About Dog Booties/Shoes

Dog Booties, that are the correct type and size can be very important for Working Dogs and or dogs that have injuries to their feet. However, Dog Shoes for Fashion may well INJURE your dogs feet, joints, and or bones. The booties in this photo are the correct type of booties for a Dog to wear.

I was appalled in 10/2013 when I saw, on a show called "The Dr.s" a so called "Specialist", I believe they said he was a Veterinarian, that was showing <read selling> Dog Booties, or as they called them "Shoes" or "Sneakers" for dogs. He did not know about sizing, or that you should NEVER put only one bootie on a dog, or that snug fitting is important! Some "Expert". They went on to say how wonderful these are for dogs with Hip dysplacia and other bone problems. This is NOT true! Further, the set of "shoes" they had to demo DID NOT FIT THE DOG they had wear one.

I was more appalled when I looked on line and saw all the different ridiculous dog shoes for sale.

First of all, a dog is a dog is a dog! God made their feet really really tough for all terrain. God made their toenails sit on their feet as he did for a purpose! Shoes for dogs are not something a dog needs and can actually HURT their feet and joints and bones.

When a Working Dog needs to wear booties, like out on a rough sled dog trail, or working on gravel, or hunting in briars, Service or dogs that PERFORM Rescues, like looking for people after an Earth Quake, they need a good bootie that fits correct and flexes with their foot in all the directions their feet flex.

The toenails need to be (trimmed first) fitted into the booties and tucked in with a person fingers down into the front of the bootie. The bootie needs to have a enough velcro around the band so that it can be shut snug with no velcro showing, but also none hanging loose. You do not want the velcro to hang or not be covered, so that the dogs hair is not pulled by it, nor can the velcro be pulled off by the dog or other items it might walk past and brush up against.

The booties need to be simple with few stitches, that might aggravate the dog's foot. The bootie needs to fit just up to the ankle and no higher. Any lower, it would not close correctly, any higher can hurt the dog's ankle and or movement. Impeding the movement of the ankle can irritate the dog's leg and even stretch the muscles and or tendons at that joint.

If you boot one foot, front or back, boot the other foot opposite from the injured foot. This way the dog will continue to move, walk or run, evenly on it's body. If you only put on booty on a dog, it will walk differently, much like a limp. This twists the dog's body as well as puts more weight on the unbootied foot than the other. Use the same type, same age (not one worn down and the other new), on the dog at the same time. This way, again, the dog will not throw it's weight to one side or the other.

INJURIES DOG BOOTIES MIGHT CAUSE

DOG BOOTIES CAN CAUSE A GREAT DEAL OF DAMAGE TO A DOGS FEET, TOES, ANKLES, MUSCLES, BONES....

IF THE BOOTIES IS NOT PUT ONTO THE DOGS FOOT CORRECTLY, IF THE DOG'S TOENAILS ARE LEFT LONG, IF THE BOOTIES FIT IS INCORRECT, IF A PERSON ONLY PUTS ONE BOOTIES ON RATHER THAN ONE ON EACH SIDE, IF THE BOOTIES IS PUT ON TOO TIGHT, OR NOT TIGHT ENOUGH, IF THE DOG IS NOT TRAINED TO WEAR THEM AND HAS THEM PUT ON BEFORE A RUN PULLING A SLED OR RIG OR..., IF THE DOG IS BACKPACKING AND IS NOT TRAINED TO WEAR THE BOOTIES....

The list goes on....

I have seen dogs with Injuries such as...

Toes with torn Toenails, because the toenails were left long on the bootied foot, and the toes were not tucked into the Bootie. <ouch!>

Dogs that limped with leg injuries because of not being trained to wear the bootie before wearing the to work in.

Dogs limping because of ill fitting booties or booties with too much "cutsie" on them; that is too many seams within the bootie to rub the foot while the foot is in motion.

The Very Popular <rolls eyes> Sores between toes, from ill fitting, usually tight, or toes not tucked properly into the booties. These can range from the dog has a slight limp and it hurts to the touch, to out and out bleeding/scabs type SORES between the toes.

I have seen dogs with leg injuries, muscle usually from not having a booty on each foot, that is on both the sides, front or back, and moving to compensate.

I have seen people put "odd pairing" booties onto a dog's feet and wonder why the dog is "not moving correctly". It feels odd to the dog, and it will move3 accordingly.

Velcro left too short, with the hard side showing WILL pull dog hair. This does not sound like a big deal to some people, til their dogs are sore and HATE seeing a bootie come at them.

Hard Velcro around the top of Dog Booties can and will hurt when worn and wear sores on the dog's ankles.

this list could go on.....

The point is, most dogs do NOT need Dog Booties. If you are not running your dogs for 6 or more hours in front of a sled on sharp snow....

If you do NOT know proper Dog Booty fit and proper ways to put them on the dog's feet...

THEY (dogs and their owners) WOULD BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THE DOG BOOTIES.

The Dog Shoes below should not be worn by dogs, these below can cause serious injury to the dog's feet, joints and bones.

By using these new cutesy booties a dog's foot or feet can be inured from improper fitting and the way the shape of the booties are made. Other ways these cutesy dog shoes can hurt your dogs body.....zippers can pull the dog's hair, the ties can get the booties too tight and cut off circulation, plastics can add sweat/moisture to the dog's feet making them not only slippery inside the shoe, but also cause irritation between toes.

Dog Toenails were not meant to be placed inside a dog booty. First of all I can not stress enough how important it is to keep your dog's toenails trimmed. If you have the wrong type, the cutesy type, of dog booties on your dog's feet, their toenails can and will be stressed to the point of hurting them, pushing and pulling the nails around the shoe with each movement. This injury is not one that will stop once the booties are off the feet. This type of injury is going to hurt the dog for up to weeks.

Dew Claws, those little toes above a dog's foot, to the inside of the leg, that grow a nail, are usually removed in Working Dogs. Most people that have Sled Dogs remove the Dew Claws specifically for the problems that can arise with them when Booties are put on a dog. The booty should rise above the Dew Claw, this means the booty will be snug around it. With some movement the Dew Claw will move around under the booty and rub the leg, making both the leg and the Dew Claw sore. If the nail is long on the dew claw inside a booty, the nail might just cut the leg as the dew claw moves inside the bootie.

The worse, the very worse, the most likely to harm or injure your dog, the Dog Sandal! How stupid these are!

Everything about them says injury for a dog's foot/feet! Not only do these hold the foot all wrong for the dog's movements, these shoes will let and hold in rocks, mud or anything else from the surface that might harm your dog's foot.

These shoes will surely hurt the dog's toenails, there is no way these shoes can fit right and hold the toenails as they should be held in a good booty. To top that off, the dog could surely step into the shoe of another foot it is walking in and CATCH it's nail within that shoe.

These shoes SHOULD NEVER EVER BE WORN BY A DOG! They are very unsafe!