Product Review: Silver Paw Dog Boots

Silver Paw Dog Boots are winter boots made from highly visible safety yellow neoprene. They feature reflective straps and an overlapping construction that makes them easy to put on. The Silver Paw Dog Boots also use Silver Shield antibacterial technology to prevent odors. These boots are available in four sizes to fit dogs with paws 2 3/8" wide through 3" wide.

Photo by Erin Koski

The way these boots close at the front with the two sides overlapping really reminded me of the Neo-Paws boots, so I had high hopes. Sadly, the Silver Paws don't go nearly as far up the dog's leg, and they lack the endless wraparound strap that give the Neo-Paws their custom fit. These ended up being rather ordinary dog boots after all.

Photo by Erin Koski

Brisbane has been having ongoing foot issues for a while. It used to only happen during extreme dog sports, but now his pads get hurt just walking on pavement. While we slowly work on toughening him up, the vet has advised me to keep him in boots for activities.

We put the Silver Paws boots to the test at On the Lamb during our most recent herding lesson. As advertised, the boots were very easy to put on Brisbane's feet because they open up right down to the ends of the toes.

They did not, however, stay on. Despite some very careful fitting, Brisbane lost both front boots within five minutes of herding. It's interesting that the back boots were the ones that stayed on. My experience has been that back boots fall off more often because most dogs have smaller hind feet than front feet. People tend to size the boots for the front feet, leaving the back ones a little loose. There are a number of ways manufacturers have tried to solve this issue, from making different boots for the front and rear feet, to selling boots only in pairs instead of fours.

Pros: Very easy to put on. Extra-high visibility, easy to spot a lost boot on the trail. Supposedly don't get stinky.

Cons: Don't stay on better than other boots we've tried.

Bottom Line: These would probably ok in snow or on hot pavement, but we're going to stick with the Ruffwear Grip Trex for our dog sports.

Have you used boots on your dog?