Friday, January 24, 2014

A Friendly Reminder to Use Dog Friendly Ice Melt

dog in snow by Yuichiro Haga
dog in snow, a photo by Yuichiro Haga on Flickr
A reader writes in kindly requesting that we all use dog safe ice melt.

I was wondering if you could post a friendly reminder to the neighbors to be careful what they use on the sidewalks to melt snow. A lot of snow melt products can burn the pads on a dogs foot, causing a lot of pain and limping. I was walking my dog yesterday and ended up carrying him most of the way home because he stepped in chemical snow melt that burned him. Carrying a 50 lb dog is no small feat!


I'm sure that many home-owners who aren't dog owners just don't realize that what they're using is causing harm, so I thought it was worth a post. I did a quick search online and there's plenty of pet-safe snow melt product for sale. For my part, I'll get some booties for my dog, but dog-safe sidewalks would be greatly appreciated.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not my responsibility to care for your pet. Buy your dog shoes if this is a concern.

Anonymous said...

^ Rude. Is it so hard to get pet-safe ice melt (which is better for wildlife too, not just dogs)? I suppose you are the type who doesn't care if it doesn't affect you. Very neighborly indeed.

4th and G said...

The snow melt isn't even necessary sidewalks are properly shoveled.

4th and G said...

"if" sidewalks...

Anonymous said...

imma use chili powder and thumbtacks.

Anonymous said...

Safe, fun, and works on ice if you didn't manage to get out and shovel at midnight when the storm stopped
http://www.harborfreight.com/propane-torch-91033.html

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it's not your responsibility to give a f- about your neighbors. I'm glad to have people like you in the community.

Anonymous said...

This is so great. My dog owning neighbors are almost all entirely cavalier about not curbing their dogs, allowing them to urinate on porch steps and defecate in tree boxes, etc., so chastising people for not taking responsibility for the well being of other's people's responsibilities is totally awesome, bro.

It's also precious that the self involved yuppie with fifty pound dogs in small apartments and row houses crowd think that some appeal on this blog is going to have any material impact on how the 99.9% of area residents who never read this blog buy their damned sidewalk salt. Be proactive, do something that's actually going to help protect your canine fashion accessory, and buy some dog boots. Problem solved.

MJ said...

I like FrozenTropics, but y'all need to do something about anonymous commenters (and I use the plural sarcastically) shitting in the pool. Anon, if you feel so strongly about being a jackass then own it.

nk said...

there, now I'm as accountable as you, mj!

Anonymous said...

What happened to the comments with the guy with the free shoveling service?

Anonymous said...

I do not want your dog on the sidewalk in front of my house. So please take care not to bring him by.

Anonymous said...

Stop putting your little bags of poop in my garbage can that doesnt get completely emptied (apparently as a matter of policy accoridng to a garbage man) and maybe i'll give a f about your dogs feet

Doug said...

This is kind of a crazy expectation when you have 20 different row houses on a block all with the sidewalks being cleared and salted by different homeowners or sometimes contractors. If this is a real threat to your pets health then it's just recklessly irresponsible to assume that they all will ever use pet-safe ice melt (a product I'd never even heard of until reading this post). I actually tried three different stores on Wednesday after the storm looking to find any bags of salt period and they were all sold out, let alone special pet-safe salt.

Some of the other posters above may be being jerks about this but that doesn't change the fact that they are correct. Buying your dog shoes is the solution rather than attempting to coordinate hundreds of people in the neighborhood to all use a specialty snow melt product. Since it seems it would be basically pointless unless you could somehow ensure every single household participated, you therefore have no right to guilt trip any individual for not going out of there way to participate in this crazy unrealistic scheme.

Anonymous said...

Ha, no. Not my problem. The dog entitlement in DC is out of control.

heyktb said...

I also am curious about those who post anonymously. Is there a way to screen these individuals? I am just so tired of the idiots who have nothing of value to add but who post anyway their mean spirited and often vile comments.

Anonymous said...

Friendly reminder that I actually have a leather allergy, so I'd like everyone walking their dog between 12th and 13th St NE, from G to K St. to please use a synthetic fabric leash when walking your animals. I'm really sick and tired of sneezing while I am just out trying to enjoy my own neighborhood.

whoahluc said...

there are anonymous comments on this blog because it withers and dies like that Knight Templar dude from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade every time registration becomes required. But, here you go. I have a name almost as cool as yours. Do I need to have it link to another, unpopulated, anonymous blog like yours to get your approval, heyktb?

Anonymous said...

How can you distinguish bad ice melter from good ice melter?

inked said...

9:44,
There is a link in the post to info on "dog safe ice melt."

HStreetActivistWithAHeartOfGold said...

Stop the Frozen Tropics terrible comment insanity!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-the-insanity-3

Anonymous said...

wow, so you're equally as impotent on the internet as in the real world? Bummer. Nice petition, brah.

Unknown said...

This has got to be one of the funniest set of comments on this blog. I can't tell really who's seruous and who's not save for a few people. This one really brought a smile to my day.

Anonymous said...

"Stop putting your little bags of poop in my garbage can that doesnt get completely emptied (apparently as a matter of policy accoridng to a garbage man) and maybe i'll give a f about your dogs feet"

+1

I'm so tired of having to deal with this. It's disgusting and unbelievably inconsiderate.

Anonymous said...

Not my responsibility to care for your garbage can. Buy your garbage can a lock if this is a concern.

Anonymous said...

I like to get up early on a Sunday morning, make a cup of coffee, take a look outside the window, ruminate on life, and then, at precisely 6:47 a.m., leave a comment on a small neighborhood blog that, in a really amazing and effective way, shows that I am in fact very small minded and have no grasp of even the most basic principles of logic or rhetoric. Then I really know I can sit back and enjoy my day.

Anonymous said...

I can sit back and enjoy my day when someone is so small-minded to think that there is one time zone for the entire planet.

Anonymous said...

yup, because you're that one super awesome dude in New Zealand who kicks it old school reading hyper local D.C. neighborhood blogs. I want to party with you.

Anonymous said...

Never read the bottom half of the internet.

WTOP commenters are more impressive than the ones here.

Anonymous said...

I wish all the folks who post these nasty anonymous comments could be placed in a room together and then made to beat the sh*t out of each other and hopefully die and leave blogs like this to the rest of us.

Anonymous said...

@ 1:09 - such pitiful hyperbole; if this was a WTOP comment thread it would be full of comments about racial and sexual handicaps. You best just keep those thoughts to yourself.

@ 6:12 - I am totally in, as long as you agree to apply my body grease between rounds, liberally and thoroughly, as I am all about the fireman's carry and the camel clutch. LET'S DO THIS.

Anonymous said...

Coat dogs paws with Vaseline acts as a barrier from the salt This should help.

Anonymous said...

@ 6:47: "Not my responsibility to care for your garbage can. Buy your garbage can a lock if this is a concern."

I don't want you to care for my garbage can. Just stop putting your bags of dog poop in it. Thanks.