Empress Cobaka put a quick end to our walk today by ripping open the side of one of her paws. This is the third time she's ripped open a paw in some way:

1. today's incident of ripping open the side of her right, rear paw
2. front paw, while digging to try to get under a neighbor's fence
3. rear paw, while outside

As such, we've decided that she's going to start wearing boots when we're out walking. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for boots for her?

I think you have to go into a really large pet store and try on different brands to see which brand fits best.

One tip, most dogs hate wearing boots and initially refuse to walk. My late Angel just stood in place as if she was paralyzed and I had to coax her into walking by standing a few feet away from her and tempting her with her favorite treats. Alter a few successful steps she started the process of getting used to the boots. The next step was to play fetch with her while the boots were on. After that was successful we were good to go!

A friend suggested that Pawz seem to work well for her dog, and don't cause a lot of hate and discontent, so I've ordered a package of those, hoping she'll be just fine with them.

I am a bit afraid that Cobaka will refuse to walk in them, but perhaps we'll try them inside first, where we can put them on her, and then ignore her for a while, until she wants attention, when she should just come looking for us.

I'm going to echo what RSSrsvp said. Slowly introduce her to the boots and use some type of reward to get her comfortable. You can also start with just her rear paws. My experience has been that its the boots on the front paws that really throw them off and either have them walking like Clydesdales or trying to rip the boots off. If you can get her playing fetch or chasing a toy in the yard it will really reduce the break-in time.

Also definitely start with the boots being worn indoors where there should be less distractions. @:-)

So my idea of slapping them on all 4 paws and just leaving her figuring she'll move when she wants something is bad?
I figured that if we try putting the boots on her when she's outside, or right before she goes outside, she'll just stand there. She did that for the first few days when she had a splint the first time she shredded a paw, to the point that Mommy or Daddy had to carry a 60 pound dog up and down steps.

I have never met a dog that would say no to their favorite treat. Try using that approach first with the boots on all four paws first and then progress to playing fetch with a treat as a reward next. @:-)

LOL, you've never met Cobaka... She'll turn her nose up at treats.

Are you sure she isn't just a really large cat in disguise?


BTW I never knew until today that they make hiking socks for dogs to wear under their hiking boots. Live and learn.

Cats want to be her.

I didn't realize they made hiking socks for dogs either...

Then you are using the wrong treats!

LOL, we've tried Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried chicken or beef, we've tried Zuke's, and she turns her nose up at them if we're trying to bribe her.

We like Muttluks and those booties that look like actual miniature boots from Korean pet boutiques. The Muttluks are more natural for dogs that are not used to wearing booties as they are really just a rubber and nylon large sock secured with velcro. The actual boot shaped booties or any bootie with an actual rubber sole and rubber treads are harder to fit and harder for the dogs to adjust to.

For the Muttluks, the velcro fastener is supposed to secure tightly over their ankle bone to prevent the bootie from slipping off. The sock part is good for keeping the fur on their hocks up and out of the mud. The easiest way to get these on is to loosen the velcro completely and then flip the sock part inside-out and over the shoe part. Then just slip them on over the dog's foot, flip the socks back up and pull and tighten the bootie making sure the foot is all the way in so the fastener is over the ankle bone. The last part is the most important part as it makes sure you don't loose a bootie along the way.

The only downside to Muttluks is that larger and heavier dogs seem to wear through the soles faster and these are not cheap. I also recommend getting them in a bright obnoxious colour so that they are easier to find if they do fall off.

The Pawz I ordered arrived yesterday, so I tried them. It's definitely a two person job to get her front paws into them, although I did manage to get them onto her back paws. She high-stepped it for a few minutes, but very quickly forgot about them, as she dealt with the excitement of Mr. Kipper arriving home. Perfect timing on his part!

They're enough of a hassle that we'll probably only use them when she's out for a walk, and we'll probably pick up something more like real boots at a later date.

<tee hee hee >

This cat owner is trying to imagine putting those on my pets. We have enough fun putting on their Cat Snuggies for winter travel.