I will sort through the many entries to the Freaky Dog People giveaway from last week and contact the winners by the end of this week. In the meantime, who’s ready for another Giveaway Tuesday??
Today I’m reviewing pet socks.
Go ahead and raise your eyebrows. I admit on first glance, it looks more dress-up than functional. But bear with me.
I spend a lot of time on the ground with a dog paw in my lap in my line of work. Those pads sustain a lot of insult- foxtail awns poking in them, peeling burns from walking on hot asphalt, frostbite, and the most common foot ailment in my particular neck of the woods- the dreaded pododermatitis.
Painful, red feet result from a variety of issues. One of the most typical causes of this foot inflammation is environmental allergies. Dogs with allergic pododermatitis can get flareups from something as simple as a stroll outside to use the potty, and owners quickly become frustrated with the suggestion to “wash their feet every time they go outside.”*
However, sticking on a quick pair of socks prior to a potty break is much more palatable.
Woodrow Wear’s Power Paws are stretchy socks with tread on the bottom. Unlike the typical dog shoe available in pet stores, they are thin, there is no velcro to mess with, and they slip on in a couple of seconds.
Getting a dog to tolerate the footwear is the first challenge. Brody looked at me like I was a crazy person when I stuck them on.
But I gave him some treats and he forgot about them in a minute or so. Don’t you love his posture? First position! *cracks cane on ground*
It was too muddy to take these bad boys on a run outside, so we did 10 minutes of laps on the tile to give them a whirl. They stayed on just fine without slipping, and lo and behold, they kept him from skidding out on the corners like he usually does. While that’s not a big deal to him- he likes it- keeping an older and slightly arthritic dog like Koa steady on the wood stairs is another great indication for these socks. In fact, I think she’s the one I’m going to use them for after this.
Second position! *crack crack*
Power Paws have lots of indications:
- Traction for senior dogs
- Protecting the dog from slippery floors
- Protecting the floor from scratchy dogs
- Paw wound protection (note these do not extend above the carpal joint, so they would be too short to cover any lesions above the wrist.)
- Protection from the elements- both extreme hot, and extreme cold
- And as already discussed, allergy barrier
Power Paws retail for $19.99 for a set of 4 and come in a wide range of sizes and colors. Or, you could get one for free in this week’s Tuesday giveaway! To enter, comment below and tell me who you would use them for and why. Contest open until midnight, March 14th!
*Dogs with pododermatitis often have concurrent infection or other medical issues. If your pet has swollen, red, or itchy feet, please see a veterinary professional for diagnosis and treatment before putting on a pair of socks and calling it a day! This is a preventive measure.
OMG, they would be wonderful for saving my hardwood floors! No more skittering when someone is at the door…although having a golden much like Brody, I would probably get the “crazy person” look too…
I’d definitely use them for my 10 month old JRT. She has horrible allergies (both environmental and food related). I feel so bad when she’s constantly gnawing on her paws after we come inside =/
Oooh, these would be great for Henry! They aggressively salt the sidewalks outside; not only does he track it inside, but he ales licks it off his paws and then gets an upset tummy. 🙁
I have been looking for something like that forever! Baby socks are OK, but they just don’t stay on quite right. Our pei Kaylee has delicate little feet that get irritated by everything, and then she chews on them, and then they get more irritated, and then she chews on them… You know how it goes. :-\ Even if I don’t win, I’m definitely buying some! Thanks for the review!
Okay first, please let me say SQUEEEE re: Brody in the socks!
Ironically enough, Sophie is allergic to human dander (who knew such a thing was possible) and now Oscar has been diagnosed with severe allergies to house dust (which, of course, is mostly human dander). So I have two dogs who are allergic to humans! Oscar’s feet are much worse than Sophie’s when it comes to the biting and licking. I’m not sure if he would tolerate these, but for $20 it’s worth a shot!!!
These would be great for my dogs, they play on my polished cement floor and these socks would help with slipping.
I could use a couple of sets. One for the old Chessie who has trouble keeping all 4 under him on the wood floors, and one for the pibble whose life’s mission is to tear up the floors enough that traction is no longer an issue.
My Danni would love them to give her traction on the terazzo floor when she’s trying to jump up on the furniture. Less than 6 pounds of dog needs to get a running start or jump hard! Wrigley would probably pull them off her, though. Brody is just too handsome in those red and white ones!
I would love to have a pair of these for my senior girl, Chloe, who was just diagnosed with arthritis. Our entire house has hardwood floors & she is having difficulty keeping her footing. Great review & thanks for letting us know about them!
These would be great for either of my dogs! My St. Bernard mix (8) could use them for traction and our boxer would benefit as he has such itchy feet!
