Product Review: Neo-Paws Summer Reinforced Energy Orthopaedic Shoes

Neo-Paws Summer Reinforced Energy Orthopaedic Shoes are protective dog boots designed for active dogs in hot weather. These are used for police and military dogs, search and rescue, agility, hiking, and anything involving water.

Photo by Erin Koski

These are unlike any dog boots I have seen before, and they are sure to perform better as well. Neo-Paws makes a number of different types of boots, and these are their top-of-the-line summer model. Made from breathable fabric, the boots dry quickly and help keep the dog from overheating. They are reinforced with leather in the most vulnerable parts of the uppers, and have reinforced toe caps as well. These shoes are made from the same materials as human running shoes.

Neo-Paws boots go on a little differently from other boots I've tried. Most have a zipper, velcro strap, or both. The Neo-Paws have a long, skinny strip of velcro that acts almost like a shoelace. The result is a custom fit for every dog. These boots can be fitted to avoid the carpal pads, to keep pressure off a sore spot, and to conform to the exact shape of the dog's foot and leg. Other dog shoes don't have this option, if the strap is too low or too high it can put pressure on the dewclaw, cause sores, or just slip off easily.



Brisbane tears up his carpal pads whenever he plays ball on grass. He likes to catch the ball and then skid to an abrupt stop, shredding the pads on the backs of his front legs in the process. I ended up buying him some skid boots to protect his legs from the grass, because his Ruffwear boots and Epiks wouldn't stay on. These are the first boots I've seen that look like they would protect that part of his legs and maybe stay on through his crazed ball-catching antics.

I actually bought these at a thrift store for $5 in brand new condition. They are a size XL, and I was hoping to use them for Josie because she drags both back feet and also one of her front paws. Unfortunately they are too big, so I passed them along to a coworker for her dog Guinness. He paces a lot, and his front pads can't handle the wear and tear. After reading the instructions on how to put them on just right, the Neo-Paws stayed on just fine.

The trick is to pull the inside of the flap up and tight against the dog's leg, and then pull the outside flap down and around the first flap. After that the velcro can be wrapped however works best for the individual dog.

Guiness didn't do any damage to his feet while wearing the Neo-Paws boots. Of course, he was also much less active in them. Something about wearing shoes makes a lot of dogs mopey.



Pros: Custom fitting with unique velcro wrap design, Tall boot design protects more of the leg. Breathable mesh dries quickly. Sold in pairs to allow for different sizes to be ordered for front and back feet.

Cons: These are only sold in pairs, so they are among the most expensive dog shoes out there. Putting them on is slightly more complicated than boots of a simpler design.

Bottom Line: These are pretty amazing, and I will probably get Brisbane a pair for his front feet instead of replacing his holey skid boots.

What Does 'Reactive' Mean?

I often describe Brisbane as reactive, but not everyone knows exactly what that word connotes. Dog trainers and behaviorists use it to describe dogs that react to certain triggers in a big, explosive, over-the-top sort of fashion. Brisbane has many triggers, he is leash-reactive, mailman-reactive, and tends to respond to surprises with an outburst.

"HOSE!!!"

Is reactivity aggression?

It can certainly look aggressive, but a reactive dog is more likely stressed to their breaking point. A reaction usually looks like an explosion of barking, growling, and snarling. This is a defensive reaction, prompted by fear.

Some reactive dogs are also simply so excited they cannot control themselves. A non-reactive dog might see a squirrel and stiffen, whine, and stare. Brisbane sees a squirrel and lunges while scream-barking hysterically.

How does a dog become reactive?

Reactivity can be triggered by a bad experience. Brisbane has been attacked by loose dogs while he was leashed, which tends to make a dog feel extremely vulnerable. When all parties are off-leash he can greet other dogs politely, but when he is leashed that vulnerability often turns into a fear reaction as another dog approaches.

Reactivity can be learned. Ru didn't arrive reactive, but many walks with Brisbane have taught him that exciting things should trigger lunging and barking. Separate walks and lots of training have helped mitigate this response, but Ru has also had plenty of unpleasant experiences with loose dogs.

Reactivity can also be innate. Brisbane is an intense dog, and even as a baby puppy he responded to some new things by barking and lunging. The first time he saw a jogger he lost his mind, and it took a couple of years of desensitization and operant conditioning for him to lose that over-the-top excitement over seeing someone run. This is one of the issues that forced me to rapidly learn new training skills in order to handle my adorable puppy.

Can reactivity be fixed?

A reactive dog can benefit from a lot of different training tactics. Operant conditioning, teaching them to associate the trigger (joggers) with something positive (food) can help them feel less stressed in the presence of that trigger. Leslie McDevitt's book Control Unleashed has a game called Look at That! which uses this technique along with a clicker. 

