[msj]

The little dog I have has really ugly, long nails which I was told was typical of the breed(Shar-pei) and that she has really long quiks so no hope to trim them a lot shorter. She's basically a house dog but does need to go outside to do her business. While I have considered trying to litter box train her, she's 11 and I doubt she'd actually use it.

Pretty soon we will be going into frozen ground and mud under the nails and in the pads won't be a problem but right now it is. I bought one of those little jars of Paw Clean from LL Bean and she really hates to put her foot in there so I can wash it. Talk about a fight....

Anyway, even when I've used the Paw Clean, or really wiped down her feet with a towel, she still drags mud into the nice newly carpeted family room or upstairs to the even more newly carpeted LR/DR not to mention to the pale peach carpeting in the bedroom.

I've tried a search and the most I've come up with was Musher's Wax which I'm not sure would help any except for when it's really bitter cold to protect her pads from frozen ground/snow and ice. Even then I wonder if the wax wouldn't possibly stain the carpeting.

Yes, I'm rather anal about keeping the carpets clean, esp since they are new within the last 3 yrs and I hope they stay in good shape for when I plan to sell the farm. They aren't white (I'm not that dumb) but one is a relatively light tweed berber and the other a cafe au lait color so mud will eventually show.

No, I'm not about pull up good carpet and put down ceramic or linoleum tile because I hate to mop floors and like the soundproofing and insulating properties of carpet so don't even suggest it thank you very much.


So bottom line question for anyone that has used dog booties, are they hard to get on the dog, to stay on once actually on the dog, and then to take off?

I can just picture this poor dog thinking she actually had a better life for the last 6 yrs at a no kill shelter than with the anal person that adopted her and is trying to keep her feet clean.

[jetsmom]

You can place a litter box full of warm water, and walk her thru that, then towel dry the feet.

The dog booties that velcro are easiest. But it takes the dog a little while to get used to them.

Re-nails.....Use a dremel every 4 days, and you will be able to get the quick to recede. Make sure you don't keep dremel pressed agains nail for more than a couple of seconds as they can heat the nail and burn.

[Simkie]

If find dog booties dead easy to put on and take off. My favs are MuttLucks.

You may find the plastic covers best for your circumstances, though. They look like latex balloons.

[Octobergirl]

Muttluks are great dog booties. When going on a trail or somewhere where I could lose a bootie I use the disposable boots that look like rubber balloons, they last a while as they are thick.

For feet drying, wash, rinse, dry and put in a crate for 1/2 hour if you need a little extra drying time.

[Crackerdog]

My dog had to wear a bootie on her foot when outside for a few months because of an injury. I can't remember what they were called but they could have been Muttluks. They are red and have a soft cuff and a suede pad on the bottom. They velcroed around her pastern and would stay on well unless she was running full tilt and then she would sometimes run out of them. She's high energy and they held up pretty well.

[jetsmom]

You may find the plastic covers best for your circumstances, though. They look like latex balloons.

This had me thinking that you could put Condoms over the paws...Then you could walk safely!

[Bicoastal]

The little dog I have has really ugly, long nails which I was told was typical of the breed(Shar-pei) and that she has really long quiks so no hope to trim them a lot shorter.

Re-nails.....Use a dremel every 4 days, and you will be able to get the quick to recede.

You CAN get those nails shorter, like jetsmom says. Clip and dremel every week and the quick will recede.

I am surprised long nails are responsible for carrying so much mud and dirt into the house that tracks are obvious. Does she have hairy hobbit feet? My short haired guy has some hair that grows down between his paw pads, so even short haired dogs can have hobbit feet. Trimming the hair on the underside of the paw will reduce what gets tracked in.

I just walk em across a towel or if I know we've been thru mud I'll walk em across towel, manually wipe, then walk across towel again to check for dirty paw prints.

Specialty 'super absorber' door mat may be the best solution for your longterm goal.

[Nootka]

I have nothing to add but the visual of "hairy hobbit" feet made me crack up

[BuddyRoo]

Watching this post with interest as my standard poodle is capable of dragging in quite a bit of the outdoors indoors with him. Further, when his feet get wet, it takes a long time for them to dry and he will often lick at them. We do trim the hair between the pads and he has "poodle feet" (shaved) but the new house has white carpet and I see this ending with me being very up close and personal with a Rug Doctor all winter.

[msj]

NO way is she going to walk through a litter box of water! I'd do better trying to lift her up, setting her down and swishing her around but I don't think she'd let me do that the 2nd time! She's a Shar-pei/terrier mix and the terrier/terror part does come out sometimes!

I may consider the dremel idea though to do the nails. She heads to the vet next week for dental work and I'll ask them to trim her up a bit for starters but need to remember to tell them about the long quicks.


Further down, someone didn't understand how much dirt she could track in. Well, considering her nails actually curl, you'd be surprised how much they will hold, even after I'd rinsed them in the Canine Footbath and dried them.

