Just because our dogs have tougher feet than we do, doesn’t mean they don’t sometimes need protection from elements like snow, ice, and heat. But how do you protect your dog’s feet? Dog booties or dog shoes is a great way to help keep their paws safe.
Dog booties are manufactured in the thousands, giving consumers an infinite amount to choose from when shopping for booties. Even though they are available in high numbers in the marketplace, many are ineffective for protection. Some may not protect your dog’s paws at all, or may fall off easily, and aggravate you for many reasons.
There are a number of important factors to consider when choosing boots to protect your dog’s paws, so before you rush for the best looking fancy booties on the shelf, think about your purchase and how it can keep your dog safe and comfortable while riding.
After considering more than two dozen different dog boots, I decided to buy the My Busy Dog Water Resistant Dog Shoes (link to check the price on Amazon) for protecting dog paws. For me, it’s the perfect balance of price and quality. It has many of the features of the high-end shoes with multiple color options, exceeds some tough safety standards, and it looks awesome. I’ve been really happy with it, and I bought two more pairs for my buddy’s dog.
The most important takeaway from this article, I believe, is that I strongly encourage you to not purchase a sub-$20 dog shoe. I tested multiple cheap dog booties trying to save a buck and they just aren’t very good. I bought a cheap one for my dog and it just didn’t have enough quality ventilation to keep him cool while walking outdoors. Also, the cheaper shoes often aren’t as protective and use a thinner outer shell that will wear more quickly.
Why Choose Dog Booties?
The most important reason for dog booties is, of course, to protect your dog’s feet. Outside elements like ice can cut the pads on your dog’s feet, snow can make their feel extremely cold and uncomfortable, and the heat from sand or pavement can burn their tender pads. There are other reasons when purchasing dog booties are considered.
#1 Outdoor Adventures
If you are an outdoors adventurer seeker and your pet is your partner, this is a great reason to get your pup some dog booties. After all, look at your shoes, are they hiking boots or sturdy tennis shoes? Maybe you’re an avid hiker and hitting the woods is what you often do, rugged terrain is rough on your pet’s paws due to the possibility of sharp sticks, or rocks. Instead of risking your pet getting his paw cut on something sharp, investing in a high-quality pair of dog booties can help end this issue.
#2 Senior or Injured Dogs Needing More Traction
As dog’s age so do their feet so they aren’t as tough as they were when they were young. walking in a manicured backyard is fine, but when older dogs are in the house walking across hardwood or tiled floors they may lack traction, booties will help them get more traction in such situations.
This same situation can apply to injured pups or pups that have broken toenails or cracked pads on their paws. Booties offer protection for dogs with injured paws for whatever reason and from infection or a cut they’ve sustained.
#3 For Maintaining a Clean House
Muddy, wet, or snowy paws are a pet owner’s nightmare. Dog booties can help eliminate this problem every time your pet comes in from outside Another option could be a paw washer, but it will not help with slippery floor issues that your dog may face.
#4 To Protect Household Floors
Booties help keep dogs from scratching up floors with their nails. When used for short-term situations like taking them to visit a friend who just had their floors redone, booties are helpful for pets and their owners. Owners avoid embarrassing situations like nails gouging or marking up floors and dogs can avoid getting in trouble with their pet parent or being left home instead of coming with them. In this sense, booties offer pet parents and pets a win-win situation!
#5 Help For Already Injured Paws
Besides offering protection from cuts or injuries, booties can come in handy for an already injured paw. Sometimes our pets still end up with cuts or infection on their paws. This is another reason for the use of dog booties because they help keep the injury clean and dry while it heals up.
Important Factors in Shopping for Booties
You could probably run to the nearest pet store and pick up any pair of booties for your dog. But instead, wouldn’t it be better if you know what factors to look for when deciding? We thought so too, so here are some important factors to look for when shopping for your dog’s booties.
#1 Size
It goes without saying that if you buy the wrong size booties for your dog, they will either fall off or not fit their paws. Finding the right size is pretty simple since manufacturers supply a size chart on the packaging. If you need to measure your dog’s paws, start by tracing their paw onto a piece of paper. This will help you in measuring the length and width of their paws. Once you’ve drawn their paw on the paper, use a ruler to measure length and width.
