Late to the party here but I thought I’d share my dog boot hack. This may not work for your exact circumstances but it’s cheap to try. My Doberman is having mobility issues and needs front boots but she drags her toes so naturally nothing will stay on her. I eventually paired rubber covered outdoor “socks” with a toddler sized adjustable elastic mitten strap. The grips on the strap are tough and grasp the sock material at the top of the boot very tightly. I run the strap over her back under the handle of her harness and clip it to sock top number two. This has accomplished three things: the socks stay on 95% of the time for walks instead if 10%, if they do pop off they stay with her for refitting and the surprising third benefit is the tug of the elastic is providing her some assistance walking. Toddler mitten straps are a few dollars online per pack.
I second the suggestion for just using booties like the sled dogs wear. I have a pair for my dog. We use them when skijoring on icy trails, or when we get fresh snow since she has a tendency to get snowballs between her toes.
They work great. They’ve never come off by accident.
This sounds like a great work around, but I don’t know if it would be so effective at full-out running speeds.
Keep the ideas coming! I’ve ordered the sled dog booties and will report back when I receive them.
Sled dog booties review:
They stay on. They prevent the worst of damage from crunchy snow. I still ended up having to vetwrap her fronts, because of her dewclaws. The strap worked its way down, then jammed up under the claw which made her limp. I don’t think this would work well with wet snow over long periods, but crunchy snow it’s a yes!
Side note - the boots I had before cracked one of her nails, so they’re a “never ever again” for hard/fast work. I’m guessing her foot rammed the front of the boot, which is formed rubber like a shoe sole.
I so want to skijor or scooterjor. I just need a yard and a dog now.
Awesome! They’re certainly cheap enough to just keep a couple pairs on hand if one ever does go missing too.
It’s so much fun! My dog is pretty lazy, she doesn’t pull very much, just runs fast enough to stay ahead of me. But my sister’s dog is an absolute blast to skijor with. Really gets the adrenaline going.
My next dog will be a GSP. I live right beside 30km of trails that are wide and flat, perfect for bikejoring and skijoring when the snow isn’t too deep. When the ice is good we can also go out on the bay. The snowmobiles pack it down and you could go all day.
I LOVE skijoring but only get like 1 day a year where I can do it. I have “a” place to go with a loop of about 3 miles, but the conditions around the loop vary greatly (big icy patches in places). This year that also coincided with sub-20 degree weather, so the dogs had very limited interest for the first mile!
I know skate skis are preferred for racing, and I am very impressed by this. There’s no way to skate on the trail I use.
That’s why I haven’t done much racing with this dog. Most of the races are hosted with the sled dog races and the trails aren’t wide enough for proper skate skiing. It’s fine if you have a dog who really pulls, but mine doesn’t.
I watched something a long time ago and I can still see the image of a kitchen table surrounded by people and it’s just mounded with booties, it said they have boot-making parties so that the dogs never run out. I always thought that was so cool, that they chipped in and sewed hundreds of booties.
Wobblers Syndrome? My male Doberman was recently diagnosed with this. (* Sigh* Talked to my regular vet and a specialist about surgery—$$$$$. And there would be the difficult aftercare, too.)
GoodTimesGrand Prix
It’s so much fun! My dog is pretty lazy, she doesn’t pull very much, just runs fast enough to stay ahead of me. But my sister’s dog is an absolute blast to skijor with. Really gets the adrenaline going.
My next dog will be a GSP. I live right beside 30km of trails that are wide and flat, perfect for bikejoring and skijoring when the snow isn’t too deep. When the ice is good we can also go out on the bay. The snowmobiles pack it down and you could go all day.
*There is a woman in the local dog club who does skijoring and sled dog races with her Smooth Collies. Does quite well, too, for the breed.
I’m so sorry RHdobes. My Ella was originally diagnosed in 2020 with a collapsed disk between c6/7. The neurologist stopped short from actually diagnosing her with Wobblers when I posed the question but I think he was being extremely conservative. She had became mildly ataxic with a very lateral gait directly after tripping into a dug out gopher hole at speed. The disk injury was older than the fall but the fall shifted something that made her symptomatic. At any rate she had an inherent weakness in her cervical vertebrae.
We were preparing for ventral slot surgery when we found she was not a candidate due to chronic hepatitis and Von Willibrands. The only option was to carefully manage her with anti-Inflammatories and pain meds. She had almost three good years but declined rapidly over the course of a week. I said goodbye to my beautiful, funny girl just this Tuesday and I’m absolutely heartbroken. She was 8 years old.
