Who knew it was possible to protect your pups with dog leggings that easily stay on doggie paws?
Lisa Baronoff, founder of Walkee Paws, had this to say about the world’s first dog leggings:
“I launched the world’s first doggie legging back in 2018… And this was basically in response to the fact that booties… just don’t work… So, we sort of created a whole new category of business in the dog apparel business…”
That dog business, it turned out, became what we now know as Walkee Paws.
Starting Walkee Paws from Scratch
Founded by Lisa, a proud owner of a Goldendoodle named Stir Fry and a (deceased) Cocker Spaniel named Toffee, Walkee Paws were designed to protect your pooch from germs, dirt, and other rough elements that came with being outside.
According to Lisa, who is a dog owner based in Manhattan,
“Back in 2015, I had a really big problem. Toffee got really sick one year, and the vet suggested that Toffee wear booties because there were snowmelt chemicals on the ground.”
Although she had never tried booties before, she was on a mission to help alleviate the suffering of her beloved pup. So, she bought a ton of all different types and iterations of the product to make sure that her Cocker Spaniel would feel much better.
However, her shopping only made her realize that there were three problems in the design and development of the dog boots existing in the market at the time.
“It was very hard to get a booty onto a dog that’s writhing and moving around… And then if you did manage to get them on, they rely on being tied around a dog’s ankle to stay on. So, they sort of stopped the blood flow, and they’re very uncomfortable. And dogs do a very funny walk… And then if I eventually would be able to get him to go downstairs and walk in them a little bit in the snow, invariably, one or more boots would fall off…”
This experience gave her the idea of a product that pet parents can use to suspend over a dog’s back and wouldn’t rely on being tight around the ankles.
“And then you’d never lose a booty because they all connected together as sort of like a system. And then when I went on to try and do a prototype and develop them more, and I realized there were other benefits,”
Lisa said.
The Benefits of Using Walkee Paws Dog Leggings
Having come from a fashion and marketing background, Lisa wanted to make sure that her Fido remains comfortable even with the dog leggings on.
For this reason, she saw to it that the Walkee Paws would be easy to walk in and take off.
“You can machine-wash them, you can rinse the pores under cool water. And just one thing led to another… It was quite an experience getting this all going,”
Lisa remarked.
Sharing her thoughts on what could have contributed to Walkee Paws’ success, she added,
“I think one of the reasons they sold was…no one had done a doggie legging. And then the other thing with leggings is that there’s a huge trend in women’s wear towards women wearing athleisure all day long… And then there’s a trend towards humanization in the pet industry. So, the idea was: ‘If women can wear their leggings, why not dogs, too?’… And then I think by addressing these pain points…I think that really helps the product to take off.”
Learn more about Walkee Paws!
Check out their website at https://walkeepaws.com/.
