Preparing your dogs for Winter Boots

These paws don't want no touching but my dog needs to wear boots. With fall right around the corner, dog owners know to expect their daily walks and adventures to be a little dirtier than usual ;) With rain and damp weather that follows, wet leaves falling from trees, your dog's feet may need a little more tlc than usual.

This is where a lot of owners struggle with their dogs, having a dog who is uncomfortable with having their feet touched can make a simple task such as wiping their wet paws, checking for sores or cracks in the pads or when trying to cut their nails turn into a wrestling match. These are common issues that many dog owners run into everyday with their dogs. Here are a few exercises we can incorporate into our weekly training schedule to help build neutrality with our dogs paws.

We always recommend new puppy owners to incorporate paw neutrality exercises into their training plan. Gradually expose your dog to the boots or nail trimmers, doesn't mean we have to put them on their paws right away but even with the object being close by.

Staying and being consistent with the process will allow your dogs to build a relationship and establish trust with you handling their paws. Exposing your dog to these exercises daily just becomes part of your daily routine and creates no negative association between the object, your dog and the act of being able to handle your dog's paws.

If this is something you struggle with and need more guidance we are here to help you one paw at a time.