Dog hiking shoes

[Chaco Taco]

Starting to look at gear for Grayson. Looked at Ruff wear vibrams for him. The reviews are pretty good. I have also looked at Granite Gears dog booties. Anyone got any recs. Im going to wait a little while because my man is growing very fast.

[Thirsty DPD]

Angus has Ruff Wear vibram, no problems. We use the in winter primarily, they stay on, he has gotten used to them, no hot spots after 8+ miles. You might want to have him wear some old socks, taped on, in the yard to get used to the idea while he's growing. Take video of Grayson's first time in boots, you'll be glad you did.

[ATMountainTime]

My wife bought some for our 93lb Rescue yellow lab, because the steel stairs in some parks really hurt his feet.

What happened after was complete and total comedy, the bucking bronco, then going in circles to get them off...finally we had to come to the decision to not take him places that didn't hurt his feet. sadly that means missing out on some great hikes here.

[saltysack]

Dogbooties.com.....cheap and work well

[Chaco Taco]

Angus has Ruff Wear vibram, no problems. We use the in winter primarily, they stay on, he has gotten used to them, no hot spots after 8+ miles. You might want to have him wear some old socks, taped on, in the yard to get used to the idea while he's growing. Take video of Grayson's first time in boots, you'll be glad you did.

Will do, Im sure it will be comical.

[rocketsocks]

Been watching this thread and have no recommendations, but that 25 years ago I had a Husky (Bandit) and we had some paw sox for him, he use to pull me on ski's through the fire roads of the pine barrens like a champ, not sure what brand they were, but the industry for dogs has gotten so much better as far a gear for dogs goes, I got my shoes from a supplier in Lake Saranac, NY who use to make and sale dog sleds, I've got a catalog around here somewhere, should I find it, I'll list, can't remember for the life of me what there name was...ugh! it was a little orange catalog.

I had steambent some ash to make a sled, still have one of the pieces (ski runner) but abandoned the project and used the wood for other projects as banit got sick and passed, hadn't thought of that in years.

[MDSection12]

Dogbooties.com.....cheap and work well

+1........

[Chaco Taco]

should I go ahead and shoot for the toughneck? He is already at the medium paw size. Id like to take him on a short hike, with snow. He has slipped a couple of time on the XC trails at the State Parks. He is at 4 months and a big guy already. Id like to think he would do well with some sort of fleece bootie AND maybe the toughnecks. What do you guys with experience with these think?? If the fleece and the bootie overkill?

[Chaco Taco]

just ordered some of the 1000 cordura in medium for his back paws and large for front. Measured his front paws and at 4 months he is already at a large

[bfayer]

We tried them with our dog. They drove him nuts and he chewed a couple to shreds to get them off.

I still think they are a good idea if the dog will tolerate them.

[charliethruhike]

http://www.ehow.com/info_8209678_diy...ties-dogs.html
if your into do it yourself kind of stuff, this looks like it might be a good place to start, I may be trying it myself later today actually

[JybbaGirl]

Serial and I used the Granite Gear ones with Rooney for a bit, but he refuses to use any boots now. One thing to consider, as an alternative to boots, is a paw wax. We used Mushers Wax on the AT last year when it started to get really rocky and hot outside and we've used it a bunch this winter in the snow. It's great and gives him a layer of protection while still allowing him to keep his agile footing.

PS - I love the name Grayson! That was my vote when we were naming Rooney, but clearly Serial won that round ;-)

[Chaco Taco]

Serial and I used the Granite Gear ones with Rooney for a bit, but he refuses to use any boots now. One thing to consider, as an alternative to boots, is a paw wax. We used Mushers Wax on the AT last year when it started to get really rocky and hot outside and we've used it a bunch this winter in the snow. It's great and gives him a layer of protection while still allowing him to keep his agile footing.

PS - I love the name Grayson! That was my vote when we were naming Rooney, but clearly Serial won that round ;-)

Thanks Jill, preciate the advice. Those crazy Man U freaks

I looked at the granite gears but went with some dog booties just to try having Grayson wear something on his feet. I also may try the mushers as well. We are not due to take him out "hiking" for a couple of months anyway so Im still researching. We are still just trying to get him used to being in our house. The idea of a distance hike is still a little ways off but not terribly far away.

[Thirsty DPD]

Mushers Wax is great preventative measure, we often use it.

Serial and I used the Granite Gear ones with Rooney for a bit, but he refuses to use any boots now. One thing to consider, as an alternative to boots, is a paw wax. We used Mushers Wax on the AT last year when it started to get really rocky and hot outside and we've used it a bunch this winter in the snow. It's great and gives him a layer of protection while still allowing him to keep his agile footing.

PS - I love the name Grayson! That was my vote when we were naming Rooney, but clearly Serial won that round ;-)

[Chaco Taco]

so we got some dogbooties and watching Grayson across the living room floor was quite entertaining.

[rocketsocks]

so we got some dogbooties and watching Grayson across the living room floor was quite entertaining.

Very nice!

[JybbaGirl]

so we got some dogbooties and watching Grayson across the living room floor was quite entertaining.

Haha, let me guess... like he was swimming through the air, right?

[CKM]

so we got some dogbooties and watching Grayson across the living room floor was quite entertaining.

Did those work out for you? I'm trying to pick between ruff wear and granite gears myself right now... has anyone tried "dog clogs"? They some how look less... tactical. Uhg. I have enough trouble picking my own gear.

[gladwell]

This is such a great and insightful site! I did a month long hike around New Zealand with my shepherd and enjoyed it so much that I am planning on doing the Appalachian trail with him sometime next year! Good read with all the suggestions for dog booties!

[the goat]

i tried the granite gear booties for my lab & he just wouldn't wear them. he ended up hiking bare-hoofed, and we never had a problem, even in the steep rocky stuff in nh & me. his pads got thicker and stronger along the way.