People ALWAYS ask about our Paws 4 Autism dogs and their shoes.
Our service dogs wear shoes when there’s snow/ice on the ground to protect their feet from the ice melt/salt used to treat sidewalks and roads. They should also wear them when the ground is hot enough to burn their feet.
Bandit wears them EVERY TIME we go out, here’s why:
- To keep us and him in practice. Dogs, like people, keep their skills sharp by using them frequently.
- To protect their feet from things other than heat in the summer and salt in the winter. For example:
- Sharp rocks
- Glass shards
- Chemicals that may be spilled on the ground in places like Home Depot, Lowes, or anywhere else.
- Floors are slippery
- Poodles have HAIR instead of fur, so it needs to be cut. Dogs have hair on their feet and between the pads of their feet. It grows just like the rest of the hair on their bodies. And it makes hard surface floors slick. It’s like trying to move around in socks – it’s slippery. The shoes give them traction.
Here’s how this played out in real life a couple days ago.
The other night we went out for dinner. After I was done eating, I took Bandit outside so he could sniff around – I found out it’s a calming thing for them and he’d had a long evening. I wanted to stay in front of the restaurant because that’s where the light was. As we walked down the sidewalk, I noticed things sparkling on the ground. Broken glass was everywhere. If Bandit hadn’t been in his shoes, he would have been stepping all over it.
As a special needs mom, when we go out, I’m ALWAYS going through all the possible scenarios of what could go wrong. Then I figure out how to handle it or figure out an “escape route” in case I can’t. Then I play through all the ways to notice if something’s going to go wrong so I can step in before it goes wrong. I do this for both of my little boys (it’s exhausting). I also look around for things that Bandit might encounter that could startle, upset him, or put him in danger.
I will never be able to see all of the possible pit falls, so I prepare the best I can. For my boys, that’s a bag that has different things in it that usually help if they’re getting overwhelmed. For Bandit, it’s things like shoes.
I can’t predict everything, but I can prepare for many things. I’m so glad we took that extra step getting Bandit ready. It saved us a lot of trouble, but more importantly, it saved him from getting hurt.
And because dog shoes are so important, we’re always on the look out for really good ones. Shoes that stay on. Shoes that fit well so they don’t leave hot spots on the pup’s feet. Shoes that hold up since we’re using them all the time. If you have a personal favorite, feel free to let me know in the comments. We’d love to check them out 🙂
To find out more about our dogs and our organization, you can visit us here: Paws 4 Autism
To find out more about JJ and Bandit and our fundraising efforts, you can visit us here: JJ and Bandit
Thanks for stopping by!
XOXOXO
ajdurrant 