The Problem with Dog Socks

Dog socks are totally adorable, but they have some design flaws that make them less than perfect. Knit socks should be a convenient way to keep little feetsies warm. Grippy socks should provide traction on slick floors. Dog socks can also be used to protect feet from obsessive licking.

Photo by Erin Koski

Ru has a set of tiny pink socks that are excessively cute. They have little grippy dots on the bottoms, and little argyle designs at the tops. I bought them at a little Japanese import store in a mall in San Jose.

I can't remember who made these little socks, but I bought them about a year before I started seeing similar dog socks in big box stores like Petsmart and Petco. These came one size smaller, but this was as small as I could realistically expect to get on Ru's little feet.

Putting socks on a dog is harder than it looks. Coordinating all those toes and toenails and directing them down a stretchy tube takes a little bit of work. Despite these being snug-fitting little chihuahua socks, they don't stay on.

I had a similar issue with the PMP Waterproof Outdoor Socks. The elastic knit sock fabric just wasn't tight enough to keep them on. Smaller, tighter socks would have been difficult to actually get onto the dog. These and those are the only dog socks I've tried. I have used baby socks on Brisbane to protect foot injuries, and those stayed on about as well as these just-for-dogs socks.

Have you found any dog socks that actually stay on?