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Thursday, February 1, 2018

The Mystery of the Icer - By The Lady


On Friday January 19th, Hailey, Phod and I went for a very early (like 5 am) morning walk. (Emma finds it too cold so she cuddles in bed with the Man on our early morning walks).  It was dark, but not too cold. It was a fine walk. On the weekend we didn't walk because I was resting my legs (this 30 day yoga challenge is causing me some pain), but we had lots of play time outside and chase and fetch. It is important to note, I only wore my shoes on the weekend.

The remaining icer
On Monday January 22nd, I went to put my boots on to take the dogs for a walk and noticed one of my icers was missing. (Note: An icer is a thing you put on your boot to give you traction. I had a pair of Lee Valley ones for 5 years, I had re-studded them last winter. There are many brands of this type of thing). I looked around the front entryway but it was no where to be seen. I thought maybe one of the dogs had grabbed it and moved it. I decided we would walk without it and I could look some more when I got home.

It wasn't too icy so the walk wasn't too bad, but I did slip a few times because my boots are warm, but have no grip. I came home and we searched for the icer, but could not find it. I guess somehow it came off on the walk Friday and I didn't notice. This seems odd to me because they do add some weight to my boot and I wouldn't have been walking evenly. I guess I was not awake enough to notice.

Tuesday we had a lot of freezing rain. It left our world covered in ice. Tuesday I ordered a new pair of icer type products because I realized I couldn't safely walk the dogs without them. I bought a different type, Snotek, because they were half the price. Thought that made them worth a try. Because I didn't want to pay the ridiculous postage to get them rushed (it was going to double the price of the product), we had to wait a few days. On Friday my new ones showed up.
This picture was taken on Sunday - 5 days after the rain. You can see how icy our world remained and why it  could be very dangerous to try and walk the dogs without proper footwear. 

Saturday I got them on my boots and went for a short walk with Lee to try them out. They are lighter which is nice and they seem to have a good grip. When walking on a surface to the ice (like the garage), I notice how the studs sit differently then my old ones, but on the ice I haven't noticed a difference.

You can see the rubber of the new Snotek on the toe of my boot

Here you can see the bottom of it. 

I have not thrown out my remaining icer in case the other one mysteriously shows up! Maybe I will find it in a ditch in the spring. Until then we will use these and see if they allow us to have safe winter walks! 

23 comments:

  1. oh why I haven't bought such magic walking aids 3 years ago.... I will look if they are available here too... even when we rarely have ice, I would feel better and I could walk without fearing a new hell-bow adventure...

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  2. Those are amazing. Hope the other one comes home.

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  3. Yipes! That ice looks very dangerous to walk on! My Joanna human used to use ice cleats to walk to work on the wintry days when she lived in the City.

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  4. Are you sure one of the pups didn't take it and hide it somewhere? Just checking...

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  5. Hari OM
    hehehe, I was thinking like John. Not that we want to accuse anyone or anything... but I like the look of the new ones. YAM xx

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  6. A must for Canadian winters says my huMom.
    Stay safe & have fun!
    3 bum swings! 3 more! 💜

    Nose nudges,
    CEO Olivia

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  7. OMCs Lady those icers are this kitty kat and her Mom's meow. Mom could use some of those of course no more than it snows here they'd probably dry rot but they are nice!!
    Hugs Madi your bfff

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  8. We're sure you'll find the old one....that's what happens around here. As soon as something is replaced, the old one shows up. We also hope some pup hasn't hidden it.

    Our high yesterday was ONLY 27°C.......SHE had to wear a sweatsuit all day...BOL!

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  9. My dog walker wears those on some days she takes Abby out. If it's SUPER icy they just play in the yard and skip the walk. Abby loves playing with her.

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  10. Our mom really needs to get a pair of those! We get crazy ice here!
    Yours sincerely,
    Margaret Thatcher

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  11. Mom bought a cheapo pair of some sort of icers but hasn't been brave enough to try them out yet. She figures if it is icy enough for her to have to wear them, maybe she shouldn't be walking anyway:) We deeply disagree.

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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  12. We didnt know anything about icers. Thanks fur teaching us. Glad u found new icers to buy.

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  13. That sure is a mystery. We're glad to hear you got a replacement quickly.

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  14. Those are quite handy to have, we have seen similar for sale around here
    hugs
    Hazel & Mabel

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  15. I like the Lee Valley ones too! When I first moved to Vancouver, I left mine in Midway (along with my winter boots) Last year I sure could have used them...we had a ton of snow and ice and I DID have a bad fall. this year we have had nothing but rain, thank heavens, my icers (and boots) are still in Midway (I keep forgetting to bring them when I am there).
    I LOVE icers!
    Barb

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  16. I had never heard of icers before I heard you mention them...they sure would have come in handy when I lived in NJ!

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  17. I've seen those befores! They use them in the Sierras. We, obviously, don't needs them here, cause we don't gets much ice..or snow..or cold..or wells, you get the idea.
    I am sure the other one will turn up...right were you would least expect it!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  18. Gail is wondering if they would work for snow on city streets that has been compacted to ice?

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  19. Just looking at your ice covered ground is scaring us to death! Thank goodness for your studded boots!

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  20. Wow! Those look pawsome and pawfect for ice walking. I have a pair of Trek that aren't very effective (the coils often slide on ice thought they work find for packed snow). I'm going to look into these! Thanks for sharing.

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  21. Dat are a neat little contraption. Daddy keeps talking about living in Montana or Alaska (never gonna happen) so if we are efur in a state dat gets ice Mama will has to order some.

    xoxo,
    Matt & Matilda

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  22. I've lost mine on walks too (I have the YakTrax kind), but usually realize it and we have to backtrack to hunt for it! I've also lost gloves on walks, but Luke usually finds those for me!
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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