A Question For Dog Owners

I have seen and heard of Dog booties. Has anyone ever used them? Do those of you who bring Dogs in the winter equip them with these boots or a sweater?

Marley (my Dog) did not do that much winter hiking last year as he was quite young. This summer he has completed 43 of the 4000' in NH. I know his paws are tough enough for the trails but does he need boots or a sweater in winter? His Mother was a pure bred Black Lab and Dad was a pure bred Husky.

Thanks, He is my best friend and I want him to enjoy the woods this winter.

We don't ...

but if you're gonna' use the booties have more than one set along. They get lost all the time. Definitely check them out around home before hittin' the trail. Most dogs just get down and tear them off.

I think, and this is just my opinion, that the best way to handle it is just pay constant attention to the dog. If they're lifting paws off the ground like a lizard on hot sand then their paws are too cold. If they're stopping and chewing at their paws then there is ice building up between the pads. Both of these signs would probably mean we turn around.

We use Musher's Secret:

http://www.amazon.com/Mushers-Secre...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1227393768&sr=8-1

Works great, but carry it with you and re-apply when needed.

As far as a sweater goes I would lean more towards a Gore-tex jacket to keep him dry. His fur will keep him warm. From the sounds of his mix I would guess he has a thick, if not double-coat. A sweater might get soaked and freeze. A Gore-tex jacket will keep him dry when brushing through wet snow laden branches, or when the snow is deep enough to come up to his belly.

KDT

JMHO, but a Lab/Husky cross that has done 43/48 is probably fit enough and sound enough that he'll do just fine in most winter conditions, without benefit of booties, coat, or sweater. Hydration is really the big thing to watch for, as it will be harder for him in winter to get the water he needs if he's not adept at snow snacking. Bring warm water to mix with food for a midday broth, or the means to make it, if he doesn't take care of this on his own.

As mentioned, watch for feet lifting. A dog needs to warm up and get moving to get the blood flowing to the extremities. The most hazardous time for frostbitten feet is probably right out of the vehicle at the trailhead on a subzero day, while you're putzing with gear and clothing or just starting out on the trail. The other hazardous time is above treeline in a wind. At the first sign of slowing, lethargy, or shivering, stop and evaluate your dog's condition. He will want to keep going to keep up with you past the point where he's feeling ill effects from the cold, so it's up to you to monitor him.

Booties are used by mushers for a couple of reasons. Many of the racing sled dogs actually have relatively poor hair coats and thinly-furred feet and need help staying warm. (They're bred these days for speed and endurance, not their capacity to haul a heavy freight sledge across the Yukon as in the old days. You'd be amazed how small and skinny an Iditarod dog is, if you ever saw one.) The other reason for booties is the long and hard miles -- Iditarod dogs commonly do a hundred miles in a 24 hour day. If you do get booties, get them from a musher's supply. Almost everything else is inferior for the task, in my experience. SAR dogs rarely use them, but I have had them in the pack "just in case."

I have used boots for our dog before. They work really well to keep the snow and ice off their paw hair. I've used the ones that come half way or so up the dogs leg, with a grippy rubber on the bottom (I hear they have ones with Vibram now). I would say they're a very important part of winter dog gear, yet not totally essential. They will keep the dog from gnawing on their paws every 100 feet or so. on steeper terrain I've had to take the boots off, though, so that he could grip the snow and ice better.

I don't know about a sweater. I've never used one for our dog but then again he has really thick hair. They might be better for a dog with less hair. As stated before, just watch how the dog behaves. They may be normal and happy, but still be quite cold. One of my friends dogs did contract frostbite, so it's a possibility.

My black lab used them on occasion, in winter and non-winter. I put them on her a few times in the Presidentials...she did a few cuts on one trip after I put them on too late.

In the winter, she wore them more often than not. Especially if really cold. I brought 8 booties, and by the time her hiking days ended I ended up with a total of 4-5 between the two sets I started with.

We didn't have much luck with Musher's Secret. I helped to keep the snow balling on her fur, but I could tell when her paws were cold and I didn't think it helped much for that.

As for a sweater, again I put one on her occasionally. I found an orange nylon vest that was fleece-lined in some hunting catalog. It's good for hunting season, but it also was her winter coat in windy conditions. When camping, I got another, thicker fleece-jacket to make her a bit warmer around camp.

Vibram soles

We have a set with thick vibram soles that we tried on our Lab for winter hiking. She has her 4K patch and about 30 winter 4k's. She really lost all her traction and we felt it was too dangerous to keep them on her in icy conditions. Maybe if we could turn them into screw boots we would try again. She has very tough pads from all the hiking she does so we just keep a good eye on her and we'll turn around if it looks like she is getting too cold. We have had to turn around but that was from her body getting cold, not her feet. She now has a very good heavy fleece lined nylon jacket that works real well for below zero temps and/or above treeline. When it's not too cold or during hunting season she wears her orange vest. A musher friend of ours told us that the generic desitin works just as good as mushers secret and is easily bought at the grocery store. I carry a tube in my pack to reapply . It helps to prevent the ice/snowballs that build up between her toes. On occasion I just take off my gloves and hold her foot and the heat from my hand melts the snow very quickly. Cinder lets us know when she is cold/tired by sitting in the path and stopping everyone's progress.

That is a great point about how slippery they are, and one I had forgot about it. They did become harder to grip in icy conditions, so we would usually use the boots lower or in snow.

The only time our previous Lab had any paw trouble was in spring snow, that sharp crystalline variety that's like crushed ice. Also, we'd occasionally have balling up of wet heavy snow that booties would have helped. Even the nasty rock in the Presidentials didn't faze her.

