There have been so many lovely stories of dogs who’ve been helped by the dog boot pattern I scribbled out and posted when I had to make a quick set of winter boots for my greyhound, Casey — it’s really pretty heartwarming.

Old dogs who slip on the ice…
Dogs with injured paws in need of protection…
Dogs with tender toes who are sensitive to cold…
Outdoor sporting dogs who need a little extra warmth and traction…

Like this GSD beauty, Storm, who lives in Canada’s cold far north:

photo: YKStorm

Pat‘s daughter took her German Shepherd dog out on a rescue mission — looking for a lost Corgi pup who’d bolted in a panic when he got scared on a trail. The pup was found and brought safely home — “fine and much more obedient after 3 days out in -40″ — but Storm lost one of her boots in the snow.

Pat used my pattern to make new doggie booties for her: a beautiful blue colour, extra tall for use in deep snow, with reflective patches for safety.

photo credit: YKStorm

Pat’s one of a growing number of clever and caring dog lovers who have improved on my simple pattern to suit their own dogs’ needs — by adding extra length or a stretchy cuff, experimenting with different non-slip materials on the soles of the boots, and sewing up waterproof versions of the fleece original.

Best yet, these dog lovers are very generous in sharing their ideas with others through their comments.

But that’s not the end of the good puppy karma. Some people — with Casey’s full blessings — are now making these dog booties for sale to help other dogs who have non-sewing owners, dogs in foster homes, and even as a fundraiser to help a greyhound adoption group! You know, I said that it’s heartwarming, all this sewing and creative adaptation… but it’s the sharing that really brightens up a dark winter day and gives hope that, even in tough times, we self-involved human beings can learn to be as giving and caring as our dogs.

This greyhound of mine looks a bit embarrassed about having to wear his winter boots (a.k.a. “paw protectors“), doesn’t he?

Don’t be fooled by that hang-dog look — when we go outside in minus-20°C weather (that’s, um, 4 degrees below 0°F for our American friends), the big guy’s whole attitude gets adjusted pretty quickly!

So, when do you know it’s time for your dog to wear winter boots?

That will depend in part on the individual dog’s breed and on your climate and lifestyle, but here’s a good rule of thumb:

• When you’re walking somewhere that salt has been spread to melt the ice and snow.
• When the snow is cold enough to squeak when you walk on it.
• When the dog tries to hold all his paws off the ground at once.
• … or when it’s cold enough that you, yourself, can’t walk the dog in comfort without earmuffs or something over your ears.

We don’t bother with boots just to pop from the house to the car, but in the depths of a Canadian winter, dogs often will need boots to take a walk or even to go in the yard to do their “business”. Obviously, there are many parts of the world where paw protection just isn’t even needed. But for the rest of us…

Lots of people say that their dogs “don’t like” wearing boots, or just kick them off, or refuse to let the boots get put on their feet in the first place…

But no worries, if that’s your situation. This can be solved with a little bit of positive dog training. If you’re not near a dog school that offers clicker training, however, you can still DIY…

First off, you can see from the photo that my greyhound isn’t too crazy about the whole boot concept either — not when we’re in the warm kitchen! — but once we get outdoors in the snow and ice and road-salt, he soon decides that he likes the idea.

Secondly, the dog boots pattern I drew up a while back has proven to be simple and effective. (Cheap to replace, too, if we lose one in a deep snowdrift!) The boots just slip on over the paw — use one hand to hold those toes together and guide the foot, while the other hand holds the bootie — and it fastens with a combination of Velcro and elastic that makes a snug secure fit around the dog’s ankle.

And the third trick, the really big one — Don’t wait for mid-winter to introduce a dog to wearing that paw protection.

Let your dog get used to his boots gradually, over time, and it’ll save a whole lot of grief when you’re in a hurry to walk him and get to work!

This greyhound stands patiently to have his boots put on, even when a smaller dog is getting curious and bugging him. Not only that, he’ll accept the putting on of winter boots from anyone — even the neighbour kids — without struggle or protest.

I tell you, a bit of training makes life so much easier!

