Product Review: Good2Go Waterproof Dog Socks

Good2Go Waterproof Dog Socks have a non-skid coating to keep paws warm and dry. They come in a variety of sizes and colors and are surface-washable only.

Photo by Erin Koski

Good2Go is a Petco house brand, though occasionally their stuff pops up at discount stores. These are super cute and remind me of our PMP Waterproof Outdoor Socks. The rubber part feels nice and grippy, and the knit stuff is stretchy enough to get on and off easily.

Like most dog socks, these don't stay on. They actually fit Brisbane very well, any smaller and they'd be difficult to put on so they're quite snug. It's just that stretchy knit elastic isn't really enough to keep them from sliding off eventually.

I keep these around because they may be useful the next time Brisbane injures a foot. If I needed them to stay on I'd want to use bandaging tape around the tops to tape them to his legs. One of my herding friends did that and managed to keep them on her border collie, but the socks wore through in less than a day.

Pros: Grippy for slippery hard floor. Easy to put on. Warm and waterproof. Can be used to discourage foot licking and protect injuries.

Photo by Erin Koski

Cons: Stay on about as well as any other dog socks in the history of the universe. Not for high-speed
outdoor adventures or abrasive surfaces.

Bottom Line: If you need some dog socks, these are about as good as any other dog socks out there.

Product Review: Ruffwear Bark'n Boot Liners

Ruffwear Bark'n Boot Liners are socks that go under Ruffwear dog boots. They are intended to improve fit, reduce irritation of dewclaws, and make the boots more comfortable. The boot liners are available in four sizes that match up with the various boot sizes.

Photo by Erin Koski

Brisbane's Grip Trex boots keep his feet from getting torn up when he is lure coursing, but he can't wear them all day long. The strap on these boots cinches down right over his front dewclaws, and after a few hours he starts to get hot spots under those claws.

The Bark'n Boot liners are intended to wick away moisture, and moisture is a big part of the hot spot formation process. I'm not totally certain how well they work when wet, however. Brisbane loves to stick his feet in his water bucket after a good run, and if I leave the boots on they inevitably get soaked.

Photo by Erin Koski

These socks shouldn't be worn by themselves. They have no grip at all, and Brisbane slides around on the hardwood floor before I get the boots on him.

So far they seem to be working, Briz has not had any irritation under his dewclaws since we started using the Bark'n Boot Liners. They do make the boot-putting-on process take twice as long, though

Pros: Seem to make the boots less hateful for Brisbane. Fairly easy to put on, and do appear to reduce irritation.

Cons: Putting on socks under boots takes forever, and is basically impossible on a super-excited dog. Some people have a lot of trouble with the boots falling off as soon as the socks get wet.

Bottom Line: The guy at R.E.I. laughed when I told him I was buying socks for my dog.

Have you ever put socks on your dog?

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?

Product Review: PMP Waterproof Outdoor Socks

Made by Protect Me for Pets, these socks are partically coated in waterproof rubber to help keep feet dry and warm in any weather conditions.

I hadn't heard of this company before, apparently they are brand new and sell dog clothes including some really cute jackets that match these socks. I'm having a lot of trouble finding information about the company though, they don't seem to have an online presence. The same entitiy holds the trademark for North Paw dog apparel.

I liked the concept of these socks. They seemed to be a nice compromise between fabric booties and serious dog shoes.

Josie doesn't usually drag her feet badly enough to damage them, but she does slide around quite a bit on my hardwood floors. In addition to keeping her nails trimmed and cutting all the fur out from between her toes, these could potentially give her a little more grip.They could also help keep her feet warm and dry on cold and wet days. I have tried socks for Ru in the past, but stopped using them partly because they stopped keeping him warm as soon as they got wet.

The other reason I stopped putting socks on Ru was that they wouldn't stay on. The PMP socks are also going to be sitting in a drawer because they fall off. After ten minutes of ambling around on grass, Josie was already missing two socks. She does drag all of her feet, so they might be a good option for a more able-bodied dog. They would also be good for Josie if we lived somewhere with real weather and I needed to worry about keeping her warm.

The waterproof outdoor socks only come in sizes, X-Small, Small, and Medium. Josie is wearing the Medium socks, but I could probably manage to stuff her various claws and toes into the next size down and get a better fit. If I was madly in love with this product I could also probably find a way to make it stay on, via vetwrap, duct tape, or my guerilla sewing skills. I could also do what I've done with all of Brisbane's shoes, and use fabric paint to write my phone number on them in case one gets lost on an adventure. (Josie enjoys adventures but occasionally needs to be carried back to the car.

Pros: A worthwhile concept, and unique enough that they some people will probably find them helpful.

Cons: Limited range of sizes means getting a good fit is difficult. Socks fall off easily.

Bottom Line: Not bad for $5 in the clearance bin at Petco, but not something I will be using on a regular basis.