Booting bird dogs to protect their pads is a necessary evil. We’d all prefer not to do it, but in a lot of places—the Sandhills of Nebraska, the Southwest desert, the rimrock canyons of chukar country—an unbooted dog will get as far as a car with four flat tires. Limping pitifully (if not standing stock-still, afraid to move), a dog with pads pierced by cactus thorns, velcroed by sand spurs, or tormented by the terrain defines “out of commission.”
A dog galumphing along in boots won’t win any style points, but you know what they say: pretty is as pretty does. Sometimes you have to sacrifice form to save function.
Among the uninitiated, booting dogs has always seemed a bit mysterious—a kind of black art, a voodoo magic practiced by bearded shamans in darkened rooms. To further cloud the picture, once you start looking into it, you realize there are as many “recipes” for booting dogs as there are for, say, chili.
Well, if there’s one place where they know chili and booting bird dogs, it’s Texas. The clip below, courtesy of Rick Snipes and Dale Rollins, of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, demonstrates a time-tested, field-proven method that protects pads; allows air to circulate; utilizes inexpensive, easily obtainable materials; and sticks like glue to your dog’s feet but is a snap to remove. It’s the only dog-booting recipe you’ll ever need.
To purchase Lewis Boots (shown in the video below) or other commercially manufactured dog boots, or simply to get more information on the subject of booting bird dogs, visit Gun Dog Supply.