Doggy Boots

Project 365 – #192

For the record, I’m not normally one to get my pets their own clothing, but sometimes, it becomes a matter of necessity….  Now, occasionally, “puppy” will be given a costume by Munchkin, but he doesn’t usually get his own clothing.

On the 4th of July weekend, we decided to go out exploring a little.  (More about that with pictures at a later date….)  At one point, we all got out to go look at some cool rock formations.  “Puppy” wanted to get out with us.  Keep in mind that we’re in the Az desert, and it’s in the middle of the summer.  So, we’re talking temps between 115-120 degrees F.  The sand was HOT – everything was cookin’.  Add to that the fact that “puppy” isn’t as young as he use to be, and you end up with a very unhappy puppy.  He walked around a little, but all too quickly his back end gave out.  He couldn’t walk.

At first, we thought it was just his hips giving him trouble.  We realized that it was actually the heat combined with the hot surfaces that ended up giving him trouble.  (Don’t worry, he had plenty to drink, and we kept him in the shade as much as possible when he wasn’t in the vehicle.)  We started talking about getting him some hiking boots to protect his feet as we know how much he loves to go out with us.  We have a family trip coming up that will involve him being outside with us, so we decided to see what was available.

D knew of some different products out there that the military dogs had worn while serving overseas in the sandbox, so I started doing research as soon as we got home.  I found several different options, and I ended up ordering him some rugged ultra paws.  They’re meant to work in harsh environments like the desert where there is hot sand and cactus.  (They also work where there is snow and ice.)  I admit that it felt a little odd ordering my dog some boots, but we felt that it would be worth it if they worked.

When they arrived, I put them on “puppy” who, as you can see, was oh so thrilled to wear them.  Okay, okay, so he wasn’t too thrilled with wearing them, but he did like them when we went on a short walk around the neighborhood.  He happily walked along on the hot pavement with no issues.  Later that day, after D got home from work, we decided to take “puppy” on another walk with his new boots.  This time, he new what was coming with the boots, so it wasn’t quite as easy to get them on.  Thankfully, they have a nice set-up, so they’re not too difficult to work with.  After he had them on, he started doing this hilarious high stepping which from what I understand is fairly common with dogs and boots.  Once we got outside and started walking, he was happy as can be walking around.

We haven’t had a chance to test these out in the desert conditions, but I think we’ve found something that is going to work well for us.  It should allow him to continue to explore with us even in the summer.  The real test is coming soon.  For now, we’ll continue to take him on short walks around here to help break in the boots and get him use to wearing them around.

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