I have a 9 yr old chocolate lab with allergies; she licks her paws until they are red and sore. She’s on five medications. She also has arthritis in her neck and shoulder and suffers what seems to be severe muscle strains at times. We’re just getting back to short walks after a month of rest. (Not easy with a lab!) These would help with the allergy licking and sliding on the floors.
I have 2 rescue mini schnauzers. One, Sassy, has allergies and is always licking her paws. Secondly, how can I put socks on one and not the Other? They are very jealous of each other. Embarrassingly, they would keep the red clay of their paws that is so hard to get off before they come on to the dark green carpet that is in the main areas of the house.
Finn could use these when we do Pets on Wheels visits! He has trouble with slippery tile floors.
Oh my goodness – Brody just gets more and more handsome!
These would be great for my mud dog. He gets the stuff caked on to the fur between his pads. It’s impossible to get all of it off when he inside from his mud romps.
Brody is so handsome. I luv Sir Brody. Sooo totally excited to try this out, I am going to buy a few pairs for Buffy. In Vegas it’s steaming hot 7 months of the year and she can’t go outside basically between 8 am and 10 pm ( I carry her out to the potty area in summer and this dog wont pee on grass-has to be rocks or concrete, wierdest thing) and now I moved out to edge of the valley we get snow and ice in the winter. She kept slipping off her feet and looking at the ground like it betrayed her, so sad. I tried shoes, but she won’t walk in them. 🙂 thanks for the review!
This is tough to decide who should use them… my golden Madison could use them in the hospital on her therapy rounds, my coworker could use them for her shepherd that has hip displaysia or my inlaws rottie that has horrible allergies to the point he chews on his paws. I think I might have to buy them for eveyone for Christmas! Thanks for the give away!
Cute! Darwin would wear them during the times she breaks her toenails and we don’t want blood everywhere and maybe when she comes to work so she’s not slipping on the short carpet and wood floors!
I’d put them on the hind legs of both my boys so they have better traction when they see a bunny and go tearing through the house, across the hardwood floors (where their rear ends wipe out or you hear the cartoon skittering of paws looking for traction), to their dog door and outside. One of my pups had two TPLO’s in 2009, so the skittering noise is enough to make me cringe as I worry about him falling!
I’d use them on my 12 year old red mutt Rudy. She slips on the stairs and in the winter no matter how hard i try to get her to avoid the areas where ice melt has been spread she always ends up walking on it and it hurts so bad i usually have to carry her back in.. not fun carrying 40+ lb dog around on ice!
I would put them on my chocolate lab, Layla. She is always losing her footing on the hardwood floors and goes skidding into walls. I think she would appreciate having some traction!
These look like something my dog Bogey could use. During the winter months he tends to get salt stuck in his paws when it’s put down on the sidewalks. He stops walking altogether and whines until I either pick him up or wipe his paws clean.
Our young golden is continually spinning out on my hardwood floors – NOT cool! I would hope she’d leave them alone long enough to see they help her traction for the “roller derby!”!
Degenerative myelopathy is a (very unfortunately) common problem in Pembroke corgis. As it progresses, they drag one, then both, of their hind legs. This leads to sores……….
I used baby socks with duct tape to keep them tight enough not to fall off, but maybe these would stay on by themselves…….
I no longer need help with this issue, but I know lots of people still do.
🙁
Totally agree that these socks would help enormously with paw traction on wood floors and vinyl or tile flooring as well for our chocolate lab, or any other dogs 😉
I was just talking to my vet recently about what to do with Clyde’s feet when it’s cold/snowy outside. He LIVES to go on his daily walks, but there are times when he gets either snow or salt/sand stuck in his paws and ends up lifting a paw during his walk. Then we turn around and go home, and he’s even more sad about that than about the paw problems. We would love to give these a go!
These will be perfect for our Greyhound Mitzy. She already doesn’t mind ‘getting dressed’ in her winter coat or raincoat. She loves to style in her array of Martingale collars and I’m sure has one to match these booties. They will be well used in the late summer when we get an orange mold on the backyard grass and it makes her ITCHY! Since we’ve had tons of snow and rain here in Cleveland this winter this is also the perfect product.
My cute as can be dog Mira gets awful yeasty paws (and jowls) no matter what I do. I’m awful about washing her feet as often as I should in her special medicated shampoo, so I’m sure she would appreciate these!
My labradoodle Ringo would appreciate these power paws so much. His poor little feet are always so itchy and red. With these he will be more steady on his feet on the wood floors.. so he can chase his brother Benji. 🙂
Celosa doesn’t have anything wrong with her feet, except they smell like fritoes.
I would use for are dog hunter these would be great for his paws, he has the same red irritating problem eaglesforjack@gmail.com
missed the offer to win these~ just want to drop a note~ these are a great idea~my 10 yr old Rescue Akita hates hard wood floors~ she has actually wiped out a few times~going to look into getting a pair. Hope they have pink~ breast cancer awareness!