Don’t be surprised if you find that your dog’s paws measurements are different from each other. Sometimes you’ll see that the front paws and back paws are not the same sizes, which can be inconvenient for buying booties. But, fortunately, there are manufacturers that sell boots in pairs this will allow you to buy different sized pairs for paws.
#2 Shape
Dog booties do come in different shapes an sizes. The most common type found look like socks with ties or straps on them. Others look like boots or sandals. You can find booties that resemble ankle boots or some that are a little higher.
#3 Material
Dog booties come in a variety of materials, the most popular are neoprene, nylon, and rubber. There are some booties that are made out of breathable material. Dog’s sweat through their paws, breathable material helps them to wear their booties longer than non-breathable material. No matter what material you choose for your dog booties, be sure that it is durable so it can offer better protection and longer use.
#4 Use
There are typically five different types of dog boots which will depend on how they are used. These are Indoor boots, Outdoor boots, Hot weather boots, cold weather, and waterproof.
Types of Dog Booties
#1 Indoor booties
Indoor booties are made for indoor use, the equivalent to human slippers or slipper socks. They are made to be softer and more flexible than outdoor booties. Indoor booties are made to help your dog with traction on slippery surfaces, and they help avoid damage to your floors. If you prefer to use socks, it’s a good idea to use the ones that have rubber grips on the bottom, like the ones you get from a hospital.
#2 Outdoor booties
Unlike indoor booties, these are made for the outside. Their material depends on the reason for their usage. Outdoor booties are made specifically to protect paws from rough terrain, snow, sleet, ice, and other outdoor elements that could harm your dog’s paws. Their soles are more durable and made to be stronger.
#3 Hot weather booties
In the summer months, hot asphalt, hot sand, and hot cement can cause damage to your pet’s paws, especially if they are exposed to them often. Most of the booties made for hot weather are made of breathable material and can be worn even when the temperatures soar outside.
#4 Cold weather booties
Extra protection is needed for dog’s paws in the winter months. Not only can snow and ice harm their paws, but rock salt can cause injuries as well, and it’s dangerous if ingested when they lick their paws. With young dogs or puppies, take extra care when the freezing temperatures of snow can harm their more delicate paws. High quality, weather, and water resistant booties offer the protection they’ll need from the harmful elements.
#5 Waterproof booties
Think of waterproof dog booties being the same as our human rain boots. These keep your dog’s paws dry and protected. Many dogs will walk right through a water puddle without a second thought, with waterproof booties they can walk through as many as they want and not worry about trekking water into the house when finished walking or playing.
Tips for Keeping Them On
So you’ve bought some functional and new booties for your furbaby, but how do you keep them from falling off? All dog parents wonder this when considering booties for their dog. Unlike humans, dogs can’t tighten their laces or tighten the velcro on their booties.
Even if you are unsure of the correct size to buy, there are a couple of ideas to help keep the booties in place and on paws where they belong.
First, make sure the booties you buy fit snugly. Chances are that if you get some booties that are even a little loose, Fido will fling them away because they can.
The second idea is to consider using velcro. Some booties come with velcro straps, these are the best type to buy. If not, you can buy velcro at your local craft store and put them on yourself.
Final Thoughts
To recap a bit of the information we’ve shared here with you, safety is a top priority when considering booties for your dog. We, as pet parents, want what is best for our pets. Just because dogs have tougher feet than we do, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do as much as we can to keep their paws protected.
With the number of items available to you in the marketplace, we understand it can be confusing as to which products are the best. Hopefully, we have given you the insight you need to buy the best product for your pets.
The most important factors to keep in mind when buying dog booties are size, shape, material, and what they are being used for. Since all dogs are different, be sure to see to their comfort when they wear their new booties. They probably will not be happy with them at first, or ever depending on their preferences. Dog booties shouldn’t be restrictive to your dog and keep in mind the type of fabric or material they are made from. Consider purchasing the booties from a manufacturer that offers a return policy or refund for unsatisfactory products.
The dog booties you buy must be able to protect your pet’s paws giving you the satisfaction to know that you are striving to make your pet’s needs a high priority. Walks runs, and adventures are fun and exhilarating, not dangerous for our fur babies.
