The soles of our winter dog boots are made from a special rubber compound that provides excellent traction. Georgia G5514 Men's Brown Mud Dog Pull On Wellington Work Boots have a tough look, soft insides and weather-resistant strength. I just wanted to defend the welly, because I find them comfier and more practical than hiking boots, and much more affordable than (admittedly gorgeous) leather ones. These offer the best combination of performance on the most types of cold-weather surfaces—from icy driveways to snow-packed fields—that we’ve found.

This guide does not cover winter work boots or extreme-cold boots, which are heavily insulated to keep feet warm for long periods of time and sometimes have features like reinforced toe caps or electrical hazard protection.The boots also have an ultra-wide opening that makes them easy to put on and take off, even if your dog is not used to wearing boots.

And we also tried the GlobalWin Waterproof Winter Boot, but the flaws were many, including a sole so slippery that no tester would set foot on ice without holding onto something. A great snow boot is not only waterproof around the base but will lace up tall over your pants to keep water (and snow) out. But you may not notice or care if you don’t regularly deal with large drifts of fresh snow, and the faux fur offers at least a small amount of protection. Walking boots or anything leather look great, but need more looking after - cleaning, leather care, waterproofing - and often have a deep tread which holds a lot of mud, and er other substances.

The best dog boots will be completely comfortable for your pup's paws, so you don’t have to worry about the boots hurting.