You can try throwing an old rug or towel down and encouraging your dog to pee and or poo on it.
You might start outside. Tomorrow. Maybe your little dog will be so horrified by the cold, he’ll keep his sensitive paws on the rug and pee right away.
Then, toss the rug in the garage or basement or whatever “emergency” spot you want to dedicate to the dog.
We have an old rug in the corner of the basement for our dog. He caught on quickly and has only used it in an emergency.
“That’s a sign of the apocalypse. If UA-Fairbanks or U of Saskatchewan closes, I’m heading for the closest missile silo.”
The high in Fairbanks tomorrow is more than 20 degrees warmer than the high in Chicago!
Musher’s Secret is great for paws… I wouldn’t suggest going out for it now, but maybe for the next deep freeze.
Either your dog is walking on salt and he has some in his pad or he might have a paw sprain. Take a look at his pads on that paw. Maybe there is a cut or something. Take a magnifying glass to examine
@momofsenior1. Never heard of Mushers secret. That’s brilliant. I wish I had that now. Salt gets into his pads… Not sure if my dog would try to eat it off though…
@Knowsstuff It’s safe if they lick it, but it’s odorless and mine leave it completely alone. It creates a protective barrier and also moisturizes the pads (I rub the extra in my own cuticles). It also works when the pavement gets really hot in summer too.
@sushiritto… Good. They need that win since Michigan State lost yesterday…
Another fan of Mushers Secret!
We are getting some snow (maybe 3-5”.) But it’s only 30, so I’m not complaining at all. A few nights (tomorrow & Thursday) will be single digits. No big deal. Supposed to be in the 40’s by the weekend.
My mom called complaining that it was freezing cold this morning, it was 56. Sigh.
Remember that elders can’t deal as well with cold as people who are younger. This is worrisome with these record low temperatures, when some older dwellings’ heating systems won’t be able generate enough heat to keep the dwellings from cooling.
I haven’t tried this but I read yesterday that you can treat your pups paws by rubbing on some coconut oil. You just really can’t have them out for more than a few minutes. We have just been taking our dog for one pee quickies but several times a day.
Our mail is cancelled for tomorrow.
So far even though our univ is closed for students, staff is being required to work. We were told we could wear “comfortable clothes” - I guess that is our consolation prize. 
I’m planning to bring milk, Starbucks cocoa, whipped cream and marshmellows and offering everyone at work hot chocolate. Make the best of it!
This is interesting! I swear I have heard some “popping” outside tonight. This from a local weather guy:
Hearing loud POP’s outside tonight?
It’s likely a frostquake. Not as powerful as a real earthquake (or related) but the ground expands as water freezes deeper in the soil layer. The expansion creates kinetic energy which is released periodically. This phenomenon is more likely where there is lesser amounts of snow on the ground. It can be very startling but is harmless.
Thank you so much @abasket! I just heard a really loud pop from my backyard and was totally freaked out! I went all around the house making sure nothing was amiss!
I keep hearing like my deck creeking or something like that. Once I step on it, it creeks louder… Hope there’s not an issue
^^ Ours 100% does that when it’s really cold - all the time.
And on the FB WashU Parents group there are complaints about school not closing. I bet Ithaca and Cornell are quite balmy now.
I left my sister’s house in Western Kentucky yesterday to meet a friend at a quilt store in eastern Ohio. She cancelled, as she’s in Toledo and it was getting bad by noon yesterday. I went to the quilt shop, driving through Amish country to get there, along roads that had seen 2" of snow Sunday night. Decided that if I had kept the hotel reservation I’d made, I would be stuck there til Thursday, as the roads were hilly, barely paved and gravel-topped. Temp there tonight is -11.
My alternative was stopping at a CC friend’s house in Pittsburgh. Since I was finished with the quilt store by 3:15, I decided to instead hightail it back to MD last night ahead of the snow and cold front. Snow started here at home at noon today. My PGH friend said her hilly street is closed due to the ice.
I bought 94 yards of fabric, mostly backing for the quilts we make for a local women’s shelter.
Mission Accomplished!
Stay warm, my friends.
Well, There’s always hot chocolate and Kahlua. Might as well enjoy this tonight 
My kid’s high school is now closed tomorrow and Wednesday, and they hate closing because of weather. My kid has two friends over who will stay the night. They have home-made (well the crust was pre-prepared) pizza, and are watching a movie.
I plan on baking all day tomorrow to distract myself from the cold - if I don’t lay on the couch covered in piles of blankets lol. It already feels a little cooler inside than it should, and we’ve heard the popping outside, too. -7 here now.