How to “Boot Train” Your Dog

As part of a grooming or training session, just slip a boot onto one of his feet — don’t fasten it, the first time — just slip the boot on, give a wonderful treat, and then slip it right back off again and go on with your other activities.

Stand your dog for this exercise — or have someone hold his collar, if he isn’t likely to stand still. You don’t want him trying to walk around with this loose floppy weird thing on his foot! A slip on the floor or a successful kicking-off of the boot will just make “boot training” your dog more difficult.

The next day, repeat with a different foot… and the next… and the next… Then, try two feet. And a different two feet, the next day. What you’re doing here is working up to the point where your dog is happy to get his feet handled and get a boot on, because he knows he’ll be getting a lovely treat when it happens.

Step by step, build up his tolerance for the whole footwear issue. Don’t be tempted to go too fast! Patience will pay off in the long run.

Note that I have suggested doing the boot training as part of your regular training sessions. That’s to help your dog to understand that the boot is just another part of the wonderful “school game” you play together. Go at the dog’s pace, and stay within his comfort zone when you’re introducing anything new.

For some timid dogs, that could mean you start out simply by showing him the boots (and reward him for being near them), then just gently touching one to the top of his paw (and reward while the boot is touching him) , then touching one to his paw while you lift his paw in your hand (and reward)… and so on.

If your dog isn’t used to having his feet handled, or has had a bad experience with clipping his nails, etc., this could take a good number of days to get him comfortable. Keep it calm and happy, with lots of great treats, and gradually build up his comfort level with this strange new activity.

It bears repeating: Don’t be tempted to go too fast!

When the dog will eventually allow you to put boots (not fastened) onto all four feet at once, go back to putting a boot on just one foot — but this time, fasten it loosely, just enough so he can feel that there’s something around his ankle. Boot on, fasten gently, treat the dog, take off the boot. Next session, do the same thing on a different foot… again, working up to the point where all four feet can be in (loosely fastened) boots at one time.

Repeat the training cycle — one foot first, working up to all four — but this time you’ll fasten each boot more securely, as you would if your were taking the dog outside.

You’ll find that each training cycle will go more quickly, because the dog is gaining confidence and becoming more comfortable with the whole process.

At this point, some dogs will be quite calm about it all, and more interested in walking around than in standing still with you handling their paws.

• If you’ve got carpets in your house, or some other kind of non-slip floor, that might be the best place to start learning to walk in boots.
• With slippery tile floors like this one in my kitchen, I’d go back to one boot (securely fastened) on one paw, and let the dog try it out with his other three paws feeling like they normally do. Then work up to all four boots.

You’ll laugh out loud, the way a dog in new boots will lift his feet and shake them, trying to figure out what’s going on! Just keep his mind off those new boots, those first few times — offer treats, a favourite toy, a ride in the car, whatever he sees as a reward and will distract him from the funny feeling of wearing boots…

Before you know it, your dog will be standing patiently while you put boots on his feet and walking gracefully with well-protected paws.

In this season of boots and giving, some intnernational celebrities have climbed on board with Art & Sole, UGG Australia’s annual auction in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It’s fascinating to see actors and musicians explore their visual-artistic sides… even more so when the canvas on which they’re painting a message of hope is a pair of suede Classic UGG Mini Boots.

Beyond question, the hands-down prize is this henna-inspired design by Liv Tyler.

Cindy Crawford‘s done a ducks-egg-blue flowered pair that’s worth a look, too — but with an auction price that’s standing at $1700 as I write, with three days left to go, I’m afraid that looking is all I’m going to do! And Miley Cyrus’s rainbow boots have a top bid of $2400 — that’s a lot of moola to help the sick kids.

Celebs who have pitched in a paintbrush for the cause include Eva Longoria, Martha Stewart, Matthew McConaughey, John Travolta, the cast of Friday Night Lights and Las Vegas, Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, and Ashlee and Jessica Simpson among others.

[via SheFinds]

As I write this, the weather outside has turned from autumn-mild to chilly, with something wet, something between snow and rain, coming down from the dark sky — and underfoot, the ground is getting soft and muddy.

Ah, what can you do with November in Canada?

Splash out in a pair of stunning wellies, that’s what!

