If you have a dog with DM you'll know toe dragging is a common and harmful symptom of the disease. These shoes are designed to add support to the foot, limit the foot folding backwards and help your dog bring the foot back to the correct position when it does bend back.

The Videos above show my dog Tess walking in her wheels with the supports connected and disconnected, so you can see the difference.

After Tess started wearing them her hydrotherapist reported she has less knucking her back feet a bit less during sessions.

These shoes should help your dog maintain correct foot position when walking in wheels. Even though my dog can't support her weight anymore she still can perform the walking motion which helps keep the muscles active to slow decline.

Supplies

Materials

An old pair of dog boots
A new pair of dog boots
Shoe goo
2 x 3d printed parts (stl supplied)
2 x D-ring shoelace eyelets
3mm elastic shock cord
4 or 5mm Bungee Hook

Tools:

Scissors
Leather hole punch/eyelet pliers

Step 1: Creating the Cuff

We want a comfortable cuff to hold the anchor point for the shoe, an old pair of your dog's shoes are ideal as they are already designed to be comfortable on your dog's leg/feet.

To make the cuff you'll need:

An old pair of dog shoes: If you've been living with a dog with DM you should have plenty of these, the ones with the toes worn out are best as we dont need that it of the shoe.
Access to a 3d printer: there are many people offering this service and the part is small so shouldn't cost must to get a few printed. The file for the 3D printed part can be found here:
STl File for hook fixing point
A pair of scissors

Directions:

Cut the top of the shoe with the velcro fastenings off, try to get as much length as possible. The best way to do this is to flatten the shoe then cut along just near the end of the sole of the shoe. You can discard the toe section of the shoe.
Print 2 (or more) of the 3d part. If you don't have access to a 3d printer as said above there are many people offering this service that could print from the file linked. If that isn't an option you could cut something out of metal or plastic or even bend wire.
Which ever method you use, you will need to have the capacity to thread the existing velcro straps on the cuff through the slots to secure an anchor point securely in place on the cuff.

Step 2: Prepare the New Shoes (optional, But Recommended)

This step is pretty straightforward, coat the toe of the new shoes in "Shoe Goo". I find the best way to do this is to put a little on the shoe and then wet your finger and smooth a layer over the toe section of the boots.

The first photo shows the 3 stages of application. The second photo shows the finished shoe compared to a untreated one

While adding shoe Goo isn't essential, there will still be some toe scraping occurring and this will make the shoes last longer.

Step 3: Prepare to Rivet

For this step you'll need to make a hole in the toe of your dogs shoe where the D ring will attach.

You will need a leather punch, pliers and the D ring rivets

Turning the shoes halfway inside out as shown also helps the hole punch reach to the end of the shoe.

Step 4: Punch a Hole in the Shoe

Here I have punched a hole right at the end of the toes in the middle, but experiment as to where works best for your dog.

At one stage (as shown in the video) offset from the center worked best, but now a central fixing point seems to work best for my girl.

Step 5: Rivet Shoe

It can be tricky getting the back part of the rivet through the hole so in the first photo I am poking a sharp implement through the hole into the inside of the shoe and feeding the back part of the rivet onto the spike. This makes it easier to line up the front and back sections of the rivet.

In the video I use a large hole punch. Once the back of the D ring is in place, you can proceed to attach the front using a regular riveting tool.

Step 6: Create Brace

Thread the length of shock cord through the d-ring and then put both ends through the bungee hook and tie off to length. The knot will hold the shock cord in place within the hook.

A note on length: This will vary according to your dog, I aim for a length that will allow the shock cord to just becoming tight when your dog is standing normally. You want the resistance to begin as the foot starts to bend backwards.

To adjust the length, just untie the knot and make it again in the desired location.