Same with Genie, who is now four, Yesterday she had a solo adventure (see separate thread) and was out in the cold, snow, and wind for 12 hours. When we finally got her back, she looked remarkable, although apparently dehydrated (nearly a quart of water was drunk).

The above posts are pretty much right on. I always carry booties in case of an injury, but rarely have put them on my dogs. My Airedale Duffy did a lot of winter hiking and never hurt a paw. As was mentioned above, when I tried them out on him they would come off. If you want them to stay on you pretty well would have to tape them on. Muttluks (or however they are spelled) seem to stay on better, but they are much more expensive. I personally feel that a dog needs his claws for traction just as much as we need extra traction on snow and ice, so I didn't like to put them on. It is necessary to clean out the ice balls from time to time. The Iditarod dogs, by the way, do not scale cliffs and ledges like our dogs do.

Duffy never got cold, (even at -40 windchill on Mt. Washington) so I didn't carry a jacket or any thing like that for him. I do carry a good fleece jacket for Lauky and if I ever saw he was getting cold I would use it. It hasn't been necessary yet, but we'll see how he does. He has the same coat as Duffy but is much smaller (Welsh Terrier) so I'm watching him closely these days as the weather gets colder.

We've got Ruffwear Vibram booties (thanks again, DaveBear!) --haven't tried them yet but think we will use them in areas like the Presis where the rock piles can do a number on paws, especially in summer when the rock surfaces are hot.

For winter we use Musher's Wax -- it wears off in about a mile or so -- but it keeps the snow out and doesn't hinder traction.

Thanks

I have decided to carry them (boots and sweater) as a precaution. I have been watching his behavior in the snow closely. He loves the snow and rolls around in it like a madman. He seems to enjoy cold weather more than warm weather. Kevin, Judy and Emma, thanks for the suggestion to try them out around the house. Due to my location though, around the house are the mountains we hike (less than 20 mins. to Franconia or Crawford Notch). So it will be tested in the woods prior to him actually NEEDING to use them..

Thank you all for the much needed information. I am doing this for Marley, so he can obtain maximum comfort while walking in the woods.

bandana4me said:

I have decided to carry them (boots and sweater) as a precaution. I have been watching his behavior in the snow closely. He loves the snow and rolls around in it like a madman. He seems to enjoy cold weather more than warm weather. Kevin, Judy and Emma, thanks for the suggestion to try them out around the house. Due to my location though, around the house are the mountains we hike (less than 20 mins. to Franconia or Crawford Notch). So it will be tested in the woods prior to him actually NEEDING to use them..

Thank you all for the much needed information. I am doing this for Marley, so he can obtain maximum comfort while walking in the woods.

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One more thing my friend. Just be warned that Marley may not like the booties at first. Whenever we put them on our dog for the fist time in the winter, he always hops around all funny and sort of tries to shake them off. After a few minutes he becomes used to them, and all is well. Just thought I'd let you know.

bandana4me said:

So it will be tested in the woods prior to him actually NEEDING to use them...

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You definitely want him to get used to them before he really needs them.

This anecdote has no bearing on all the marvelously adventurous dogs who accompany hikers on this forum, but it's kind of funny in retrospect: in 1994, we adopted a three-year-old retired racing greyhound, Dale. He was a splendid hound: big, tall, strong... only dog I ever saw with a well-developed set of buttocks. Not surprising, I suppose, he was a professional athlete and all that.

Well, Dale had a couple of significant weaknesses: he hated cold. He hated wind. And he really hated snow. Unfortunately for him, at the time, we lived on a small hillock overlooking Boston Harbor that was notably cold, windy, and some years, snowy. This resulted in innumberable agonizing late-night walks, dragging Dale mercilessly up and down the hill, trying to find a spot on the lee where he would finally drop his tail and dump. He would sooner have exploded than take a chance, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, back to your thread: my mom took pity on Dale and bought him a very fancy, very expensive set of booties to go with the heavy fleece track-coat he wore in cold weather. One cold, snowy morning, I bent down and carefully tied on all four booties and lead him outside. What ensued was high dog comedy, as he spent the next 10 minutes trying to violently shake all four feet -- simultaneously -- to get the booties off his feet, while I tried to get him to move forward toward the pooping grounds. If he could have levitated, he would have. Oh, and I never succeeded in getting the booties back on him again -- and he lived to the ripe old age of 15, the last several of which were in very snowy, very windy, very cold New Hampshire.

So yes, take the time to let your pup get used to the booties, preferably in a relaxed setting!

Definately get used to them before, but don't be suprised if you have more success in the woods vs. at home. I couldn't get her used to them at home. However, in the woods, I put them on her and started walking. She had not choice but to keep up with me. It is funny to put them and she wouldn't put her paw down. One paw = OK;...two paws = a bit more difficult;...three paws = pretty funny;...four paws = downright hilarious.

From the "guns, dogs, and bikes" department:

I use a wrap of tape (hockey/medical tape) around the 'ankle' of the bootie, which serves pretty well to keep the boots on, even when he's postholing. My primary reason for using the boots is to prevent snow from balling between his toes, which causes him to stop walking, gnaw on his feet, and generally refuse to move -- even when deep in the woods. Note that the boots I have (the Granite Gear ones, with G3 skin fabric on the bottom) are not great for pure ice (e.g. extensive pond crossings) or steep ledges because they prevent claws from engaging. They do, however, protect the toes from snowballing.