Fortunately we are supposed to get some really cold weather by tomorrow so the ground will freeze and it won't be a problem. Right now it's 65 degrees F and it should actually be in the low 40's.

I want to check online for the Muttluks, and plastic covers as well.

She has a little bit of fur between her pads but nothing to write home about. That's easily rinsed and dried. It's the damned curled nails that catch and hold a good bit of mud.

Thanks everyone so far for your help.

[wendy]

try these: http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/produc...ts/299000.aspx

thin rubber boot that slips on easily over the foot. They aren't the most durable things in the world, actually intended to be disposable, but they are easy on/off, stay on, and will keep the dirt outside.
I use them to protect feet from winter salt.

[msj]

Thanks Wendy. These look similar to the plastic ones I found on line. With cold weather coming, I'll be Ok as far as mud is concerned. Just have to worry about salt if I use it and really cold temps too.

This little girl is costing me a fortune between dog sweaters and blankets but it's kinda fun cause I've never had one that needed this much protection. Now for doggie boots!

[horseshrink]

Our front yard can be very muddy with minimal rain. I have hardwood floors and very little carpet, but HATE muddy pawprints everywhere.

My dog can get his feet muddy by walking on the porch and right back in

I bought Muttlucks from someone on COTH a year or so ago (can't remember right now) and I love them. My dog....not so much

They are a huge pain to get on (very easy to get off) and he hates having them on (think: horse with shipping boots on for first time). I LOVE that he can go out and walk/run anywhere, then come to the foyer and I slip the booties off and he's free! He will hide if he sees it is raining outside as he knows he has to wear the booties.

I also have the rubber ones (that look like balloons). Also hard to get one, but work fine as well.

[Paddys Mom]

I bought some for my late greyhound mix and he would run outside and spin in circles as fast as he could until they would fly off!
I got tired of going out in the mud and looking for them, so it was
CODY - 1
BOOTS - 0

They were very easy to get on/off and did keep his paws clean and dry.

I may have to try them on the boxer now.

[Seriously_Hunter]

I have nothing to add but the visual of "hairy hobbit" feet made me crack up

Me too!!

[kdow]

Yeah, both of my dogs vetoed them also. Pirate isn't so bad because his feet aren't too furry, but Foxy's feet are like mops even when we try to keep them trimmed. We found she tolerates having her feet wiped with a wet towel better than having her foot dunked. So maybe buy a stack of cheap wash cloths so you can use several if you need to?

We do also use Musher's Secret. It isn't perfect with regards to keeping stuff coming in on the paws, but it does help. It seems to keep stuff from sticking as well, so less stuff gets tracked in and you have to mostly dry the feet rather than actually clean them. With Foxy, you have to be quite generous with it, though, to make sure the fur between her toes is nicely coated also. (She brings in a LOT of gunk that gets up where the fur is between her toes, and the Musher's Secret prevents that stuff from building up anything like as badly because it makes it harder for stuff to stick to the fur. Like greasing a cake pan. ) I probably wouldn't apply it and then let the dog right away run around on light carpet, but if you give it a couple of minutes we've never had any problem with it staining anything.

[msj]

kdow, thanks for the info on the Musher's Secret wax. I'll give it a try. I can apply it in the mud room.

I will give my girl credit as she's pretty tolerant of having her feet wiped. I do wish she'd lie down though as it's easier to clean them that way. My last dog would just flop down and let me wipe them.

I have lots of old towels for drying her feet. Bbetween the dog and the horses, I probably do a load of barn and dog towels every couple of weeks.

[lilitiger2]

We use rubber Pawprotectors for our Bouv to keep him from ripping his nails out on the ice adn they are very easy to use-slide on and off and velcro the top. Has stopped him from picking at the ice balls AND the nail ripping. He is big and shaggy so gets toweled but the Pawprotectors have worked very well.

[Mozart]

I love Muttluks for really cold weather and ice but they themselves will get very muddy. I have recently seen rubber booties that look like balloons, I imagine those might be what you are looking for.

However, I had serious mud issues this fall (new development, Golden Retriever, new carpets in a mobile home that will be for sale in a couple of years when actual house is built).

I just kept a dish pan by the back door, when we came in dog had to stay on a mat, I filled up a dish pan, he stood in it (2 paws at a time) and I washed and dried them using a stack of towels also conveniently located by the back door. It was the only way. Wiping with a damp towel did not dislodge the mud between his pads and under his (trimmed) toe nails.

Good luck...I hate mud season!

[Rubyfree]

MSJ, if you don't want to wait for an order to come in, I know a place near Fairport that carries the rubber balloon covers. I'm not a huge fan of some of the services they offer so I'm disinclined to give them the free advertising, but I'll PM you the name if you want those. I used them on your patron urine saint last winter & they worked very well and held up to his giant paws & bear claws.