I am so not posting this on the main forum, so here goes...... Paul came home last night saying one of his mates had lived in Canada and said that Dogs have to wear boots to protect there pads in the cold, now I expect I'm having a blonde moment even thinking for one moment that he's telling the truth but I don't want my cocker getting frost bite, so could someone let me know if I've gotta make OH life a misery for the next week or so for winding me up. many thanks

It would appear to depend upon the dog - some prefer the boots and some don't but they do exist !!!!!!!!!!!!

Call his bluff and refer him to this:
http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=69158

I have seen dogs in ontario with not only boots but wool coats and hats (seriously). :scared: Last year while visiting family in Ontario while I was out running, I saw a dog with a hudson bay jacket on (really!) :scared: Not all dogs are sissys' though. All the time we lived in Manitoba and Ontario none of our dogs wore boots and coats.

Actually, little dogs with tiny paws can get very cold and it can be painful to walk on not just the cold pavement but the snow and salt as well. It's not uncommon to see wee dogs with booties on or sweaters etc...
Depends where you live tho... snow, no snow makes a big difference.

Siren

When we were in Nova Scotia recently I saw some Halloween doggie pads in one of the stores.

I've seen quite a few dogs with clothes on here, it's quite scarey.
There's actually a stall in the local mall that just sells Dog T-shirts

I'm sure animal rights would have something to say about that - I thought you were'nt supposed to wear fur anymore

We found with ours that if we went out in temps below about -10 our border collie got very sore/irritated paws. I wasn't sure if it was the snow feeezing between her pads or "just" the cold. Within a hundred metres she'd be lying down and biting at her feet and it was quite distressing, as she's a bit heavy to carry far, and once or twice I wasn't sure if I'd ever get her home!

We tried buying some boots, but they only stayed on for about 25 m!

I have just bought some slightly bigger and (I hope) better ones for this year, so I hope they'll work, or else she just won't get out much! (she's 13)

I did see a comical sight last winter when I was on the bus. A small dog ("poodle type") was walking along the sidewalk on a leash, and every few metres it'd lift up its back legs and just walk on its front paws .... like a circus performer!

I presume it was in response to having cold feet. I seem to remember it had a coat, but no bootees.

Hey, they sell those doggles here! Sunglasses for dogs! I never saw a dog wearing any though!

If you don't use boots, and you don't vaseline the paws, bobbling is a problem.

that dog is lovely, what breed is it? and I guess i'll just have to say sorry to Paul, I really did think he was taking the mick. Not sure alfie will wear boots though!

Thank you. He's what they call a doodle, half poodle, half golden retriever. We haven't tried boots but I do grease his feet if we're going to be walking in snow (and if I remember).

He's beautiful - that indignant expression on his face is priceless.

That's a lovely looking dog too, you might want to think about a blanket for a short haired dog though it's only greyhounds that consistently have them.

Here's my girl!