Printable View
So I've been touring with my dog, a little collie sheppard cross, and was wondering if anyone has any experience using any kind of dog footwear in the snow. Considering the ruff wear booties, however I would like to know if anyone has used them with their dog and if they stay on. Or if there is anything else you use to prevent the paw ice ball? Any help appreciated.
We actually tried using dog boots on our golden retriever and they never worked right. We tried multiple brands, and none of them came really even close to fitting his paws. Our dog also suffers with paw ice balls all winter, and we were hoping the boots would help him out, but we could barely even get them on his feet, and he refused to walk in them. That said, they may end up working on your dog with smaller feet, but my experience with dog boots was not exactly a positive one.
I have the ruff wears for my border collie and one came off within the first mile of a run. I strapped them one tight after that and he refused to move after another minute. They're going back to the store.
Our golden has the granite gear booties. They have almost a sock and come up much higher, never had a problem, but they do not have the cool vibram sole the ruff wear ones did. I'll probably pick these up for the collie.
Neither of my dogs mind wearing them. Oreo (collie) marches like he's in the band until he starts running and then he forgets they're there. They're the only way the dogs will come on the ice when we skate and it stops them from running with one paw in the air on those frigid days.
the trick we found was that you need to put them on right before you do something fun, then they forget they are on fairly soon.
we bought our booties from dogbooties.com, they used to be a lot cheaper, but you can easily make them yourself with a little bit of sewing. sure they don't have fancy soles or anything, but you don't really need them.
i would avoid the fleece ones, they sucked, and tore the first time out. i like the softshelly type ones with the stretch velcro
Duck Tape
We've had ok luck using an athletic tape wrap around the sock part of the booties to keep them on...
I've heard of people using vasaline on their dog's paws to keep ice from building up, but I've never tried it.
Best to get the dog out a lot so his feet are used to the snow. Carry a set or some duct tape in case he gets too sore. There is a product dog sledders use that I have seen on line, but can't remember where. Can't say I see a lot of sled dogs here in southern California. but I do see a lot of sore pawed dogs, and it is usual just a lack of training/conditioning of the paws.
x2. Even worked on our skinny legged greyhound. Kept the snow out a bit better than without it too (a poor dog's gaiter?).Quote:
Originally Posted by sfotex
We used the ruff wear with great success during summer while hiking the PCT section in the Sisters but for some reason they came off his paws when we tried them during last winter. Lost two of em in the pow.
The Ruff brand worked fine for our 2 Goldens, and then our Lab. We have used a bunch of other brands also. Yes, the fleece ones are worthless. The main thing is to get the velcro strap as tight as possible around their legs. Probably getting the right size matters also. It was fine after that, but athletic tape is a great idea. The Goldens needed the things in the winter, but we used the booties for the Lab on long, sharp rocked mountain bike rides too. The Lab hated having them put on, but once they were there, he was faster with them. Now with our cattle dog, we've given them away to my brother-in-law with the goldens, which have the snow-matted-between-the-toes issue.
you can always get one of those tiny hair trimmers they sell and keep the hair between his paws nice and trim, i wouldn't use scissors since you risk cutting his feet.
i have also heard of using pam type spray.
i think using vet wrap tape would work better than athletic tape as it is less likley to cut off circulation
yeah this dog loves the snow and goes haywire when it is time to ski. Sounds like it may be a combo of ruff ware with a tape wrap around the paw. we are in canada and the dog has no problem with cold paws usually. she is ore than happy to run around outside for a couple hours.
thanks for all the replies
I was just going to post the same questions after taking my dog touring yesterday for the first time.
I've looked through the 3 options mentioned here and I think the granite gear ones look pretty solid, but I'm not sure whether the winter or summer boots would be better.
The sole on the mush booties has skin material on the bottom which seems like it could be gimmicky, or really helpful. They also come in pairs so it might be more beneficial to have a pair of each. Any thoughts or experience to share?
i've tried a few different brands, both seemed to come off her within the first 5 minutes. i think if they were built to go up higher on the leg they would work much better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hutash
Quote:
Originally Posted by crackboy
Take him out a lot. Get his paws tough. Pam cooking spray helps with the snow.