Eco-Friendly Ice Melt Alternative for Dogs and the Environment

When we still lived in the city, snowy/icy weather always meant it was time to break out my dogs’ boots.  Not because they couldn’t handle the cold, but because the insane amount of salt that our city and neighbors put down burned my dogs’ paws.  Without their boots we would never get far in our walks before the boys would start limping.  Now that we’ve, thankfully, been able to get out of the city, I have much more control over what types of products are used around our home.  Luckily we’ve been able to find ways to deal with potentially dangerous icy spots without risking sore paws and/or health issues in our dogs.

Exposure to traditional ice melts, usually made from salts, can injure your furry friend’s feet in a few different ways.  Salt crystals can be irritating if they get caught between doggy toes, and sharp crystals can even cut or puncture pet’s paw pads.  Salt is also drying, and can cause the pads of animals’ feet to become dry, cracked, and sore.  Exposure to traditional ice melt products can also cause chemical burns on animals feet, skin, mouths, and digestive systems (if they consume any of the product).

Many kinds of ice melts are also bad for the environment.  They can kill or damage plants, and can be carried in runoff to contaminate local bodies of water, where they are damaging to the plants and animals that live there.  Even if you don’t have any pets, or care for the environment, ice melt products can also damage lawns, contaminate waterways, and damage asphalt, concrete, wood, rugs and wood floors (if tracked inside).

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So what are the alternatives to traditional salt based ice melt products?  Some companies sell pet and/or environmentally friendly products that do not contain salts.  The safest and cheapest alternative is to use sand to create traction on icy areas rather then using products that melt the ice.  Sand is much safer for animals, children, and the environment.  The ice will melt naturally anyways, or can be chipped away after it’s allowed to soften a bit, and in the meantime covering it with sand makes it safer to walk on.

If there’s some reason why you must use salt based ice melters, always follow the directions closely.  A little bit goes a long way, and applying too much salt not only increases its’ negative impacts on plants and animals, but can also make the product less effective at melting ice.  If you, like was once the case with me, can’t control what types of products are used around your home, consider protecting your pet’s paws with booties, or by using paw protecting products such as Musher’s Secret, and always rinse or wipe your pet’s paws and fur off after returning from a winter walk.

My partner and I joke that we now live in the ‘frozen north’, as the area we live in now gets quite a bit colder than the city we left.  This year, so far, has been relatively mild compared to the winter we experienced last year.  Still, we’ve been dealing with all the fun seasonal stuff like snow, ice, cold, power outages – oh my!  The town we live in gets an average of 75 inches of snowfall a year, so, as you can imagine, we’re getting some experience dealing with cold, icy weather.  Thankfully, in the time we’ve been here so far, we’ve had a lot of success keeping the area around our home safe and ice free with all pet/environmentally friendly products.  Afterall, keeping ourselves and visitors (aka the UPS person) safe is important, but keeping my pets and the environment healthy and safe is important to me too!