In winter the local news in Manhattan sometimes airs stories warning the public of the harm salt used to melt snow on sidewalks can do to their dog's paws, so it is not unusual to see a few dogs wearing boots. But now I see it also in August and September. Shoes on dogs have definitely caught on with pet owners this summer, and it's understandable.
As great as New York City is, the sidewalks and subways can be very, very dirty. In response, I'm one of those annoying people who ask guests to remove their shoes in my apartment. I buy extra houseshoes to offer visitors who'd prefer not to walk around in their socks, but few folks let on that they mind the "sockhop." when entering my place. My guests who accept my houseshoes get to take them home as a gift after their visit. I think if you're forward enough to ask people to remove their shoes in your home, giving them footwear is a thoughtful gesture. You won't catch them off-guard with holes in their socks, plus you want your guests to feel taken care of and comfortable in your house. You can buy inexpensive hospital booties at the dollar stores to have a supply on hand.
It turns out that people who study germs think removing our shoes inside our homes is ideal! Studies have found shoes bring an astonishing amount of poop bacteria into New York City buildings, so I don't think we who live here are defacto germophobes. We just have common sense.If [still] a pet owner, I suppose I'd extend these findings to my dog's paws in cold and warm weather. More and more, it seems like a good idea in a high-traffic city for several reasons!
Think of it this way: When popcorn drops on your rug while watching a movie, you don't have to worry about picking it up to eat it! Moreover, Fido is in the habit of licking his paws. Yes, it's true he also licks his own butt -- but IMHO spreading germs is a numbers game, so let's limit him right there to spreading his own bacteria throughout your home! For sure, think about keeping the other bacteria from God-knows-where-and-God-knows-what out of your living space. The idea is not to avoid common household germs but all the foreign germs we don't want to know about!😳Sidewalks also get hot and at times there's broken glass or sharp objects to potentially cut paws.
In a pinch, I've read ... you can outfit your dog's paws with 4 rubber balloons. but more permanent shoes made for dogs are relatively affordable. Some are for dryness and others for warmth. Here are tips on training your dog to wear them.
Please weigh in: If you bring your dog to a major city with lots of foot traffic, the sources of germs, would you adorn him with cute little shoes?
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Where I am, in suburbs of New York, I've seen dog shoes, but more as a "warmth" thing in chilly weather- the shoes usually go with a matching sweater. But for city dwellers, if someone comes over with a dog, it would certainly make a lot of sense to put some shoes- most likely some adaptation from a small plastic bag with some rubber bands if you want to improvise, onto the pooch's feet.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense to only worry about warmth in the suburbs. On very cold winter days we sometimes put a baby's or boy's pullover sweater on our dog. It worked! No shoes because we didn't have to worry about salt or germs with so little foot traffic. Nowadays you can buy so much stuff especially made for dogs. I don't remember buying our pet dog toys either … only rubber balls and chewing rubber things.
DeleteOK- further on this. Last weekend I was dog-sitting!!! Put some Huggies baby-wipes to work after the dog's walks, cleaned paws with the wipes before letting him romp around.
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