Before you teach your dog that it’s a good thing to wear winter boots, make sure the boots fit your dog properly. You’ve seen the videos of dogs doing nutty things when they first wear boots, so the boot-fitting experience should not involve your dog actually walking in them. He needs to stand up, but you won’t want him to walk around.
You’re at a great advantage if you’ve already accustomed your dog to having his paws handled, his foot-fur trimmed, and his toenails clipped. If you haven’t already taught those basic skills, you’d be smart to go back to them. Boot-wearing is in the advanced-skills category and you need a positive foundation. Ideally, your dog should be willing, even eager, to offer a paw to you for handling. Make the boot-fitting experience as positive as your training up until now has been!
If you’re lucky enough to live near a pet supply store that offers a wide variety of winter boots for dogs, shop first without your dog. That allows you to scope out not only what’s available but also who among the staff is the most knowledgeable and helpful—both about boots and about properly fitting your dog in a positive manner.
▪ Find out when that staffer will be working again and come back with your dog.
▪ Bring your own treats and maybe a toy or tug.
▪ Do not expect your dog to try on boot after boot as you might if you were shopping for yourself.
▪ Set a time limit and let the staffer know you plan to stop before your dog gets antsy or shuts down.
As you look at the various styles of boots in the store, keep in mind that you may be able to order different sizes or colors of the boots you like, if what you want is not currently in stock. Don’t forget to ask how long ordering might take, especially if you hope to use the boots this year! If ordering is not offered, make a note of the brand and style name or number and look it up online, in case the boots you want are available elsewhere. Ask about the store’s return policy before you buy.
Photo by Christine Hale Vertucci
It’s more difficult to buy boots sight-unseen, certainly, but ordering online gives you a much wider variety of choice than shopping locally . . . unless you happen to live in a city with a shoe store especially for dogs!
▪ Read the information each company offers on the measurements required to determine boot size for each dog.
▪ Consider how to take those measurements positively, making it a good experience for the dog. (Again, if you have not trained the basics of paw handling, take the time to go back and do that first.)
▪ You don’t have to use an actual measuring tape if it’s too cumbersome or unwieldy. Instead, use a piece of string, mark it with a finger, then measure the piece of string “off the dog.” That makes the process much easier, on the dog and on yourself.
Don’t be surprised if the measurements required differ from brand to brand.
“Various companies gauge their boot sizes differently. Some measure from the heel of the pad to the tip of the toe, others include the toenail length in the size (probably a more appropriate measure, since not accounting for the nail could put excess pressure on the toes). A few brands measure size by the dog’s weight—in our opinion an inaccurate system of measurement, since a dog’s weight can vary although his foot size does not.”—Whole Dog Journal
Very often, the first set of boots you buy for your dog may not be the boots you end up using (which is exactly why you should know the return policy where you purchase). The first time you try a boot on your dog, you may find that the style or size you chose simply doesn’t work. Or that boots which seemed to be the right size fly off easily as soon as the dog moves around. Don’t be discouraged. It’s no easier than finding the right winter boots for yourself. It can take some effort.
Once you find boots that fit, how do you teach your dog to wear them?
Here’s a simple step-by-step process that relies on positive reinforcement and repetition over time to build a happy association for your dog with his new winter boots, from Domestik Goddess (http://domestikgoddess.com).
How to “Boot Train” Your Dog
As part of a grooming or training session, just slip a boot onto one of his feet—don’t fasten it, the first time—just slip the boot on, give a wonderful treat, and then slip it right back off again and go on with your other activities.
Stand your dog for this exercise—or have someone hold his collar, if he isn’t likely to stand still. You don’t want him trying to walk around with this loose floppy weird thing on his foot! A slip on the floor or a successful kicking-off of the boot will just make “boot training” your dog more difficult.
The next day, repeat with a different foot . . . and the next . . . and the next. Then, try two feet. And a different two feet, the next day. What you’re doing here is working up to the point where your dog is happy to get his feet handled and get a boot on, because he knows he’ll be getting a lovely treat when it happens.
Step by step, build up his tolerance for the whole footwear issue. Don’t be tempted to go too fast! Patience will pay off in the long run.
Note that I have suggested doing the boot training as part of your regular training sessions. That’s to help your dog to understand that the boot is just another part of the wonderful “school game” you play together. Go at the dog’s pace, and stay within his comfort zone when you’re introducing anything new.
For some timid dogs, that could mean you start out simply by showing him the boots (and reward him for being near them), then just gently touching one to the top of his paw (and reward while the boot is touching him), then touching one to his paw while you lift his paw in your hand (and reward) . . . and so on.
If your dog isn’t used to having his feet handled, or has had a bad experience with clipping his nails, etc., this could take a good number of days to get him comfortable. Keep it calm and happy, with lots of great treats, and gradually build up his comfort level with this strange new activity.
It bears repeating: Don’t be tempted to go too fast!
When the dog will eventually allow you to put boots (not fastened) onto all four feet at once, go back to putting a boot on just one foot—but this time, fasten it loosely, just enough so he can feel that there’s something around his ankle. Boot on, fasten gently, treat the dog, take off the boot. Next session, do the same thing on a different foot . . . again, working up to the point where all four feet can be in (loosely fastened) boots at one time.
Repeat the training cycle—one foot first, working up to all four—but this time you’ll fasten each boot more securely, as you would if your were taking the dog outside.
You’ll find that each training cycle will go more quickly, because the dog is gaining confidence and becoming more comfortable with the whole process.
At this point, some dogs will be quite calm about it all, and more interested in walking around than in standing still with you handling their paws.
▪ If you’ve got carpets in your house, or some other kind of non-slip floor, that might be the best place to start learning to walk in boots.
▪ With slippery tile floors like the one in my kitchen, I’d go back to one boot (securely fastened) on one paw, and let the dog try it out with his other three paws feeling like they normally do. Then work up to all four boots.
You’ll laugh out loud, the way a dog in new boots will lift his feet and shake them, trying to figure out what’s going on! Just keep his mind off those new boots, those first few times—offer treats, a favorite toy, a ride in the car, whatever he sees as a reward and will distract him from the funny feeling of wearing boots.
Before you know it, your dog will be standing patiently while you put boots on his feet and walking gracefully with well-protected paws.