Grey days and mud puddles could be no match for the Autumn Wellington boots, featured at the Victorian Trading Company this month. The beautiful boots are free to e-newsletter subscribers with any $69 minimum purchase, or you can order them up all by themselves for $49.95.

Waterproof rubber and nostalgic flowers in the rich romantic colours of chocolate, raspberry and sage… way to brighten up a wet-weather season!

Now, don’t make fun of my greyhound in his little red boots! It’s not a fashion statement, dog boots are a necessity in the darkest pit of the Canadian winter.

Paw protection is especially important for the short-coated dog breeds like greyhounds, and especially when the weather is as brutal as it’s been here lately — we’re talking about -28°C, with a windchill factor that makes it feel like -40°C (that’s the same as 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, for my American friends). The snow squeaks when you walk on it, and exposed skin can begin to freeze in less than one minute!

So, my latest sewing project has been to sew up some new polar-fleece dog boots. These are quick to make and easy to put on the dog, but they don’t shake off very easily. I’ve made these boots with non-slid vinyl soles, elastic at the ankles, and Velcro fasteners, and the dogs don’t hate them too much.

I based this pattern on an old set of store-bought dog booties that I borrowed from a neighbour, and used some scraps of fleece, elastic, and Velcro that were left over from other sewing projects.

Feel free to use my pattern to make your own dog boots — just right-click to save the image to your computer. It’s not very fancy, because I just sketched it out on a piece of scrap paper, but it works just fine! And you can size the pattern up or down on your printer, to fit the size of your dog’s paws.

For the large male greyhound, I printed out the pattern so that it was 4½ inches wide, measured across the sole. Those large boots fit the Golden Retriever, too, while 1½ inches was plenty wide for boots for a mutt of vaguely Beagle-Chihuahua ancestry.

I love fleece fabric for dog boots because it sews up easily, keeps the paws as warm as possible, doesn’t stain too badly, and dries quickly to be ready for the next outing. For large size boots, I used ¾-inch Velcro and the same width of elastic. For smaller boots, obviously, you’d use a narrower size.

Sewing Instructions:

• Place the “toe” of the pattern on a fold of fabric and cut out around the boot shape. When you unfold the fabric, you’ll have a sort of hourglass shape. Don’t sew up the sides until you’ve done the next steps!

• Following the marks I’ve put on the pattern, place a circle of vinyl or other non-slip material on the sole of the boot and sew it in place.

• Sew on a piece of Velcro at the ankle position, using the softer fuzzy half, and catching a piece of elastic underneath it, as shown. The stitching for the Velcro will hold on the elastic.

• Sew the other half of the Velcro strip (the part with all the tiny hooks) securely onto the free end of the elastic. Make sure that the hooks are facing down when you’re looking at the sole of the boot.

• Finally, fold the boot in half with the right sides together (so that the vinyl sole is inside) and sew up the sides. Turn it right side out.

Because I knew that I was going to sew my dog boots from fleece fabric, which doesn’t fray or ravel, I didn’t add much of a seam allowance to the pattern — about ¼” around the edges — so you might want to count in an extra bit of width for seam allowance if you’re planning to use a woven fabric like a waterproof nylon or such. The other thing I did that’s different from the pattern is adjust the height of the boots — ankle boots are of limited use for a country dog, so I extended the tops up a little bit to better handle the snow-softened farm lanes where we like to walk.

To put the boots on the dog — just turn the boot so that the sole is to the back of the dog’s leg, and slide his paw into the boot. Wrap the elastic around the front of the leg, as shown, and fasten the Velcro. (If your dog has never worn boots before, see also How to Teach a Dog to Wear Boots.)

This lazy greyhound was napping in his crate and refused to get up to model his boots, in case I was going to make him go out in the cold, so this picture shows the view you get when a dog is lying down… but you can get the idea…

So there you have it: my pattern and instructions for sewing dog boots. Feel free to use it as you like!

Oh, and I’d love it if you could let me know if you come up with any improvements to the design. I’m thinking, for example, of making an even taller pair (with two fasteners) for when the dogs are walking in a real bit of snow…