You’re on the trail hunting with your best furry pal when all of a sudden a sharp yelp splits the air. Your insides freeze up and you go racing ahead for your dog, losing the trail you were both on, to find blood absolutely everywhere. Your pup’s got a cut pad and he’ll be out of commission for a while because cut pads take forever to heal up.
In this list we’ll be looking at options to help keep that from happening with dog boots made for the rough hunting trail. We’ve also included a few selections of water resistant snow boots for those dogs that are running through snow, ice and winter wonderlands regularly.
Ultra Paws Rugged Dog Boot
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This terrific boot comes in a bright neon orange to help dogs stand out in thick brush, plus it matches their orange hunting collar or vest. These are easy to measure for. Simply press your dog’s paw to the ground and measure the width of it. If your dog is between sizes, the manufacturer recommends you add a dog sock, which can easily be found in their store.
Ultra Paws dog boots are not waterproof, but they are highly water resistant with a rubber pad made from recycled tires. Not only are you helping your dog, but you’re recycling too! You can’t beat that.
Ultra Paws Dog Snow Boots
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Most hunting seasons take place over the colder months, when it’s a little easier to sit hidden in three layers of camo. For those hunters whose prey lies in the frigid north under mounds of snow, Ultra Paws Dog Snow Boots have you covered.
Not only do these boots work to insulate, but they’re fantastic at repelling mud and wet. This helps keep your furry partner’s paws less likely to freeze up and get brittle pad wear from ice, road salt, and a number of other winter ills.
My Busy Dog Waterproof Dog Shoes
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My Busy Dog is a newer entrant into the dog shoe world, but it’s certainly an impressive one. These dog shoes are built like hiking boots and are up to the test of them. They’re waterproof rather than resistant. These particular boots have a very thick sole to protect your dog’s feet whether they’re racing up a mountainside to catch a goat or tearing through a swamp to catch a pig.
My Busy Dog dog shoes are the shortest ones of this list, only covering the paw rather than up the ankle as many of these do. However, their nice reflective velcro straps help to make up for that by making your pup just a bit more visible.
Megipet All Weather Dog Shoes Water Resistant Paw Protectors
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This is for the dog who wants, or needs, a whole leg cover. These dog boots not only cover the paw, but the entirety of the leg up to the elbow on most breeds. Dogs with incredibly long legs may find them ending around mid-leg, but this still provides an enormous amount of protection compared to some of the other brands on the market.
Megipet’s dog boot is not only water resistant, but it is lined with a thermal liner to help keep dog paws warm in sub-zero temperatures. Not only good for hunting, but for other working dogs encountering severe weather as well. These boots will go through mud, briars, snow, ice, and anything else you can throw at them. Truly one of the best bangs for your buck on the market.
Ruffwear- Grip Trex
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Ruffwear has been the go to for a great number of years for most working dogs. Though these boots only come up to the ankle, they are well known for lasting through generations of dogs.
However, Ruffwear has recently joined forces with Vibram, the folks that make the five toed shoes. This means a heavier duty bottom, but a top that is left lacking compared to their old model. Instead of the sturdy duck material, we now have Vibram’s neoprene poly blend. While this is fine for most dogs, it will not hold up to snow or ice- and briars often embed themselves in it deeply. So deep that you may find yourself prying them out with tweezers.
Still, if your dog is a bird dog or will be in areas that do not have briars, these are an excellent bet for your dog’s pads. Few dog boot bottoms will hold up to the punishment that Ruffwear boots take and laugh at. But with these tops, they do require a very specific area without altering their design.
Winner
So who wins the battle of the dog boot? I think our clear winner today is the Megipet snow boot. Though it won’t prevent a dog from getting a snake bite, it will certainly help fend one off with it’s extra leg protection. For those hunting in subtropical climates or in the deep south in the USA where the snakes never quite go to sleep, that kind of peace of mind can’t be beat.
Megipet also offers a full money back guarantee for up to a year if these boots break down whatsoever. For those that are out in the woods every weekend, it’s nice to see a company that stands behind it’s product so stubbornly.
To go back to the upper leg wrap, this also helps encourage new dogs to accept boots. Sometimes the feeling of a band across the ankle is too strange for some dogs or may impede their step. Yes, these do have a band across the ankle but it need not be used if the dog is uncomfortable. Upper bands along the leg will keep the boot in place if the ankle strap is too much for new dogs to bear.
In closing, Megipet is your best bet this time around though we look forward to Ruffwear boosting their game and getting back into the mix in the future.