Does your dog wear Booties?

Recently Jack was diagnosed with arthritis in his front paws.   We have tried many different medical modalities and supplements and I honestly think they have all helped but what we found that has worked the best are booties!  Many dogs put 60% of their weight in the front paws, for this reason and because Jack only limps on his front paws, we only wear the booties on the front paws and that works for us.   You can monitor your dog and see what works for you!

In next week’s Tuesday Tips, we will share what supplements that we have tried but we wanted to share with you all of the different booties that we have tried and how they have worked for us in hopes that maybe they will help for your pup as well!

Pawz Rubber Booties:   A great bootie for the hot sand or icy sidewalks are the PAWz booties.  We discovered these last year when the sand was extremely  hot at the beach.  These booties work great because your pup can go from running on the sand to swimming in the water and the booties will stay on! Jack walks completely fine in these booties, no booty dance at all!

Pros:  Very inexpensive, disposable, and not extremely hard to put on if your dog is tolerant.  Great for the water and would probably work well in the snow.

Cons:  They are a little tight on the legs so you would not want to wear for extended periods.  We have hiked in these booties but noticed that Jack’s paws were very wet afterwards so he must have been sweating in them. (dogs sweat through their paws)   They don’t breath real well.

Woodrow Wear Power Paws:  These booties are like slippers! They fit snug and are very soft with traction on the bottom.  They are super easy to put on and Jack does not mind them at all.  They are great for any slippery surface because of the  traction on the bottom.  They would work well in the house on tile or or on hot sidewalks.  I think the softness of the bootie feels good on his feet.   He can walk completely fine in them.

Pros:  Inexpensive, easy to put on and very soft with traction on the bottom.

Cons:  These booties do not work well for hiking, water or snow.  We were desperate and tried them and they were shredded at the end of the hike.  (as you can see in the photo on the right paw) 

Looking Good Fleece Booties:  We have been wearing these booties lately and they work great! They are super easy to put on and Jack seems to love them.  He walks and runs fine in them.  They are not form fitting but they are super soft and they have a non-slip traction pad on the bottom.  They are held on with velcro straps to they are not too tight on his legs.  We have hiked, ran stairs and taken walks on the wood chips and they seem to hold their own.

Pros:  Super cheap!  VERY easy to put on! They stay on without being too tight on his legs.

Cons:  Would not work in water and have no support at all so may not work on super rocky terrain.  Would not be good for the snow as they would get wet and be cold.

Looking Good Nylon Booties:  Jack loves these booties once they are on.  He does not like the process of putting them on.  They are not super hard but he just can be impatient sometimes.  We have hiked in the water and on trails with these booties and they worked  well.  He went from limping along on the trail to running once I put these booties on him!  They have a solid bottom and are vinyl so they withstand the water.  They are held on with a velcro strip in the back and one around the leg.   I did notice that they are fraying a little after just a couple of hikes so may not last long!

Pros:  Cheap!  Not super hard to put on.  They seem to stay on pretty well although when we were hiking along a stream and Jack was going from water to trail, they did fall off a few times.  They are breathable.

Cons:  May not hold up for an extensive, serious hike.  Probably wouldn’t keep paws warm & dry in the snow.

Ruffwear Dog Boots:  Disclaimer:  We have the 2014 edition of these booties and they have updated them since then.  Jack hates these booties because they are very hard to put on.  We had to get the XS ones to fit his paw but they are super tight to put on.  Once they are on, they seem to work really well.  They are super durable and stiff for great support on his paws.  He has hiked in them on rocks and through snow and even though they are tight, they still fell off.   It looks like the newer versions are easier to put on.  Because they are so stiff, he does do the booty dance when first on but he seems to get used to them.

Pros:  Great support.  Waterproof so great for the snow.

Cons:  Pricey to Very expensive.  Hard to put on.  They fall off.

Kurgo Dog Booties:  To be honest, we have never wore these booties outside because Jack can not walk in them.  Even though we got the XXS, they are huge on Jack.  I think these booties may work well for larger dogs because they are big and come high up on the legs.

Pros:  Super durable.  Waterproof.  Very supportive.  Very breathable.  Light up so you can see them at night.

Cons:  Pricey.  Very big for small dogs.

Purchasing booties for your dog can be a personal process, depending on what you want to use them for.   The super cheap ones may not hold up long and probably won’t work for extensive hiking.  For us, the ease of putting them on is a huge factor especially since Jack’s paws are tender because of his arthritis.

Booties are helping us to get back to our active life and so are the supplements that I am giving him so stay tuned for next week’s Tuesday tips for that post!

Have you tried booties and if so, what brand and how have the worked for you?  We would love to hear!