Reactive dogs can also benefit from anything that helps lower their general anxiety level. Brisbane has benefited greatly from massage, and from Dr. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol. Patricia McConnell once said that one of the most reassuring things she has done for her dogs has been to put herself between them and their triggers. When a loose dog approaches us, I try to keep myself between the strange dog and Brisbane so he doesn't feel like he needs to deal with this problem himself.

Staying positive is one of the best ways to help a reactive dog. They respond to handler stress, and if I am worried about a situation I know Brisbane will worry too. If I respond to his outbursts angrily, he will have one more reason to stress about that particular trigger. "That dog might come over here and bite me, and Mom also gets mad when I'm afraid of dogs..." When he was younger, Brisbane would often react strongly to new and different things, like those huge inflatable holiday decorations on people's lawns. I helped him work through his fear of the unknown by ignoring his growling and barking, and acting like those decorations were the most awesome thing ever. "Wow, look at that! Oh boy, those are so neat! Let's go take a look!"

Comparison: Head Halters

There are a lot of different head halters out there, and I only own three of them. I don't actually use a head halter on any of my dogs, for various reasons. Josie is too old and lame to generate any sort of pulling power. Ru is such a featherweight that I'm not actually sure if I would even notice if he pulled on the leash.

I have used a head halter on Brisbane in the past, but I've never successfully conditioned him to enjoy wearing one. Some dogs fight and paw at their faces when wearing a halter, Brisbane just gives up at life. This is a useful enough feature that I do occasionally put one on him when I need him to just lay there in a pile of despair. I have been told by more than one veterinarian to avoid using head collars on dogs with spinal issues, and they have the potential to hurt the neck of a healthy dog too. I only use a 4' or shorter leash with a head halter, and have to stay attentive and keep the dog from running to the end of the leash and jerking their neck.

Because Brisbane is incapable of looking animated or even lifting his head off the ground when wearing them, Josie is modeling all of my head halters. She is significantly bigger than Briz, but these things fit a pretty decent range of sizes.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is the Gentle Leader. by Premier. It comes in a variety of colors and five different sizes. The Gentle Leader uses a simple design with a loop that goes around the nose of the dog, and another that fits around the neck. The neck loop can be adjusted down very small, and the nose loop is the same width for most of the sizes. This means that a large Gentle Leader can still fit a relatively small dog, which makes them rather versatile. Premier also makes a Deluxe version with a padded noseband.

My experience has been that dogs hate the Gentle Leader more than other headcollars. Josie definitely pawed at it much more during our photo shoot, and it tends to leave marks on dogs with sensitive skin. The Gentle Leader doesn't really have a built-in safety measure in case of escape. The neck loop is supposed to be fitted tightly enough that it can't slip over the dog's head, but Brisbane's neck is fatter than his head and no amount of tightening would prevent him from backing out of this thing if only he could muster the willpower. I would definitely recommend using the Gentle Leader with the leash clipped to a martingale or slip collar because emergency backup measures are awesome.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is the Halti, by The Company of Animals. It is the first headcollar I can remember seeing as a kid. The noseband of this halter sits further down than the Gentle Leader, and I thinks that's why many dogs tolerate it better. This is a Halti sized for Brisbane, but you can see it still fits Josie. When the Halti is pulled tight it closes the dog's mouth, this can be helpful for dogs that bite or attempt to eat things off the ground.

I really appreciate that the Halti has a safety strap with a small clip to attach to the dog's collar. The Halti isn't intended to be as tight around the dog's neck as the Gentle Leader, and this extra safety strap is particularly reassuring when attached to a martingale or slip collar.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is the Canny Collar, and it is a bit different than most head halters because the leash attaches in the back, behind the dog's head. I haven't tried actually using this one yet, but Josie was significantly less unhappy about wearing it. My favorite thing about the Canny Collar is that it does not twist the dog's head around at all. From a training perspective this could be a disadvantage because I would not be able to force the dog to look up at me. However, it seems to be significantly safer for the average dog owner who just wants to go for a walk without their arm getting dislocated.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Canny Collar is built on a flat buckle collar, and this again could be a problem for dogs who back out of collars. One of the neat features about the Canny Collar is that the nose loop can be slipped off and secured around the dog's neck for off-leash play or practice walking on a flat buckle collar.

This would definitely be the first head halter I would recommend to someone who wants to walk and isn't focused on training. I would also probably recommend the Infinity Lead, although I haven't yet found one in a thrift store so I have yet to try it myself. The Infinity Lead also attaches to the dog's collar as an emergency backup measure.

The Snoot Loop, Sporn Halter, and Comfort Trainer are a few more head halters I haven't actually played with yet, but the ones pictured here are the most common and easiest to find. I think the rear-attaching halters like the Canny Collar are becoming more common, something I'm very glad to see. Whether head halters count as positive or negative training equipment probably counts a lot on the dog and handler, but they need to be used carefully to avoid injury.