I wish you the best of luck with your dobe. I’ve heard of increasing success with surgery but it’s not without serious risk. Either way the mean survival time for wobblers dogs is 4 years whether treated medically or surgically. In my opinion the decision is more about quality of life as opposed to quantity. If Ella had been a surgical candidate I likely would have proceeded just for the chance to make her more comfortable. As it was I was always trying to walk the line between effectively managing her neck pain and damaging her already compromised liver. Your situation may be very different though and it’s not a one size fits all approach. I’m happy to share any management tricks I have that might prove helpful or just lend a sympathetic ear. Feel free to PM me anytime.
Dickens is 9 years old, and I was quoted nearly $12,000 for “everything.” He is a BIG Doberman. He would have to be completely confined in a crate (or somehow) for six weeks. I was told that I would have to ‘move him around’ to prevent bed sores, NOT an easy feet as he hates crates.
At his age, he’s considered a senior citizen. He could live 1, 2, 3 years, and I was told that he could be in the same health/condition at the end of 3 years. If he lived only 1 year, I have/had to decide whether it’s worth the $12,000. He is in excellent health, otherwise, according to my new (GP) vet. That makes it hard for me to decide.
I read something similar to the life expectancy you mentioned, with surgery or not. I have had Dickens almost five years now–he was a re-home when his elderly owner passed away. He is my 10th Doberman; #9 and #11 are 13 years and 9 years old respectively. So, a houseful of “senior citizens.”
My (GP) vet has him on a steroid. I don’t think she expected me to talk to the specialist about surgery, but she DID mention it. I think I will call the vet’s office just to give them an update.
I have been recently looking at puppy ad listed by reputable breeders. Prices range from $2500-$3500 for a puppy, but those breeders have tested their dogs for EVERYTHING. Just about every Doberman I have owned have been either a re-home or a dog that I have gotten from an animal shelter. I think that the most I paid for a dog was $125, but a $3000 puppy (from a reputable breeder) is 1/4 the cost of the surgery.
For what it’s worth, I have been lucky. My first Doberman and The. Best. Dog. Ever. (U-CDX Dante’ Raven LaFlamme CDX ASCA-CDX CGC) came from the animal shelter; he lived until he was 15 years old. I had a BRILLIANT obedience Doberman (Peter) who came from a shelter, too, but I lost him at 8 to an aggressive cancer. Most of my Dobermans have lived to 12-13 years, so I’ve been lucky. I lost another Doberman to Wobblers but at the time, there was no way I could have afforded the surgery, and the outlook was not hopeful, even with.) Well, sorry to be rambling.
My condolences on the loss of your Ella. (((Hugs))) No matter how they come into our lives, they are loved, and they love us. And it hurts so much when we lose them ‘young.’
$3000 is a pretty reasonable price for that kind of peace of mind, I would say. Especially when they tend towards that many health issues that are that expensive to fix. I figure I’ll spend close to that someday if I ever get a puppy again. It does seem like a lot, but I’d rather support someone doing it right.
This is round-about what we paid for our recent Vizsla puppy.
Worth knowing you’re supporting the right kind of breeder.
Exactly. And the more I think on it, it’s actually not that much in today’s market, now that Doodles and other “designer mixes” are regularly listed for $1200 on up. $3000 seems like a lot when I remember my youth and buying a pedigreed pup was about $400, but times do change.
Bringing up this old thread as I’m looking for decent dog boots for some large paws that get cold in our very cold winters. My girl has big front feet and smaller back feet and they are the only thing that gets frozen when its below -15C or so. I have to take her for a walk/run every day or she’ll tear my house apart! She is a working dog and farm dog through and through.
I did look at the Mukluks but I’m worried they won’t hold up or will fall off in some deeper snow. I like the look of the boots suggested for sled dogs that don’t have a foot shape. Has anyone tried these? I did email the company to see how they hold up (I’m assuming pretty good as dogs race in the snow with them!) and what kind would work best for my type of usage (not a sled dog, but cold temps, deep snow etc). I also asked if they do ship to Canada.
Any feedback on boots? We are not there yet weather-wise, but will be soon 
They held up ok, don’t fall off, and don’t rub. They’re cheap so if they don’t last a super long time it’s no big deal.
Thats great! Thanks for the feedback! I’m just waiting to hear back if they ship and what type would work best as they have a few different types of boots.
I might try some skijoring with my girl (she loves to bikejor in the summer) so boots will be more important for that as well. Luckily we have a harness class for beginners near by in to teach dogs and owners how to pull a sled or do skijoring with people so we have something to look forward to during our long winters!
