# Shoes?!



## MonkeyLove (Aug 3, 2013)

After a few months of lurking, i'm finally posting! :wave:

I just have a quick question for all you white hav owners out there. My year-or-so-old hav gets really long cottony feather furs that come over the top and bottom of his paws. I had the groomers just trim the bottoms so he's not slipping and sliding on the wooden floors, but the tops are so long they pick up a lot of dirt. I don't really want to cut those down since it seems to keep him warm and it's been rather chilly lately...

I have tried pet specific shoes and he keeps them on, (more of a chore since it takes me like 15-20 minutes to even place them on.. he has a lot of 'foot fur) but he but often slips... and I am concerned about him injuring himself (he literally takes off running in them, then slips, faceplants, then gets back up and runs). I have also tried just managing the cleanliness with baby wipes after a walk... But he is white, and still would look dirty.

Just wondering what you all are doing to keep your havy's paws clean for the home? Although Monkey is small enough that I can lift him and wash his paws in the sink, he definitely doesn't take for the long drying process that ensues thereafter.. and that's rather impractical after each walk anyway.

Any help you could provide would be great!


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I don't do it often but I was told to use a small mustache trimmer . Have your groomer show you how.


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## wishbone (Jul 10, 2013)

Check this out http://www.petstreetmall.com/Healers-Wraps/10335/5063/details.html

I've seen this on a friend's dog we meet at the park, she's a 9-year old sheltie with adorable long coat. She recently had a paw injury and this paw wrap helps along with her long fur.


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## narci (Sep 6, 2011)

With Our Hav, when he goes out for a quick pee, we just wipe his feet down with a cloth.

If we go for longer walks, play in the park or pooping walks, he goes straight into the bathtub for a feet, face, peepee and bum wash.

Yes it seems like a chore to put him in the tub every time but you should see the amount of crud that they have on their feet, even on a dry day. Put the drain stopper in and fill the tub just enough to cover their feet.

tip for drying feet....

Use two or more towels for drying.

Lay one on the table and use one or two face cloths for drying feet. Make sure you use a dry part of the cloth cause the cloth won't soak up water if it's already soaked.

After you have tried to dry as much as you can, use a slicker brush and brush the feet. This will help keep his feet fluffy as well as separate the hairs to dry faster. Don't forget the back side of his legs.

Oreo has this down pat. He knows when we go for long walks..get gets a mini bath each time. When we come back from a walk, he does one of two things. Stand at the entrance inside the house and wait for me to remove his coat and leash so I can pick him up to go to the bath tub or he'll dart for the bath tub and jump in himself.


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

Have a look at this (this is referring to a UK site, but it's a US product, so must be available in the States:


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

Lalla said:


> Have a look at this (this is referring to a UK site, but it's a US product, so must be available in the States:
> 
> Paw Plunger - YouTube


It is available here and I recently purchased one. Got a great 1/2 price deal as the store was closing. Haven't used it yet, but I'm sure it will work just fine as it does in the video.


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## RoutineAvocado (Feb 6, 2013)

If it's a dry day, we usually don't do anything. Zelda's feet are gray anyway and we have hardwood floors that we can wipe up easily. On wet or messy days, I rinse her feet in the sink, gently squeeze each foot with a towel, and she's good to go. She's not perfectly clean or dry, but it's good enough for me.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I wipe Emmie's paws off whenever we come in the house with baby wipes or a wet paper towel but if they're muddy I'll wash them in the sink and then do a quick brush/comb (no blow dry). -Jeanne-


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## DawnH (Jan 21, 2014)

My entire downstairs is tile and upstairs is wood so I don't worry about it that much unless Manny's feet are wet. I "fluff" him with a towel, mainly to dry him off. I'm really not that concerned about what little dirt he brings in...the towel fluff seems to clean him off. 

He had his first and probably only experience with sleet and snow last week when it snowed in Northwest Florida. I don't know how you guys who live in the north deal with it.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

DawnH said:


> My entire downstairs is tile and upstairs is wood so I don't worry about it that much unless Manny's feet are wet. I "fluff" him with a towel, mainly to dry him off. I'm really not that concerned about what little dirt he brings in...the towel fluff seems to clean him off.
> 
> He had his first and probably only experience with sleet and snow last week when it snowed in Northwest Florida. I don't know how you guys who live in the north deal with it.


I'm with you. If Kodi is muddy, I wash his feet in the sink, towel dry him and send him on his way. (If he's muddy, his belly is AT LEAST as much of a problem as his feet!!!)

But yesterday we went for a walk on a nearby bike path. This is a paved path, and is never salted or sanded. It was a nice, 50F day, but there were still sections of the trail that had an inch or two of snow or slush, and other areas where there were good sized puddles. the bottom half of him was SOAKED by the time we got back to the car. I wrapped him up in a beach towel to soak the water out of him, but figured he'd need an "undercarriage wash" when we got home. We had to do a couple of errand on the way home, and he waited in his seat (on the towel) while we did them. By the time we got home, he was just damp, and I could see there really wasn't much dirt involved. So I just let him air dry and then combed out his feathers and left it with that!

If we'd been out on the street, I would have had to wash him to get the salt off, but that wasn't a problem on this walk&#8230; I'd even carried him across the parking lot to keep him out of the salt.

So, I guess, if it's just water, I don't worry about it. If he gets DIRTY, I haven't found anything but a real bath, (even if only a foot bath) with shampoo, water and conditioner, that does a job I'm happy with. But if it's just a foot (and or tummy) wash, I rarely take the time to blow him dry. He doesn't seem to get cold if the rest of him is dry and he has some warm towels to curl up on!


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