I don't have dogs - but heck, if very few dogs needed these boots, or their owners wanted them - the dog bootie companies would be out of business!
I don't have dogs - but heck, if very few dogs needed these boots, or their owners wanted them - the dog bootie companies would be out of business!
"Do or do not. There is no try." -- Yoda
I need one bootie for Ozzy's left back leg because it still doesnt work properly so alot of times when he's running and playing, that leg tends to drag and get scraped up....so i think i'll look into these muttlucks cause i need a good boot that can take a beating..
Guess I'm lucky to live where we do. None of our police dogs work with boots on and our sidewalks are kept free of broken glass. Our city fathers must be doing a great job for us. I've never been on sidewalks "littered" with glass, maybe the occasional accident that is easy to skirt around.
As for the salt they might pick up I did say I rinsed their feet off or rather wiped them when we came in from walking on such streets, everyone does it, common knowledge.
The boots don't sell well here at all as I was told by one worker at PetSmart. they only carry the tiny ones for toy breeds.
We are probably fortunate to have dogs with tougher feet, but what my vet advises I follow since she's one of the most respected in the area. And no she doesn't advise to feed kibble, she is a raw feeder herself.
No one does shutzhund with boots on either according to a friend in Alberta. And she does extensive work with both her dogs and is in army corps to boot so she is well versed in what the protocol is out there.
One of my shelties has bad reactions to some ice melt stuff, it's not salt it's chemicals. If he even walks on it for a minute he can't put his feet down. So he wears boots in the winter as I can't exactly wipe his feet off mid walk. My other sheltie is fine no matter what. My rottie can't stand really cold temperatures. Every dog is different in what they can tolerate.
I have had to carry my dogs over areas of broken glass while out walking as well...thankfully that was just with the shelties... and I don't consider my city to be dirty.
Nicole -- I have the muttlucks for the shelties and they stay on really well. They only wear them in the very coldest part of the winter, but they've withstood the shelties crazy running for about 5 years now.
*Thanks Ashley*
Our hunting doggies wear them during winter hunting season.
This last trip bayley hated them but once she started walking/running around she became fine. It was low of -1 and high of 9 (nothing compared to what you have there i know!). the snow and ice cuts up their feet really bad when they are hunting so hard. Trey the lab has a pair too.
when their pads get so cold even a little rock can do some damage and the terrain isn't like cement, or soft like sand its a little of everything. I think the boots are a great idea. The muttluks last us a little over a year in accumulating hunting seasons. but thats heavy and fast paced usage through cat tails, sage, mud, breaking ice, icky stuff haha. Trey swims with his and they get wet and we have a couple extra pairs in case of that but other than that. 2 thumbs up on them from us
Last edited by scrain2329; 01-06-2009 at 03:00 AM.
One of my shelties has bad reactions to some ice melt stuff, it's not salt it's chemicals. If he even walks on it for a minute he can't put his feet down. So he wears boots in the winter as I can't exactly wipe his feet off mid walk. My other sheltie is fine no matter what. My rottie can't stand really cold temperatures. Every dog is different in what they can tolerate.
I have had to carry my dogs over areas of broken glass while out walking as well...thankfully that was just with the shelties... and I don't consider my city to be dirty.
Nicole -- I have the muttlucks for the shelties and they stay on really well. They only wear them in the very coldest part of the winter, but they've withstood the shelties crazy running for about 5 years now.
You've repeated mostly what I said in my first post. "If their feet are healthy" . Your sheltie has problems so of course he will need boots. If my dogs had problems I might consider them but since in all the years I've owned sheopherds no once did I run into a problem I don't use them obviously. Why spoil a good thing ? It would be like taking meds "in case" I ran into a problem. If it isn't broke, then don't fix it.
Nicole, if it's what you feel is right for Sheena then go for it. You know Sheena better than anyone here on pt so don't worry about what some others are saying. You know whats best for your dog.
Hope you can find some good dog boots soon...
-Ellie
'If everyone else's opinion is what matters, then do you ever really have one of your own?'- Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes
Nichole, if you are looking for good booties that are easy on the budget, look at dogbooties.com. they have a wide variety of materials & bootie types, most of which are priced at about $2-$3 dollars per bootie.
I bought Star a set of booties years ago when she injured her paw pads, and they worked well. I still use them on occasion, they have held up well. Maybe not quite as pretty as the ones you posted, but a heck of a lot cheaper, and they're durable.
I live on a acreage, 17 km south of Calgary. It's colder here than in town and we have a ton more snow. When its -35oC and the wind chill is in the -40's I wouldn't go out in bare feet and neither do my dogs. They can get frostbite just as easily as us. They need to be able to stay out long enough to do all their potty business comfortably. In fact, I use them at any temp below -15oC to keep their feet safe. I have had frostbite twice before and it is a very unpleasant thaw. I will save my pets from that distress.
I see using the boots as proactive and preventing potential pain for the animal at the frigid temps.
Gayle - self proclaimed Queen of Poop
Mommy to: Cali (14 year old kitten)
(RB furbabies: Rascal RB 10/11/03 (ferret), Sami RB 24/02/04 (dog), Trouble RB 10/08/05 (ferret), Miko RB 20/01/06 (ferret) and Sebastian RB 12/12/06(ferret), Sasha RB 17/10/09 (border collie cross), Diego RB 04/12/21
Exactly. It has nothing to do with unhealthy pads or paws and all about the weather and being proactive in protecting them and making them comforatable. Take today for example. It was cold. And the average bus wait in the snow and ice is 20 minutes. Expecting Sheena to just lay, sit or stand on that with no problems is ludicrous. So I carry a thick small blanket in a water proof bag. I lay that on the ground and she is fine. THis is until I can get the boots. She is comfortable and I don't have to worry about her fur or any other part of her sticking to the ice or snow. I have been complimented for it. One lady today said she wished she thought of carrying a blanket to sit on on the wet snow covered benches lol.
When Nova and Konnor are outside for longer then 5 mins they start holding there paws in the air because there feet are so cold and they start to look miserable. I have been really wanting to get booties for my dogs and I have to say I don't think there is anything medically wrong with there feet. They are lab mixes, it's -3 degrees outside and there is freezing cold snow on the ground. Of course they get cold and need protection from the cold.
Ashley
Dogs: Nova, Konnor and Sitka
I've heard lots of good things about Muttluks, Nicole. Seems that the vast majority of people who have them feel they're worth the money. I'd really like to get a set each for the Tollers, as they have a hard time with the chemicals and such on the roads, and their paws get cold easily running around in the snow. I don't see a problem with getting Sheena boots at all... makes perfect sense to me why you'd want them.
Guess that makes me doubly happy to see how healthy my shepherds leathers are. They will withstand -40 with no problems whatsoever since we get a lot of those low temps out here. Even my son's two borders don't need boots. Counting my blessings here. Our dogs are gone for a 2 hr hike right now and it's -28. But as I said , I don't let them lick their paws if they have trotted on salted roads.
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