Callahan

An advanced forum search brought up nothing on the subject of boots, so I'm posting in the General forum. The Performance and the Health forums seem like good places for this thread too, so if a moderator could move it if he/she sees fit, thanks.

I've been having a horrible time finding boots for Callahan to protect his paws as much as possible from salty sidewalks this winter. I have a treadmill that he walks on for the majority of his morning and evening walks when the weather is bad, but we need to walk once around the block before he does his business. The sidewalks in my area are salted, so he needs some protection. Aside from wiping off his paws after walks, I apply Bag Balm once a week for moisturizing. His paws haven't shown signs of cracking or damage yet, but the harsh winter is still ahead.

I cannot find a boot that works well with his front leg anatomy. All of the boots that are straight (e.g. Ruff Wear) usually with two Velcro enclosures at the top, cover not only his front paw but his pastern and up into the forearm. These types seem to stay on on his hind legs, but the front boots slide down his leg past the pastern because they have little if any flexibility to allow for the sharp (100 degree-ish) angle at the pastern.

The most ergonomically viable boots I've found are the cheap Petsmart or Petco brands with elastic mesh and a rubber sole, but they function like socks and will not stay on. They are also not waterproof by any means, so salt water pooling in the boot defeats the purpose. I've thought about purchasing a pair (I'll actually need two different sizes for front and rear) and sewing on another Velcro enclosure along with some type of waterproof fabric, but I wanted to get input from you all before doing all that work. I've sent more boots back to online and local stores than I care to remember.

Is there a particular boot designed to protect from salt (so an impenetrable sole of some sort) that works well with bassets? Thanks!

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CatherineM

I'm in the same boat, although for some reason we haven't had enough snow this year yet. I have a pattern, and am going to experiment soon on materials to see if I can make some basset mukluks.

klm42005

I haven't seen any besids the paw protectors....the only thing I could think of with these is applying some sort of waterproofing spray to the material to keep out the water/salt.....you may have to apply it several times over the course but I don't see why it wouldn't work....

klm42005

having just looked at the petco website, I see that they have paw protectors that claim to be waterproof to keep the paws safe from water and chemicals......might be worth a look

BubbaLeroy

KV Pet Supply has the "muttluks" that we used with (our ATB Basset) Bubba, in South Dakota. Sorry to say I can't tell you the sizes we bought since we no longer have the muttluks, but we did have to purchase two sets in different sizes. We now live in Memphis, TN.

The first set we bought fit his back paws perfectly, but were to small to get on the front paws. So we bought a larger set for the front paws. Bubba's front paws were much larger than his back paws. He hated them, but learned to tolerate them. They stayed on well, and we walked him in slush when things started to thaw, and on very frozen icy sidewalks and streets at 20 below and lower temps. They worked great and we could get him out in the winter without the frozen ground, sidewalks, etc. freezing and burning his paws.

This is a link to KV. Just type in "muttluks" in the search box and "dogs" .
Pet Meds | Dog Supplies | Pet Supplies | Pet Products | Pet Supply

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You don't own a Basset, a Basset owns you!!
Aroooooos from Bogie !! - Trumbull's Who's Teasin Bogart CGC- Born April 21, 2005
ATB: Bubba - (Trumbull's Surley It's Stormin Norman) Sept. 8, 1998 - Dec. 20, 2005

Wworm

so cute a pic, BubbaLeroy!

sorry no snow here to speak of to be able to be helpful... but my gf Paisley has been looking too...
--Worm

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henry'smum

Canine Footwear - Protect your dog's paws year round.

scroll to to a product called pawz

Callahan

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I believe Pawz are the paw protectors you speak of klm? I opened up a package at the pet store the other day, and they don't seem like they'd hold up to very much abuse. They felt like high-quality rubber balloons about as thick as surgical gloves but felt like a dog's nail or ground debris could easily shred through them. Do either of you, klm or henry'smum, have experience using the Pawz brand protectors and could comment on their durability?

Thanks for the details and great photo; it made me laugh. These look like something I'm looking for--something I can use for a long time and wash. Knowing that they work on basset front paws is a huge help. Callahan's paws differ one size from front to back, according to the sizing chart, but both front and back paws land right in the middle of two sizes, so a 1/4 inch off. The linked website states that a snugger fit is better than a looser fit which might cause the boots to slip off, but I'd hate to cram his paws in there. BubbaLeroy, can you recall if you had anything near a 1/4 inch wiggle room lengthwise in the boot, or were Bubba's paws pretty snug in the boots?

__________________
-An eager, vocal, crook-kneed Spartan sweeping away the morning dew.

Mikey T

[quote]An advanced forum search brought up nothing on the subject of boots[/url]

try booties instead

the problem with bag balm is it soften the pad and on aggressive surfaces like asphalt it is more like to get gut or abraided. for most something like Tuf-foot is a better choice

very few basset are tolerant of booties so be prepaired for a dog that refuse to move with them on or keeps removing them

Soundtrack

If I recall correctly, the person who created Muttluks actually was a basset owner. I met her once at a show in Toronto.

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