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Bootie Recommendations (The Shame!)


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We've had three major snows so far this year - including yesterday's, which came at the start of a bitter, windy cold spell. In the past, my dog has had trouble in the first couple days following a snow - it seems to be the right consistency to make giant snowballs between his foot pads, which are quite painful. Then I pull the snowballs out, and I'm sure that hurts and leaves tiny sore spots, which are aggravated by salted roads. (I think.)

 

This morning, I took the anxious dog out for his walk. We got about five houses up the road, and he froze. Stood on two paws, alternating. Refused to move. Looked absolutely miserable. He actually let me pick him up to take him home... and he hates to be picked up!

 

So, I guess it's time to acknowledge that my dog is getting wimpier as he ages, and suck it up and buy him some booties. These are mainly to keep the snow and salt out of his paws. I'm not sure if the cold bothers him so much - once the snow has had a few days to settle and not be powdery, it stops bothering him completely.

 

Recommendations? I'd love something that would stay on if he bounds into a snowbank, though he rarely does that. Generally, we're on roads or paths that have been tamped down, by feet at least. He's not a fussy, pull-off-clothes kind of dog.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Mary

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Hi Mary,

 

Can you trim the hair between his pads? I've also used the Musher's Secret wax with some success (and it feels really good on my hands too when I apply it :rolleyes: ).

 

I tried booties from www.dogbooties.com to protect my dog's paws from the salt, but honestly, it was too much effort to put them on every time we went out. Then when Mollie ran around, they would slip off and she would destroy them quickly. Some fellow rescue volunteers swear by the Ruff Wear socks and boots, but personally, I would die laughing at myself if I had to put socks on my dogs' feet, lol!

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+1 for dogbooties.com - booties stay on pretty well and are cheap if you do lose one

 

-1 for the extremely expensive Ruffwear boots and socks - I cannot keep from losing the boots...probably depends on the dog and what they're doing, but that's my experience. I haven't seen the Ruffwear socks up close, but when the inside of the Ruffwear boots were rubbing raw spots on my dog's feet, I just bought a cheap pack of baby socks to put inside the boots.

 

FYI, my experience is not based on using booties in the snow. I have needed to use them sometimes on backpack trips, if the dog is carrying a load and the ground is abrasive (e.g. volcanic soil).

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I used booties from dogbooties.com on Solo and Fly (and Skeeter my ex-Papillon) when I was in Philadelphia and it got icy out. They would cut their feet on the ice, and the sidewalks were liberally salted. I don't think dogs need booties just for snowballs between the toes unless their feet are so hairy that snowballs are an ongoing serious impediment. Solo gets pretty big ones between his toes in the snow, and I just break them out with my fingers. Fly has very little hair on her feet and never gets them.

 

The dogbooties.com booties are so cheap it makes sense to buy extras if they wear out and/or need to be replaced. A lot of mushers order from this site. I ordered six booties per dog reasoning that each dog may lose one or two booties but certainly not all four, although what actually happened is they didn't lose any. The booties fit very well and are nearly impossible to remove once on, especially if you order the stretch velcro option. I have also tried Muttluks and they don't come off either, but they cost an order of magnitude more and I don't think they are worth it. They are also harder to put on and adjust tightly.

 

I got Solo a midweight material from dogbooties.com (I think his are Supplex -- and they are green), and Fly a heavier weight material (a bit tacky for traction, and black) since she is much harder on her feet and both held up well -- in fact, I didn't need to buy replacements. I doubt you would either. It's not like Buddy's running the Iditarod, he's going outside for potty walks.

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We got some for Tiga at Wal Mart that actually work pretty well. They're sueade on the bottom so not very slippery at all. They're also lined with fleece so they stay pretty warm. The front ones stay on pretty well but he has little peg legs in the back and they will fall off pretty easily. We also use them when he gets hot spots on his paws so he doesn't dig and they work very well for that too. We also rinse his paws after walks in the winter so the salt doesn't aggrevate his sensitive paws.

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I got Solo a midweight material from dogbooties.com (I think his are Supplex -- and they are green), and Fly a heavier weight material (a bit tacky for traction, and black) since she is much harder on her feet and both held up well -- in fact, I didn't need to buy replacements. I doubt you would either. It's not like Buddy's running the Iditarod, he's going outside for potty walks.

