Dog Boots

[Bonny]

Has anyone had experience with dog boots? My old dog Bob has been having problems walking on the snow & it crusts up in his paws. He is 14 years old & needs to go for his exercise everyday. We walk out in the woods & farm fields so it is not like walking on a shoveled sidewalk. Any help would be appreciated.

[Corinna]

Glacier should be the one to ask as she has sled dogs in the NW region of Canada .

[cyber-sibes]

Hi Bonny, yes, i bought dog booties for Star last year when she injured a paw. This place sells them very reasonably and will give you recommendations on the type that would be best for your needs -
http://www.dogbooties.com/index.html
Here is Star modeling, once she got used to them she didn't mind at all.

[Glacier]

Glacier should be the one to ask as she has sled dogs in the NW region of Canada .

I actually don't routinely use booties on my sled dogs. Pingo wears them occasionally, but that's because her gait is all messed up and she wears the sides of her front pads off. I use them for dogs with any kind of paw injury though while they are recovering.

I'd suggest buying cheap fleece ones and several pairs of them. No matter how tight you put them on, they will fall off! If you have any mushers in your area, go walk where they run their teams. You'll likely find booties! That's how I get most of mine! I've only ever bought them for Founder when his pad was ripped...he has massive paws!

[Love4BCs]

Try getting some Muttluks. I wanna get some for Mickey.

But the cheap fleece ones WE had last year were great. Didn't fall off very much. Only about 5 times from December - March.

[Kristenthemusher]

For the snow getting in his paws, it helps a lot if you cut the hair down between his pads. I'm not a fan of fleece booties. I picked up a bunch for free on the Irod trail a few years back while heading to our cabin (great place to get free booties. I picked up who knows how many brand-new ones that hadn't been worn). The fleece ones collected snow on the outside and got water like a sponge for me, so I've been sticking with the cordura and nylon ones when I use them. If you're not making them on a large scale, you can probably make some that are fleece lined for extra warmth. It's way cheaper to make them (the "cheap" ones cost $1 apiece, and I've seen them range into the $15-$20 range for 1 set!!!).
Here's some sites I gathered up so that you can get a general idea on how to make them:
http://sunhusky.com/booties/
http://www.uberpest.com/booties.html

[Bigyummydog]

I got MAXIMUS boots for the snow last year. He plays alot longer with
them on. I even thought to put them on him for the hot asphault and
sidewalk this summer. I put my bare feet on the side walk and felt how
hot it really was. His lil', well, big, pads were getting dry and crusty.
I'm going to make him some summer boots for next year. Boots would
be a great idea for BOB. We got ours on EBay for only $5. They were
supposed to be fleece lined, but they were only trimmed with fleece,
which turned out to be ok. And they are water proof.

Don't tell him I'm showing this picture again.

[lv4dogs]

Nanook has some booties. A pair of the cheap fleece ones then a better pair. The cheap fleece ones just didn't have a whole lot of grip on them, they were quite slippery. Both stayed on pretty well though, but then again it's not like he's running through the woods or fields.

[Bonny]

You have all been very helpful. We do walk in the woods & fields here on the farm. Sometimes the snow is light & fluffy & other times it has an icy layer on it. The icy layer is what bothers old Bob. A waterproof boot would be the way to go if possible with some tread on it. One of you posted s site with a pattern to make your own. I have to do some thinking but I bet I could come up with something that would work. I wish we did live in an area where there were mushers & dog trails, here we make our own trails through the woods & fields. I may try clipping the hair that sticks out & gets ice stuck in Bob's paws too. Although that hair has to be there for a reason? I clip the hair along the back of his legs because they just get full of ice balls. He sure acts like a young pup when we go for our walkies. It is good to see him bouncing around & feeling good. I just love my old fellow.