Field Foot Care and Dog Boots

A few years ago, I was chasing chukars in southern Idaho's cheatgrass and rimrock country.

- By Dr. Shawn Wayment

I had spent the earlier summer months hiking and running my bird dogs on the Rainbow Trail in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado to prepare their feet for my annual Idaho trip. The Rainbow Trail is covered with rocks and scree throughout its entire 100-mile length. My dogs are house dogs and spend six months of the year loafing on our couch. Tough feet are hard to come by for house dogs. I conditioned their feet all summer as well as getting them and myself into good cardiovascular shape.

I turned Gretchen, my 27-pound, grouse woods setter, loose on the volcanic scree-covered slopes of southern Idaho in search of those demon birds that morning. She found a few nice coveys, and we returned to the truck with a few birds in the vest after a three to four hour spin.

I found her feet torn up badly on my tailgate examination. The abrasions to her foot pads were bad enough to limit the amount of hunting her for the rest of the week, and our Idaho bird adventure had just begun.

There is nothing worse than blown dog pads at the beginning of a trip! I could have avoided the trauma to Gretchen's feet had I only booted her prior to turning her loose that morning.