De-Icer Granules

[macoduck]

No pet store or hardware store here carries the pet safe de-icer.

Regular sidewalk/patio de-icers have hazard warnings regarding pets.

 

Can rock salt be used if the dogs' feet are wiped off after they've been on it?

How bad would it be for them if someone forgot to wipe their feet every time?

 

Anyone use kitty litter? Is it just a big mess maker or will it help to make ice less slippery?

Is any particular kind of kitty litter better?

[Guest Energy11]

Hey Ducky!

 

We get some ice up here, too!

 

Personally, I just put down throw rugs and guilts on my deck, when it ices. I don't have any concrete, and the dogs aren't allowed past the xpen our deck. I have rugs everywhere ouside on "their" part of the deck.

 

I don't think I'd trust rock salt, either. :-( Kitty litter is OK, but it basically turns to MUDD when it is wet. Looks like we have to invent a pet safe de-icer!

 

Good Luck, and be CAREFUL!

[Batmom]

I use stuff that says it's plant-safe. IIRC calcium chloride but I'll check the bag later. I watch for anybody wanting to eat from piles of snow that might contain a bunch, and I check feet for chunks if they've walked thru before it's melted. Never had a problem -- no red feet, no sores, nothing. Works down into the below 0 F range.

 

Next best is tube sand -- the stuff sold to provide traction in pickup trucks. Nice and coarse. Keep a bucket inside where it stays warm; it'll stick better to the ice when you go to put it out.

[Magdalyn58]

Ducky, if you have a Sam's Club nearby, they sell "Safe Paw" ice melting granules. That's where we have been buying ours.

[macoduck]

Ducky, if you have a Sam's Club nearby, they sell "Safe Paw" ice melting granules. That's where we have been buying ours.

They didn't have any last week but I'll check again. We don't get much snow here so it may not be worth Sam's time to stock it.

 

Hey Ducky!

 

We get some ice up here, too!

 

Personally, I just put down throw rugs and guilts on my deck, when it ices. I don't have any concrete, and the dogs aren't allowed past the xpen our deck. I have rugs everywhere ouside on "their" part of the deck.

 

I don't think I'd trust rock salt, either. :-( Kitty litter is OK, but it basically turns to MUDD when it is wet. Looks like we have to invent a pet safe de-icer!

 

Good Luck, and be CAREFUL!

 

Yup. got a stack of old blankets and towels that I use to make a path across the patio. Good thing we don't live within a homeowner's association neighborhood.

 

I use stuff that says it's plant-safe. IIRC calcium chloride but I'll check the bag later. I watch for anybody wanting to eat from piles of snow that might contain a bunch, and I check feet for chunks if they've walked thru before it's melted. Never had a problem -- no red feet, no sores, nothing. Works down into the below 0 F range.

 

Next best is tube sand -- the stuff sold to provide traction in pickup trucks. Nice and coarse. Keep a bucket inside where it stays warm; it'll stick better to the ice when you go to put it out.

 

I'd like to know more about the plant-safe stuff. And I'll have to check out the tube sand/coarse sand. Silly question here, Jey, is it sold in tubes?

[ivon]

I used kitty litter last winter and it was a huge mess, I was cleaning clay off my floors for months, if in doubt I would go with plain old salt.....or sand, still messy but easier to clean.

[RobinM]

Sand. It's the safest. Messy, but safe. What else is new!

[Batmom]

Tube sand in tubes (long skinny reinforced plastic bags), yes, @ 3' long x 6-7" diameter. 60-70 lbs each. Some places call it traction sand.

[Batmom]

OK, my current bags are potassium chloride - sodium chloride blend. I think the newer ones (Ace hardware brand) have some magnesium chloride in there too. Somewhere on the bag it'll usually say "Safe for vegetation and pets when applied as directed" but don't eat it -- meaning, don't stick your head in the bag and chow down. Won't hurt the dog if they get a little melted residue on their feet and lick it off.

 

I tried the "PawSafe" stuff one year -- waste of $$, doesn't work at cold temps.

[cleptogrey]

call me wierd, but i sprinkle coarse grain kosher salt on my icy steps and sidewalk. this started years ago, i tried sand, sawdust, kitty litter and have always stayed away from chemical stuff- but boy were all of them a mess. my scottie who had addison's disease was on tons of salt as part of his diet. so, i figured he was eating salt anyway, what the heck. well, it never bothered either his or willie's paws, so i stuck w/ it. basically i avoid streets when they are covered w/ chemicals, so it' the 4 steps from my back door down to the 20 ft. sidewalk on the side of the garage that i carefully sprinkle and sweep up as soon as the ice melts(that's they key). i do use musher's secret on the dog paws during the winter anyway and it protects them.