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Winter... is... coming (Dog booties!)


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I was just wondering if anyone can recommend good dog boots/shoes for the winter (specifically for romping around in the snow). I've been looking at options, but it seems a common problem with dog boots is that they easily fall off. Are there any brands or styles that reliably stay on in deep snow? Thanks!!

 

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Since mine is a pup and still growing I didn't want to spend a lot so just made him simple fabric ones to keep the sap off his feet. look like http://mountainridge.estoreadvanced.biz/index.php?p=product&id=2&parent=1 and haven't had one fall off, and we've played hard with them on.

 

Also ended up getting him a pair of ruffwear summit trex boots for when he gets bigger, they stay on well. But atm they're too big for him and he trips over his own feet. They stay on great though.

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Do you have really extreme weather? The only time my dogs seem bothered by the snow is when the temp is near 0 (Fahrenheit) With normal winter weather (down to the single digits) it doesn't seem to bother them at all - they're happy to get out and play. With my rough coated girl I trim down the fur on her paws and spray with cooking spray or Show Sheen to keep snowballs from forming between her pads

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I might suggest also having a small tube of plain old Vaseline in your pack or pocket. I used to work my Lab high up in the mountains through winter. I never put booties on him (compromised his traction on slick surfaces), but a bit of Vaseline helped cut down on the ice and snow balling up on his paws. I really only needed to do it when we were out all day or night. For just playing or hiking for a few hours it wasn't necessary; and it gets quite cold in the mountains above town here - way below freezing on many days, especially in places with no tree cover. It's pretty harmless if the dog licks it off. I expect to do the same as I start taking our new Border Collie pup up into the snow.

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Also ended up getting him a pair of ruffwear summit trex boots for when he gets bigger, they stay on well.

I really like the look of these AND you can re-order individual boots in case one gets lost or damaged. We have a front runner! :)

 

Temperatures do get very cold out here (single digits aren't unusual) and we have snow on the ground for weeks or months at a time. Last year was his first winter and he loveloveloved it. We had issues with the snowballs developing between his toes, clearly caused him discomfort. We also had issues with very dry pads, possibly from the salt and de-icers used on the roads and sidewalks? We would rinse his feet off after a walk to get the nasty road gook off, but his pads dried out terribly.

 

I had never heard of the cooking spray or vaseline trick! I'm gonna give both of those a try before purchasing boots. It never got too cold for him to want to go out and play in the snow for hours, so if I can prevent the toe snowballs and dry pads I think he'd do just fine without the shoes. We'll see and thanks for the tips!

 

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I thought I needed them here in Canada, but Nelson has been running around in the snow all winter in the freezing cold on top of mountains. Digging holes in snow, eating it, chasing dogs etc. His paws have never bothered him. We use a vaseline kind of cream for on his paws, we put that on before and after he goes into the snow - it works great. Just suggesting that you might not need them :)

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I got some last year from a guy up north who runs huskies. Only booties I've had that didn't fall off and super light weight. Only good for in the snow itself, not on rocks or pavement. I used them when it was super cold out, or if the dogs were out playing in the yard for long enough that they started getting snowballs stuck in their feet. The place is called Tanzilla Harness Supply and the booties I got were the black ones that are $2.50 each (Canadian).

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