Health & Fitness
Running shoes for dogs?
Do you love running with your dog but the winter snow, salt and ice hurt his paws? Ever think about buying boots. Read about my weekend excursion to downtown La Grange for dog boots.
I had a great holiday and I am still trying to get back in the swing of things with running. It's been a great winter to be outside in our area. The temperatures have stayed temperate and so far the snow was a brief blip.
I have been trying to get out and run at least 4 times / week. And it doesn’t hurt that I have a dog who is waiting by his leash when I get back from my morning boot camp. My dog, Gus, is a Wheaton Terrier / Poodle mix, a whoodle. He is going to be 3 in April. He is officially the cutest dog ever.
Gus loves to run and I have been taking him on longer and longer runs. Last week we ran 5 miles and, although he did slow down near the end, he made it the entire way. I think he, like me, is built for endurance and not speed.
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After it snowed, Gus started having problems with his paws. We would go for a walk and he started limping and wanting me to carry him. I checked his paws and he had salt between his pads. The only solution I could think of was to buy him boots.
I went to over the weekend. Did you know there are more than one kind of boots for dogs? The woman working was very patient with Gus and helped us try on boots.
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I never thought I’d be buying boots for my dog. I had no idea what kind of boots to expect. I was hoping for cowboy boots or maybe little hiking boots but we ended up with a set of boots that are like thick balloons. They work great for him because he can feel the ground and they actually stay on.
We completed our purchase (and yes, Gus got treats for being so good during the boot buying process) and took a walk around the block to make sure they were going to work for him. Turns out, they are the solution we needed. We ran 3 miles this morning around the neighborhood and the boots stayed on, Gus’s feet stayed dry, and I didn’t have to add another strength workout to my day.
If you see a woman out running with a dog with blue balloons on his paws, that’s me and Gus. Don't laugh when you see him—he can't help that he has sensitive feet.
