I've never actually heard of this? The closest I can think of is Alabama Rot, but it's still not confirmed how dogs pick that up, and it's thankfully quite rare. Where did you read about this?

Under normal circumstances, I'm not at all concerned about a dog getting wet on a walk. Some extra caution may be warranted if they have an open wound on their feet, but that's the most I'd fret about it. Many, many dogs walk, hike, or work in all kinds of weather, and in all my time reading dog things and browsing dog forums (so 8+ years now) I've never heard of someone's dog picking up an infection just because they walked in the rain or on wet ground. Not saying it couldn't happen, just that it's so unusual I, personally, wouldn't be changing my walking habits to avoid it. Behavioral problems from understimulation are much more common!

 

Never heard of that, either. I walk my dogs in all weather (except for thunderstorms), never had an issue.

 

Glad that was all cleared up. Thanks. Maybe it was a site that's selling doggy rain boots or something.

 

Not sure where you live, but I've never heard of it, and we get 50 - 60 inches of rain per year...

 

The vet told me yesterday that they see more giardia after it's been rainy and wet, but she also told me nearly every dog gets exposed to it...so "avoidance" isn't really a strategy!