Have you ever had a stone in your shoe? It is just as unpleasant for dogs when foreign objects irritate their paws. Winter ground conditions are a challenge for sensitive dog paws: Hard snow crusts, road salt and grit get stuck between the toes or rub against the pads. For long-haired dogs, ice balls form on the paws in the snow. Walking on gravel and rubble can be torture for dogs without paw protection. In addition, dog shoes are essential for injuries if the dog needs to wear a bandage or ointment on its paws. Non-slip shoes can also help older animals that have difficulty walking on slippery floors in everyday life.

Dog shoes protect the pads of the soles and toes as well as the interdigital membranes. The front paws of a dog are anatomically always a little larger than the hind paws: When choosing paw protection, you must take this fact into account if the dog shoes are sold in pairs. In general, the smaller and more delicate the breed, the smaller the “shoe size”.
To find the right size for your four-legged friend, a size chart helps: Measure a square around the paw: The side lengths mark the sizes: XS-S (4.5 cm – size 2) / S-M (5 cm – size 3) /M (5.5cm – size 4) /M-L (6 cm – size 5) /L (6.5cm – size 6) and L-XL (7 cm – size 7). Teach the dog to wear the dog shoes early on and with a lot of patience and positive reinforcement. This way he already knows the feeling if he should ever become dependent on dog shoes for health reasons.

A dog shoe must fit perfectly and not be uncomfortable on the dog’s paw. Always choose high quality, comfortable products. Make sure that the dog shoes are waterproof. The material should be breathable and the soles non-slip so that the dog shoe fits securely. A particularly suitable material is mesh, a fabric with a net structure, as is also common in sportswear for humans. Velcro fasteners allow the shoe to be attached flexibly and securely to the paws without stones or sand getting in. Discover dog shoes and dog socks for big and small paws in the Maxi Zoo online shop.