These boots are made for training

I've been taking Jenny to Lowes on Sundays with a friend so we can train out of the cold. I found making time with someone else keeps me on task and less likely to skip it. Skills in dog training are use it or lose it for the dogs after all. Thankfully Lowes is very dog friendly and has plenty of space. I ran into a problem recently I thought I would share in case others had the same issue. It turns out Jenny has a calous on both of her hocks. If I train to long on a hard surface she gets abrasions on them and they get sore. (shown in the middle of the hock in the photo)

I took some vet wrap and 2 make up remover pads to make a padded "hock boot" for her. I use 1 pad per leg because to much padding might not be comfortable either. As it is she hesitates to sit when I first put them on.

As you can see when she sits her hocks touch the ground. Without any padding of her own this becomes a problem when working on any hard surface for to long.

It is a fluke that the vet wrap matches her Fido Fleece coat. I know, very 80's leg warmers right?

For our trial run I took her for a normal walk in Rockland. I realized we have some semi-famous places I could show. This is her in front of antique shop featured on the show "Born Dealers".

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/born-dealers/ 

And this is the restaurant featured on the Bobby Flay showdown for all you food show fans out there. http://www.foodnetwork.com/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/lobster-club-sandwich/index.html I prefer their breakfasts but what do I know.

I almost always walk my dogs on Main streets because there usually aren't loose dogs on a main road. We do also have a scenic boardwalk I like. Plus there is always an opportunity for window shoping and seeing what is going to be playing at the local Strand theater. http://www.rocklandstrand.com/ I grew up watching movies at the Strand however it has since been refurbished and is much more amazing then when I was young. The first movie I remember seeing? Lady and the Tramp. Maybe the seeds for my dog obsession were sown there?

I only had some minimum slippage by the end of the walk. I used them again today and didn't have that problem but I put them on a little higher to begin. Anyhow I hope if anyone else has run into the same issue this post is helpful. I might also try knitting a slide on "hock sock" and see it that works too. I'll be sure to post results if I do. Of course I have to find some free time for that first. Not something I've had much of lately.

Jenny and Ryka in a down stay. More photos of them can be seen on my facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/K9SolutionsDogTraining Where do you train on cold or wet days?