Product Review: Avery Dog Boots

I've been a dog owner for most of my life. I thought I'd seen it all when it came to the bumps, scratches and bruises that seem to come with daily doggie escapades, but a few weeks ago I faced a new dilemma.

I, *gulp*, stepped on my dog's foot in high heel shoes (on accident, of course) and, much to my horror, split his paw pad open! Now I'm not a nurse, but I know enough to determine that the infamous Texas rain that keeps my yard a constant mud pie in winter would not be beneficial to paw healing. Dogs, being dogs, run and play and generally go nuts in the yard so how do you keep a healing paw clean?

My homemade solution started with antibacterial cream, some gauze and plastic bags around the foot every time we headed outside. (Yes, there was some humor to be found in the situation – imagine a dog running around with a plastic grocery bag flopping off one foot). It wasn’t ideal but it was working – if you don’t mind having to replace the bag with every trip out back and keep those outside visits under five minutes. Holes were created in an amazingly short time and bags were frequently falling off – still I could manage, it was just one dog, one foot.

Ha – until the curve ball came two days later. My other dog decided to find something in the yard to slice open her paw pad. Same foot, same “toe”. I’m still convinced she was jealous of the added attention the one dog was getting.

The frequent bag changing quickly became an exercise in futility (and didn’t seem like a very green fix, although the discards were recycled). I opted to search for a more permanent and protective solution. Surely the pet store had something for this – these could not be the first wayward dogs to damage their tootsies.

Alas, they did not! I found nothing to really protect these injured paws from the elements. Until, in an “aha” moment, I decided to try the hunting section of the local sporting goods store. Bingo and eureka. Avery Dog Boots to the rescue!

These are the best things since sliced bread! Well, for paws anyway. They’re neoprene, waterproof and have little soles on the bottom to stand up to rugged terrain. (Ok, so my backyard may not be rugged terrain but when dogs go running at warp speed, round and round and round again, it’s rugged on any terrain). Little Velcro straps keep the boots in place through the roughest playtime pranks and the boots were “easy on, easy off,” an absolutely essential feature when two bouncing barkers can’t wait to get out the door.

Bottom Lign: I don’t know how they hold up for hunting but Avery Dog Boots are a “must-have” for foot first-aid!