The first time I saw a dog wearing shoes was on the TV show "The Simple Life," and the canine was Paris Hilton's quivering little chihuahua. That miserable doggie got dressed up in all manner of pink and glittery clothes. But the shoes -- dude, that seemed to take it too far.Now I'm thinking otherwise, with my snow-hating Boston Terrier. She loves being outside but seems miserable walking on snow and ice. Maybe it's time to consider dog boots.
In my scanty research on dog boots, it looks like there's a wide variety. Some look like they're just nylon bags secured to the foot with a strip of velcro. Others have rubber soles. Some lace up like human shoes. Lacing up dog shoes sounds pretty ridiculous and impossible.
Has anyone in blog land tried out dog boots? How did your dog tolerate them? Were they awesome or a waste of money?
Here are a few links for the dog boot enthusiast:
http://www.petboots.com/
http://www.muttluks.com/
http://www.dogbootcompany.com/
http://www.handsnpaws.com/category/dogboots/
http://www.ruffwear.com/
1 comment:
I find if you can get the boots on, and you're out in the wide open and distracting world of scents and sights, your dog will forget about them soon enough.
Given time to settle in the tent, some dogs will chew at & pull them off. But it definitely depends on the dog.
We always carry a set of Ruffwear boots for our border collie / blue heeler mix, especially when hiking in rugged, abrasive rocky areas or cactus environments, and especially if there's water to play in & soften the pads.
One bout of pad blisters and 3 days of CARRYING him to & from the house & yard is all it took to wake us up. We inspect his paws regularyly on long hikes and if we see stress or wear, the boots go on. The insurance they provide is worth the extra 2 ounces in my pack.
They stay on well - we've never lost one.
We use a cheap $10 set of fleece booties to protect the tent floor when we're out backpacking.
Although our dog has no problem with "ice balls" forming between the toes, booties are an excellent remedy to this nagging problem for the long haired canines.
Post a Comment