Dog boots

[Bailey's Mom]

This fall Bailey will be a year old and we want to take her on hikes with us. I've been looking at dog boots for her but I wanted to see what others have to say. Experience, brands and what not. They are very expensive so I want to be sure I get the perfect ones.

[HersheyK's Dad]

You said hikes. We live in MN, it gets cold here. We don't put boots on any of the larger breeds, ( change that to read 40+ lb dogs). They do fine, and they don't have the option of eating their boots. The only time we may consider it, is if we are walking on roads where road salt is used. Not necessary in the fields, forest, etc.

[Bailey's Mom]

We plan on using them in winter anyway, we live in an apartment complex that salts as well. We also plan on taking her running with us when she is old enough so we would like them for winter when she starts running.

[Tanya]

the general recommendation is to wait until they have fully developed for running so 18-24 mts - same for hard hikes but you can do some easier/shorter trails for sure at a year.

The thing to be careful about with "shoes" is that I blieve they can cause overheating in the summer. not sure they are necessary for hikes.

For winter booties we love the Muttlucks, but admittedly Rocky hasn't been wearing them much even though we are in the city. And I don't think I ever put them on when we ran in the winter.