he wouldn't come in where it was warm no matter how hard you pulled on his collar! lol Loved it outside even in -30C and prefered to just curl up in a snow drift. Give it a whirl UF and just check her paws now and then to make sure no slush has jammed between the pads. Labs were bred to be outdoor dogs after all. Edited November 28, 2008 by irishfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenfshrmn Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Beautiful looking dog you have there..identical to mine....and I'm sure she loves playing with your daughter as well! I take my guy out with me everywhere I go, and he quickly gets used to the cold and ice. One thing to be careful of is when there is a thin crust of ice that the dog's paws can break through. I've had problems a few times when the pads of his feet, especially the dew claw area, get cut by the ice. ..and of course you and the dog won't notice it until much later. Although I haven't had much luck with them with my dog, a number of my friends use the doggie boots that are available...but my guy just shakes them off after 2 minutes! My daughter is blind and uses a guide dog... I am always amazed at how special these animals are. Take good care of your dog, you'll quickly develop a special bond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Urban Fisherman Posted November 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 cool - thanks Irish. My beagle was a wuss (miss him like crazy) but this is the first "outside" dog I've ever had so I wasn't sure how she'd be. She'd rather be inside with us when we're in the house, but I think it's just because she doesn't like being alone... she follows me around like a shadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Urban Fisherman Posted November 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 My daughter is blind and uses a guide dog... I am always amazed at how special these animals are. Take good care of your dog, you'll quickly develop a special bond. wow - animals like that have always amazed me. I'm sure her dog is just as lucky to have her.... as she is to have the dog..... Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJQ Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Have a look at this... i have a set for muskie... http://www.muttluks.com/ cdn as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBW Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 make sure you check her paws that she's not getting mat's. my lab gets them all the time for no reason so i have to cut the mat out so keep an eye out for this in the winter as it makes Sierra (my dog) do the 3-legged stance from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 I often have to work ice matts out from between the toes on my dogs. They may be small but they are fine as long as they are on the move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeXXington Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Its not on the move you worry about its when your stopped. take something for her too lay on and warm up you should be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLEX ROD Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 If you get the boots for the dog, make sure that you put them on nice and tight, and if your dog is anything like mine have a video camera ready to go as it was the funniest thing watching him as he walked kicking and shaking his feet. Most of the time he was on three paws, but he does get use to them. FLEX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bly Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 (edited) A few thoughts for you... A great thing about Labs, they love to please, so you may have success with the boots. Be sure to take her with you to size them Another great product, Invisible Boot (I purchased it at Pets Plus) Harley loves to be out in the snow and experienced similar troubles but was having nothing to do with the boots. Tried a few different things with limited success until IB last February. Apply to the feet, making sure to get between the paws. Helps protect and condition the paw pads and reduces/eliminates the ice/snow buildup between the pads. Continued use seem to actually help toughen up his paws while keeping them healthy. 100% Canadian product and no worries if the dog licks it. Hope you all have a great winter season! Edited November 28, 2008 by bly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky or Specks Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 My buddy has a chocolate lab and a blue heeler. We use them as a team to haul all of our gear including the ten inch power auger. Works great!!! Remember to keep them leased once you reach your spot. Its an awkward situation when one of your dogs wanders over to some strangers set rod and marks it as his territory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 My buddy has a black lab as well. I've seen her make retrieves thru skim ice in mid december with no problems. If we went ice fishing and didn't take her, she'd never let him live it down!! The dog will be fine.....no worries whatsoever. The worst thing you could do is leave her at home!!! Sinker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbog Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 The invisible boot solutions are great for protection from salt but are no help when the dog is just standing around on the cold ice. For this situation you need something like muttluks. We have them for our Golden and they are fantastic. We also use invisible boot for walking around the subdivision when alot of salt has been used. Now if I could just get my dog to pull the sled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebby Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Our lab had no problem with the cold, he was just terrified of the ice cracking on the cold days. Spent more time trying to persuade him to come back on the ice than ice fishing some days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beans Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Riley used to love going icefishing: When he got cold he hopped in the shelter and curled up on his "blankie" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2drift Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 my folks adopted a chocolate lab that lived in a small cage for a long period of time. I am guessing the dogs feet and pads are probably not tough enough yet because of its previous enviroment. The dog probably has soft pads almost like a puppy from the cage. Give it lots of walks and build up the pads and strength in the feet before you put her on ice and the doggie will be ice fishing in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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