Is your dog a BOOTIE HATER? Does he run away every time he sees you picking up those ugly things you put on his paws? Do not panic!! Follow these tips so your pup  learns to like his booties!

{THE TIPS}

{UNO} Let your dog get used to his boots gradually. It’ll save a whole lot of grief when you’re in a hurry to walk him and get to work!

{DOS} Integrate the boots in your dog’s 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.

{TRES} Although some trainers advice to do the training having your dog standing, when we taught Mylo, he lay down on his side and it worked out perfectly fine too.

{CUTARO} Repeat & repeat… with a different foot… and the next… and the next… Then, try two feet. By doing this you are getting to a 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.

{REMINDER}

Don’t be tempted to go too fast! Patience will pay off in the long run. Some dogs do just fine in a couple of days while others will need a bit longer. The thing is to make the experience as happy one for your pup; make it a game . These sessions will become a part of the school game you play together. Go at the dog’s pace, and stay within his comfort zone when you’re introducing anything new. Reward and reward with food and cuddles!

{TIMID DOGS}

In this case start by simply showing him the boots and reward him for being near them and improve slowly to gently touching his paw with one boot and reward while the boot is touching him and so on. If a dog had bad experience with having his feet handled, grooming or nail clipping this could take longer.

{WHAT ABOUT DOG WALKING}

Once your dog is okay having the boots on, if you have carpets in your house, or some other kind of non-slip floor, that might be the best place to start learning to walk with the booties on. If you only have slippery floors go back to one boot on one paw and so on. Most likely your pup is going to look funny while attempting to walk with the boots. Distract him by offering treats and many “good boy” or “good girl” for each step.