Has anyone used Dog boots? I have Pawz boots, but they do not come up Annie's leg far enough. She has a problem with her paws at the moment and I don't like to take her out in all the water and mud. Trying very hard to keep her front paws dry . She is on Prednicare and cephcare from the vet.
This is why I love the Forum. Where else could my in-depth knowledge of doggie shoes come in handy? I got Ruff Wear Grip Tex boots for Brogan and he used them for years. I'd read they used them in the US military for working dogs on hot sand and they had a good track record. I recommend using them with the little socks RW also sells - never had an issue with them coming off and getting lost plus Brogan seemed fine walking all day in them. Most dogs will walk very oddly while getting used to wearing them. Brogan did great with one or two (no learning curve) but when we went to four, he had a real hitch in his get-along for a while!
I brought some from pets at home and they were OK for a short walk, but would slip off if going further.
They just go around their ankles...definitely more shoes than boots. I think the socks are the key to no slippage. Brogan definitely could go all day and then some and I still have his original four shoes after five years of use. Yes, it seems goofy to put socks on a dog, but apparently they serve a purpose.
You do need the socks - these boots are quite roughly finished inside. Not like human shoes. We found that the socks slip down and bunch up inside the boot though...so we had to tape the socks on with a bit of medical paper tape (taped round the sock above the ankle, not taped to the skin). We had them for our old doggie so he didn’t slip and also to stop him hurting his toes from dragging his feet. Still got his collection sitting on a shelf...
Here’s Obi modelling the Ruffwear Grip Trex boots. He hates them, so much cheese died for these pics...
He needed the boots daily. We needed enough pairs so we could wash them and still have dry sets. He only wore two at a time.
That's funny, I never washed Brogan's a single time. Difference between a lab and a dirt-mud-wet-adverse Rottie, I guess!
We didn’t wash them because of mud though. It was because of sweat. They get smelly if you don’t wash them. Brogan must have had exceptional paw hygiene Our boy Nicolae was 14 when he had these boots and his mud days were behind him, sadly. He was too wobbly. It was all solid, dry surfaces only at that age...
Or maybe I just have an exceptionally malfunctioning sense of smell? That happens when you live with big farty dogs for 20 years.
He says that you’re welcome, Cath. He got cheese, so it’s all ok It’s tricky to manage when paws have to be kept dry and clean. We had a similar situation with Obi a couple of years ago and I ended up making a boot out of neoprene and also a leather one.. I’ll try to find the thread on it as people had useful suggestions.
Here’s the thread about our sore paw and boot trials and tribulations... https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/obi-has-a-sore-foot.11409/
I have no idea how they are....but here a link to doggy boots. They also have different shoes! https://www.medpets.nl/hondenlaars+buster/
Our experience was that the best way to get the dogs to accept them, was to put them on and immediately go for a walk. That way they didn't have chance to sit around and chew on them. They would walk kind of funny for a few moments, but it would pass quickly. We don't use them normally, but wanted to make sure that we could if a dog got a paw injury on a hike. Our friends Samoyed some times wore them because they got snowballs building up between their toes. I don't really understand why a dog bred to herd reindeer would have more problems in the snow than a Lab.
