too many toys!

I don't usually have all of these dog toys out, but Skippy has a sore paw today so I brought the basket of puppy toys up from the basement. And, to be special, Skippy has his cool Red Sox fleece scarf on. He's a real fan - ready for baseball season (especially now that the Pats are through with football for the year).

I feel real bad about Skippy's sore paw - I accidentally stepped on it. Ouch. I didn't see him behind me as I opened a door. Well, the next morning he started limping, then wouldn't put it down at all. I checked it out and narrowed the injury down to the index pad of his left front paw. And it felt warm, so I brought him into see his vet. He checked, x-rayed and said it wasn't broken, but was very sore and warm. So Skippy is taking some pain medicine for a couple of days and limping. Seems better today, so I think it'll heal soon. Poor old puppy!

While we were at the vet I got some advice on winter paw care. Skippy's vet recommends washing paws with water whenever we come in and there's any dirt or grit on his paws. We just go up to the tub and step in an inch of water and spray off the paws then towel dry. Then his vet also recommended Vitamin E oil. Just a drop on each paw and rub it in good. (I like it on my hands too. ) I also like to use wax (Musher's Secret) on Skippy's paws just before we go outside when there's snow or salt on the ground. It protects his paws and prevents snow balls in his fur. I put the wax on his paws and rub a little on his fur wherever his fur will hit the snow. When we get a foot or two of snow, this could be up to his belly. Not that much yet. Anyway, its nice to know how to take good care of Skippy's paws since he's always barefoot. And he's such a good puppy!