 

I made the mistake of getting the orange ones and they ALL had holes within 5 minutes. The company customer service was awesome and replaced them with the stronger black ones Melanie mentioned. I haven't tried them yet.

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I've heard that mushers secret works well on the feet. I also have mutluks, I got them last winter when the temp went below -40. We usually don't have very much snow, so -40 + pavement must feel like hell on the feet and Daisy couldn't even make it to the back yard before she was on two feet. We have also gotten ALOT of snow this year and we did have a cold spell and we used them again, she likes to goof around in the snow and really doesn't care that they are on. They stay on very well and have "cuffs" that go further up the leg then normal booties and I think that helps them stay on better.

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I got them last winter when the temp went below -40. We usually don't have very much snow, so -40 + pavement must feel like hell on the feet and Daisy couldn't even make it to the back yard before she was on two feet.

 

Yikes! And I thought Central New York was bad. Where do you live???

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Please show a picture of a dog with boots on, I would love to see it. Thank you.

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Please show a picture of a dog with boots on, I would love to see it. Thank you.

 

Here's a video clip of Allie trying one on http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n91/squ...lienewshoes.flv

 

These are 'Granite Gear'. I bought them for, I think, about $5/pair on ebay, when she had cracks in her pads. I haven't used them in snow, so unfortunately can't rate them. I'd be inclined to use them with baby socks, as they are unlined.

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Please show a picture of a dog with boots on, I would love to see it. Thank you.

 

post-8421-1230844879_thumb.jpg

 

This is from the dogbooties.com website. I tried to put Riley's booties on Skye this morning to take a pic but they don't fit :rolleyes: and she kept wondering what the h*ck I was doing. Rather than make this experience akin to torture, I think I'll have to get some bigger ones so they go on more easily. Do the dogbooties people ship to Canada? Anyone know? I have bought mine locally (set of 4 for way more $ than I want to really spend once I've seen them for $2.50 each!) but the concept of buying them one at a time makes total sense to me. As long as the shipping charges aren't prohibitive.

Ailsa

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Here's a video clip of Allie trying one on http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n91/squ...lienewshoes.flv

 

These are 'Granite Gear'. I bought them for, I think, about $5/pair on ebay, when she had cracks in her pads. I haven't used them in snow, so unfortunately can't rate them. I'd be inclined to use them with baby socks, as they are unlined.

 

Thanks so much. Allie is certainly trying them out and most curious as well. Great video.

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post-8421-1230844879_thumb.jpg

 

This is from the dogbooties.com website. I tried to put Riley's booties on Skye this morning to take a pic but they don't fit :rolleyes: and she kept wondering what the h*ck I was doing. Rather than make this experience akin to torture, I think I'll have to get some bigger ones so they go on more easily. Do the dogbooties people ship to Canada? Anyone know? I have bought mine locally (set of 4 for way more $ than I want to really spend once I've seen them for $2.50 each!) but the concept of buying them one at a time makes total sense to me. As long as the shipping charges aren't prohibitive.

Ailsa

 

 

Thank you for posting this. I have never seen doggy boots before.

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Yikes! And I thought Central New York was bad. Where do you live???

 

Yup! Yikes is right. We are in Calgary, which usually isn't that bad but the last two winters have had a couple of weeks of cold like they haven't seen since the 50's I think! With the chinkooks that come through, if we get a good dump of snow, it usually doesn't last more than a week, so we get cold and cold wind with none or little snow, it really sucks sometimes!

 

These are the mutluks, they are expensive, but they stay on! And I like the reflector strip.

post-8266-1230848466_thumb.jpg

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Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Looks like dogbooties.com is a good, reasonably priced place to buy these. Anyone have preferences on which style of bootie to buy? They all seem to be $2.50 per bootie on there. Purpose would mostly be protection from salt - not too much deep snow running. (He's too wimpy indeed to run the Iditarod.)

 

Here's a pic of Buddy in his interim booties. I got these at the cheap pet store nearby, so I could do a couple loops of the neighborhood despite the painful conditions. Buddy's such a good boy: just patiently stands there while I strap 'em on, and happily walks along while he's wearing them. (He's also wearing a Puplight, which I LOVE for walking city streets at night.)

 

1109BootiesLight.jpg

 

Mary

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