It breaks my heart to see the look of disappointment on Sparky’s face. None of the boots stayed on, but he had unrealistic expectations.
I have a fleece sleeping bag liner that wasn’t likely to ever be used again. That provided plenty of material to make the snow boots. I measured Sparky’s legs, and noted that he’s got big feet and narrow legs. The boots were made big, with a snap to tighten the boot above his wrist or hock or whatever joint that is.
The snow boots fit well and looked good. The yellow arrows indicate snap locations. One to attach the boot to his jacket and one to hold the boot snugly on his leg.
Sparky called me an asshole and wanted to know why I hated him.
I took Sparky’s criticism in stride. The boots had no traction on tile, so just sitting there was a challenge. Sparky would change his mind when he was standing on snow pack.
I was wrong.
“Can you add jingle bells to my green stockings so I’m a proper frickin’ Carhartt Christmas elf? I’ll stuff my head in that Santa hat you got from Ed, so nobody can tell it’s me.”
I told Sparky that gave me an idea.
“Let me guess. I wear those reindeer antlers from Aunt Joanne, so I can be Sparkle the Green Legged Nightmare?”
Sparky was getting kind of bitchy about the whole thing.
“Shut up, listen. Mentioning Ed made me think. I’ve got a bunch of snaps left. How about I get a Christmas elf, and add snaps to your jacket so the elf is riding you? If an elf is riding you, nobody would think you’re an elf. You’d have to be dire wolf.”
Sparky didn’t think that was so bad. “Wouldn’t the elf squirm around a lot and try to jump off and run into the woods?”
We got that straightened out, and got back to how the boots worked.
The boots stayed on during normal dog activities. The boots even stayed on while Sparky went knocking around in his ice gulch.
Sparky didn’t have the traction for full beast mode.
When Sparky couldn’t get out on his own, he was done playing. He stepped out of the front boots and stretched his back legs to shed those.
Sparky was kind enough to turn his head so I couldn’t see him laughing at my hubris.
Even with Sparky’s lack of enthusiasm, the boots are a win. We will only use them when the temperature is in the low single digits. When it’s that cold, Sparky doesn’t go down to the ice.