# Dog Pads in Cactus Country



## WRP (Mar 19, 2009)

Hey guys, I'm heading to central Nebraska next week for a combo upland/duck hunting trip with an old college buddy of mine.
He just moved to the area & doesn't have a birddog, so he hasn't done much upland hunting as of yet, but he said there is a fair amount of prickly pear where we will be chasing chickens & sharptails.
I've got a lab who has seen a ton of field time this fall, but here in Iowa we are completely void of cacti  The last thing i wanna do is ruin our 6 days of hunting cuz i didn't do anything for her paws. I've got a lab who tips the scales at about 50 lbs dripping wet & is in great condition, so i plan on covering a few miles if her paws etc. can hold up.
Do u guys from out west have any tips on how to protect your dog's feet??
Do the booties work, and if so what material/brand should i look for?? I talked to another guy from out there who said don't mess with the booties, the dog will "get used to the cactus"........not sure what that means 

Also, any tips on finding chickens/sharptails in the open country?? It will be my first upland hunt other than rudies & huns.
I expect there will be a fair amount of snow left as they just had over a foot last week.......so far the advice i have gotten is hunt sidehills in the sun & out of the wind.

Thanks for any help guys!!


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## wburns (Feb 27, 2009)

They do get used to it. What he means is the dog starts to look out for the plant and avoids it. I hunt a lot of areas in the western part of our state (ND) that have a type of prickly pear that is more of a ground runner type cactus. The dogs pick up real quick on avoiding this. However, boots do work, but use a thick boot. The thin ones actually are worse IMO as they pick up spines and the spine works its way through the boot and can imbed even worse into the foot than if the dog ran without boots. The old rubber Lewis dog boots are hard to beat IMO. Sounds like you guys will have a fun time. I don't think it will be much of an issue for you. Bring a small forceps with for pulling spines just in case and you should be good to go. Good luck on your hunt!


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## WRP (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for the help man!!
I'm sure my pup will figure it out.........but i was worried that before she learned the lesson her pads might take enough spines to put her out of commission for a couple days, in effect ruining our short hunt.
I guess if the boots don't work out i'll just hafta watch her closely & make sure to pull any spines as soon as she picks them up.
She has the barbwire lesson down  , i hope she catches onto this as well.


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