Gun Dog Forum

Whats a good way to prep the dogs paws for hard conditions and what do you guys use for cut, raw, or dry pads on the dogs feet?
Does anyone use use the little dog boots I've seen in the store for hunting ?

I like road rock in the runs for their feet but hate it for cleaning the runs. I never used anything on there feet but some did need it, Dark colored feet seem to be tougher.

I run my dogs on rocky roads pre season- I have one dog that is a prancer- very light on his feet and never a paw problem - I have one that is a plodder and strikes the ground hard- he is a problem- through out the season , at night , I will put either Vertimycen (sp) or Petro-Carbon on his feet and Velcro a tube sock on him. Tuff foot or any of the others didn't work- he just strikes the ground too hard with his feet.

Year-round roading/running your dog on a variety of surfaces will go a long way to conditioning/toughening its feet. I've read that adding gelatin or zinc gluconate to the diet can help toughen pads. I haven't tried either so do some research to convince yourself it's worth a try (or not).

ezzy333 wrote:I like road rock in the runs for their feet but hate it for cleaning the runs. I never used anything on there feet but some did need it, Dark colored feet seem to be tougher.

Use pea rock. a bedding fork works great for cleaning. easier than cleaning concrete...................Cj

I agree there is nothing like conditioning; however you might want to try "plain TINCTURE of BENZOIN" or TUF-FOOT that has other stuff in it besides the TINCTURE of BENZOIN.

I've seen some dogs with material wrapped around their paws and duck taped? Has anyone tried this ?

Mine tore a rear paw yesterday while hunting. Looked real awful yesterday but today he has licked it and you can barely tell. He isn't putting 100% weight on it though so you can tell he's in discomfort. What do you guys use to speed recovery?

Lots of conditioning and roading on gravel and pavement. And also, Tuf-Foot. But Tuf-Foot works best if you start a month or more before the season.

I've tried just about every boot on the market & the best one for me is the leather Australian boot. It's a flat strip of leather with holes in it for the toenails. You wrap it from the front of the shin around to the back of the shin & duct tape on.

The thing I don't like about the full boot is the dog looses it's grip with the terrain. Seems like they would be more apt to injure a joint if they slide.

I also did the sport wrap around the paw with a duct tape covering. This kept his pads in good shape, but the tops of his toes ended up being raw so I quit using this.

speedy recovery = REST and another dog;-)