Dog boot sales surged for Winter Storm Fern

When you first put boots on dogs, it may take them some time to get their footing, which is fitting since that’s precisely what’s happened to the dog-boot category itself. Virtually unknown to pet owners a generation ago (unless they trained sled dogs), paw protection has gone mainstream, as evidenced by the sales surge for the products when Winter Storm Fern hit.

For the week in late January, when the storm pummeled much of the US, Chewy saw sales of dog boots more than double year over year, rising 110%. Even more dramatic was the sales lift over the previous week in January, with dog boot sales more than tripling, with a 215% increase, per Chewy.

“It’s a very triggered purchase by the weather, from what we can see,” Christopher Mohler, director of merchandising at Chewy, told Retail Brew.

It will come as no surprise that sales were highest in states where Rex had the hardest time finding fire hydrants in the snow drifts, with the most booty purchases coming from New York, followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia, per Chewy.

Paw and order: The global dog footwear market was valued at $1.7 billion in 2024, and is projected to grow an average of 9.8% annually, growing to $4.3 billion by 2034, according to a 2025 report from Research and Markets.

“Dog boots may seem like a newfangled, unnatural intervention, but they ultimately ensure your dog’s safety,” Chewy’s website explained in a post and accompanying video about both their functional benefits and how to coax Fluffy into them. “Humans didn’t used to wear shoes either—but now they’re integral to our daily lives.”

Aside from the storm bump, Mohler said Chewy has “seen steady growth over the past few years,” for dog boots, and while the retailer declined to provide specific annual increases it did confirm that the increases have been in the double digits.

One indicator of how mainstream dog boots have become is how many mainstream publications are dedicating ratings roundups to them. Along with product ratings stalwart Consumer Reports, dog boots have—in every sense—been put through their paces by media outlets including the New York Times’s Wirecutter, Forbes, the New York Post, and Business Insider.

Casual observers who can’t decide whether dogs wearing boots look adorable, preposterous, or both may be surprised that the products provide real benefits.

As Wirecutter explained, it’s not just that snow can get packed in paws and that road salt can sting them, but that our furry companions can ingest a stomach-upsetting slurry when they’re back at the hearth and licking their paws.

“Dogs might step in rock salt or antifreeze, both of which are used more in the winter and can be toxic if ingested by a dog,” Wirecutter advised. “Booties help to keep these nasty chemicals off of your dog’s paws and out of their mouth.”

Slip sliding away: When it comes to products that melt snow and ice, some are more pet-friendly than others, and those were flying out of Chewy’s warehouses as Fern was hitting, too.

Sales of pet-safe ice melt products peaked on January 21, a couple days before Fern hit but was dominating forecasts and headlines. For the month of January, sales of the products were up 60% YoY. The retailer’s bestseller, Safe Paw Pet-Safe Ice Melt, which touts its salt- and chloride-free formulation, remained out of stock at this writing, a month after the storm.