They are calling for the first accumulating snowfall in the Mid-Atlantic, so I thought it would be a good time to talk about winter pet care. Winter started officially back in December and we have already had temperatures below freezing, but with the addition of snow and sleet it may be time to break out the ice melting products!
Some ice melting products may contain certain salts that can be harmful or fatal to your pets. For example, a fatal dose of sodium chloride is 4 grams (~0.14 ounce) per kilogram (~2.2 pounds) of dog. If your dog weighs 50 pounds it would be a little over 3 ounces or a quarter of a can of soda! So look at the ingredient list and see your ice melting product contains any of these harmful ingredients:
- Sodium chloride
- Calcium chloride
- Potassium chloride
- Magnesium chloride
- Calcium Carbonate
- Calcium Magnesium Acetate
What you should look for is an ice melting product that is salt-free such as Safe Paw or Morton Safe-T-Pet.