Booties! For Your Dog

If you live in a hot or cold climate, you should teach your dog to wear dog booties/shoes so they don’t hurt their paw pads when outside. We build up Arrow’s pads, so short trips are not a problem, but the shoes are a necessity here in Florida.

Arrow wearing his Ruffwear boots

There are many different types and styles. We wanted professional quality dog shoes, so we ordered a set from Ruffwear & a set from Muttluks.

Ruffwear Grip Trex are my favorite. Since Arrow’s front feet are larger than his back feet, I ordered them from the online site and bought them individually. The sole is made of vibram, the same thing my five finger shoes use.

I also ordered Bark’n Boot Liners, which I did not care for, they were too tight. Instead, we bought some toddler crew socks from Walmart, which fit Arrow and worked very well. We wanted the socks to protect his front dew claws because of where the shoe hit.

We ordered the Muttluks Hott Doggers. These have a soft bottom and the top is made of fleece. With the temperature in Florida being what it is, I feel that the Ruffwear is a better choice, but I will give the Muttluks a fair chance (just not at Disney).

When Aedan came to Disney with us a couple weeks ago, his owner packed booties she bought at one of the local pet stores. These always came off, and we had people running up to us with one of his booties all the time.

With Bounty, who was with us at Disney this past week, we used baby socks and vet wrap to keep them up. The vet wrap did not last long, and we had to keep going back for his socks. No one brought them to us.

We have Musher’s Secret, a wax that you apply to the pads of your dogs feet. This forms a barrier of protection. We used this with Bounty, Aedan, and Arrow at Disney in the past few weeks, and we will use it with the board & trains and with our personal dogs this summer.

My recommendation is to measure each of your dogs feet and order from Ruffwear or Muttluks. Remember to take into account shipping time, or order with Amazon Prime. A good set of shoes, or a few sets of them, will help your service dog and your pet dog deal with the hot pavement in summer, or the cold in winter. They will also protect your dog if you go hiking in the woods, playing on the beach, or on trails.

Here is a video for when you first put the boots on your dog. Remember, do not laugh at your dog, but tell your dog how fantastic they look. Arrow is very proud of his boots.

Of course, they walk funny their first minute or two in the boots!

Bonus – if your dog is your service dog, you can register at Ruffwear or Muttluks website as a service dog owner. This enables you to receive a nice discount on products you purchase for your service dog.