dog boots

[silvia]

And here another topic of discussion : )

We plan to drive to Corsica again next summer and last year Oberon was very upset (to say the least..) by the very very  hot sand and hot tarmac in some walks. I have to admit that even for us it was impossible to walk in the sand without sandals in some hours. So ehm  we are considering ehm ... dog boots.. ; )

I have seen many varieties  in internet, and since we will use them for (moderate) hicking we are looking for a good grip but at the same time i wish something that is not lost in the sand or water. Any experience, maybe from other ES members who are doing hicking or agility?

I remember Cornelia had the ruffwear boots for Joy and indeed is one of our first choice, but in a post she said they were a bit uncomfortable near the dew claw, which is not what I would expect for somethiing so expensive.. any ideas ?

Hope you all had a nice Easter break!!

cheers

s

[Howard Glansfield]

I bought some rubber rough soled boots for Arthur when he had had his operation and ,really,they were useless.I got the largest size and they were far too tight.But I bought them off the internet so they had't been tried on.

[Barbara]

Hi Silvia, I have tried many boots, but like this one: Cordura-Booties (www.peershuskyshop.com) not sure if they work for hicking.

[silvia]

Thanks Barbara! Looks indeed as a quick cheap solution, but as you said I am not sure they have enough grip for hicking.. maybe we will try the ruffwear. I am tempted by yours since they seems to cover the dew claw instead of sitting just below it (which may be unconfortable).. Where did you used them? Beach and water?

Howard: thanks as well! I also had a surgery boot for Oberon last year after he got an incision for a seed grass and I can confirm they are useless : ) A sock  worked much better to avoid him to lick the paw and bendage. However i guess they are quite large and not very ergonomic, just meant to cover the bendage.. I hope those meant for walking are better ...

thanks !!!!!!!

[Cornelia]

Hi Silvia,

Yes, you remembered well - we have ruffwear booties. But I also have others with me, when on tour, for you never know, when our beloved red fur bundle steps into the next problem! I usually have a pair of 'tappies' with me:

They are soft and reasonable in prize and you can get a bandaged paw easily and without pain into that bootie. They often are (sort of) neoprene but they are not for hiking or for going into the water. I use them for protection for very small wee walks and to hinder Joy to pull the bandage off.

I also have two normal booties with me, that are closed with a zipper AND a velcro strap. Joy easily opens the velcro and pulled the tappies without zipper off!! 

They have a good grip but are tight (and need to be tight) - so we use them when the paw is not heavily bandaged to protect the paw from further damage. I would not go into the water with those either...

The ruff wear booties can be used for hiking and in the snow - I never tested them in water - I think the water will get in anyway and the wet paw can get an irritation because of the boots and the sand… they actually look quite familiar to the ones above, except that the grip is quite different - more like hiking boots:

The dew claw only became a problem after three days of hiking 6-8 hours! The velcro strap needs to be fixed tight and so the claw, pressed to the paw, is causing an irritation to the paw after a while. This can be hindered by softening the edge with a nail file, putting a small wrapping / bandage / plaster round the paw underneath the dew claw or pulling a sock underneath the claw (I heard some people do that / in winter).

I wouldn't worry too much about the claw but rather see that you get the correct size. It is expensive, when they are too large and Obi looses them on the first walk… but yes, they are recommendable for walking on rough ground, hot sand, iron stairs a.s.on. Also let Obi do some test walks before - Joy walks like a stork during the first few minutes and it is always such a funny sight. Ever so often my tummy hurts from laughing. Should make a video once :-))). But after that, she runs and pulls like always...

Best wishes and have a nice time in Korsika! C & J xxx

PS forgot to mention that all those booties cover the dew claw - like the one's Barbara mentioned - none of them 'sits' below the dew claw...

[silvia]

Thanks Cornelia! wow, how many shoes for Joy : )

she needs them with all the active travelling and hiking :

Thanks for the advise, I am a bit confused since it looks as none of these two kind of shoes is good for the beach..

maybe we can have a trial with the ruffwear (which hopefully are not too tight  as the others ) and remove them if we stop for a while to rest and sunbath and Oberon goes in the water  . I dont expect he will wear them all day long,  maybe he can have them on  just for those part of the walks when there is hot sand or tarmac.

> closed with a zipper AND a velcro strap. Joy easily opens the velcro and pulled the tappies without zipper off!!

ha ha ha !!!!! that made me laughing :  )))

[Cornelia]

:-))) Yea, that actually looked very sweet one time on holidays: I put the tappies on to protect e semi-healed wound from getting dirty on the first and last wee wee walk and each time, when we got back to the holiday flat and I took my shoes off, she sat down as well and opened the velcro and pulled her 'shoes' off :-))). Clever girl!!

You're right, Joy has a lot of shoes and wore many until they broke! I don't know how often, she had a wound, stepped into something, once lost a nail and so on... and she mostly only wears them, when she has a wound! Also on that hiking (or actually trekking) trip, I mentioned above with 6-8 hours daily, she had a bandaged paw. And now in Sardinia, she had a narrow but two cm long tear on arrival!! So first thing, I did was bandaging up a bleeding paw :-((. Typical!! :-))

[Eva]

Joy the Imelda Marcos of doggie- Switzerland:)