Lost: Ruffwear Dog Boot at Hyak

Oh man... yeah, that's what Hopi looked like after a day in similar conditions. I had to break out my shears and give her an in-the-field haircut, since she was having trouble lifting her legs.

The suit she has is kind of ridiculous (she looks like a speed-skater, or a dog-sausage), but it does the job and she gets to play snowball free.

David Lowry's got the right idea on the booties, I think, and he should know -- he's got a couple of skijoring dog teams that he's posted about in the past. I'm planning on packing some of his kit next time Hopi goes out, since it's much more compact than the ones she has now. She much prefers going barepaw, since she can use her built-in crampons.

I used to live on the Canadian border in Ely, Minnesota. There is a very active dogsledding community up there and I picked up some really effective tricks for dealing with dogs in the snow.

For balls of snow that form on your dogs undercarriage, chest, etc use PAM. Yes, PAM the cooking spray. Before you head out just liberally spray the underside of your dog with PAM and it will keep the snow from sticking. I know it sounds crazy, but for most moderate length day trips the PAM will work for the whole day. By the time you get back most of the PAM will wear off so you don't have to worry about PAM all over your car or house. Do not buy butter flavored PAM or your dog will want to lick it off. People think I'm crazy when they see me spraying PAM on my dog in the parking lot, but it makes the dog much happier on the trail.

Regarding snow balls between foot pads. Musher's Secret is really effective for keeping those balls from forming. The upside is that it still allows your dog to use its claws for traction on ice and rock. A 200g tub will last a long time. You can get it at Amazon pretty cheaply.

www.amazon.com/Mushers-Secret-Paw-Protector-Grams/dp/B0002IJQDM

The one downside of Musher's Secret is that if you are in really cold conditions (northern Minnesota) it doesn't provide any insulation value. If you want dog booties I'd definitely recommend checking out the ones from Kondos Outdoors (they supply most of the dog mushers in Minnesota). These dog booties (in the tall size) have two Velcro closures and stay on way better than others I've used (I still buy one or two extra ones just in case). They are also cheaper than the Ruff Wear ones.

www.kondosoutdoors.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?...KO&Category_Code=DB7