4/3/2018
Winter came. We wish to go outside with our dog. We put clothes on, shoes on. We put shoes on our dog. Noway! Not shoes, nor clogs, nor espadrilles, nor flip-flops, nor wooden shoes – dogs need none of them.
Consumer society made us buy what we need and, even more, what we do not need at all. And dogs, not only they do not need any footwear, but it can harm them. At some point, someone saw the opportunity to make money by proclaiming that dogs need shoes. And the one seeing it was not a dog, but a human. Afterwards, it was repeated many times because there was realization that this can stick with humans. And then, the whole machinery stood behind the idea that buying dog shoes is, actually, looking after the dog.
Domestic dogs are animals that originate from wolves. They are dogs, not people. They are not toys here to amuse us, but living beings with needs different from ours. Due to unnatural selection, most of them are no longer capable of enduring really low temperatures, and many breeds cannot endure even mild winters, so they might need some protection, but everything has its limits. And dog shoes are over the limit.
No dog will admire other dog's shoes. It will not envy it, or wish to steal them. The only thing that might happen is that another think-alike owner will give a useless compliment. And the dog wearing those... it will not be able to run, or perhaps even give it a go. It will feel discomfort.
If you took your dog out in the rain or snow, let it walk, let it be a dog, not a human. Let it feel the ground, terrain it runs across. Let its paw-pads get tougher. Let it go through the snow. Do not make it stand in one place. If we stay at one spot in the park, that is not a walk. That is standing in the park. If there is salt for the snow, put some vaseline or glycerine, put some cloth on, but the purpose is clear – to help the dog move naturally.