It’s not even Halloween yet — it’s only the day after Columbus Day,for dog’s sake! — butbelieve it or not,it’shigh timeto start preparing dogs for winter. I refuse to be fooled byNewYork City’sbalmy Indian summer, because I know that winter will really start showing its teeth and snarling in two short months. So my dogs’ winter jackets arewashedand neatlyfolded in a box labeled “K9 Coats.”

Even more important from my pets’ perspective,I’ve laid in a supply of dog-safe ice melt so their paws won’t feel the brrrn of corrosive salt on those days when the sidewalks are blanketedwith snow.

Using a pet-friendly brand of ice melt is one of the nicest holiday gifts you can give your dog. Few things are more painful for a dog thanhaving towalk through salty ice melt. That stuff is extremely corrosive — it even eats away atmetal, so just imagine how it feels onyour dog’s paw-pads.

Rock salt contains sodium chloride or potassium chloride, which can heat up to 175 degrees when exposed to water, ice, and low temperatures. So when your dog steps in this stuff, he literally feels a burn — and if the salt is not washed off his poor feet, it will continue burning, causing skin ulcers that can become infected.

But trotting bare-pawed through pet-safe ice melt is a cakewalk. So if you rent your home and youhave any pullwith your building superintendent, convincehim or her to use a pet-safe brand of ice melt. My brand of choice might surprise you: It’s Safe-T-Pet by Morton. Yep, Morton — the company renowned since 1848 for making … salt. Thecompany with the legendary logo of a little girl holding an umbrella, walking through a downpour,with the slogan “When it rains, it pours.” (That iconic image, by the way, is one of the ten best-known symbols in the United States.)

If anybody knows the power of salt, it’s Morton. So the company worked closelywith a veterinarian, formulating a totally salt-free ice melt to keep pets from experiencing the discomfort of walking on the salty stuff that is Morton’s famous stock-in-trade. Nontoxic Safe-T-Pet Ice Melt by Morton melts below 10 degrees F, which is impressive, so it’s equally as effective as those salty, toxicice melts.

The greenish-hued crystalscome in an 8-pound easy-pour jug with a resealable lid. And just like the original Morton Salt everyone knows and trusts,salt-free Safe-T-Pet won’t cake or clumpwhenthe weather turns damp: When it snows, it pours!

Safe-T-Pet has even earned the approval of the ASPCA, which is partnering with Morton in a public-service campaignto raise awareness of wintertime pet safety. The ASPCA has declared December 22 National Keep Pets Safe in Winter Day. Between now and January 31, 2012, Morton will donate $1 to the ASPCA for every unique Facebook fan “Like” it receives.

Please find Morton Salt on Facebook and click “Like” so the ASPCA can continue to educate pet lovers on the importance of winter pet safety, and help reduce winter-weather-related pet injuries. And please don’t forget to lay ina goodsupply of pet-safe ice melt before there’s snow on the ground and the store shelves are bare!(Find stores that carry Safe-T-Pet here.) Your dog will thank you all winter long.