I generally feel like I do a good job preparing and packing for the dogs before we go on any type of road trip.  I get all of their bedding situated in the back seat; food and water staged in the car door pockets, toys, leashes, and harnesses packed in a little doggy suitcase, and poop bags handy in every remaining storage cubby throughout the car.  It's all very routine, so before we drove to Arizona to visit family, I got everything squared away in the car for the journey in record time.  Unfortunately, coming from a very temperate climate, I hadn't quite thought about protecting the dogs' pads from the hot Arizona pavement (or if the thought had crossed my mind, I hadn't acted on it). 

At our first rest stop break east of Los Angeles, I noticed Luna doing a hot-foot-not-so-happy-dance; the temperature was getting close to 95*, and she was having a fit walking on the ground.  Penny didn't seem to mind, as I didn't have time to groom her feet prior to traveling, so her pads were hairy and protected.  We found some shade and made the best of it.   Unfortunately, as the trip progressed, things got worse - after crossing into Arizona, each rest stop had pet-specific areas (presumably to prevent animal waste from accumulating near the picnic tables), but unlike the human-only sections, there was NO shade provided - ZERO! This was true rest stop after rest stop - not a single awning; nothing but leafless Palo Verde trees (whose foliage-less limbs do diddly for shade).  Shame on you, Arizona!  Since we didn't have a reputable pet store along our route through the barren desert, we made our rest stops quick, knowing that Luna was uncomfortable on the ground.  Once we got to Tucson I knew that I needed to find a pair of booties to protect Luna’s feet, especially if we were going to be there for two weeks.

 I ended up ordering a box of the Pawz disposable booties after talking to Sugar’s mom about them.  Luna took to the boots quite well as they are a light weight natural rubber that really doesn't feel like boots at all.  They were easy to put on and take off, and they protected her pads when we were outside.  They also stayed on during our car trip back home, and came in handy at our rest stops and bathroom breaks.  The best part of the boots, according to my husband, was watching Luna walking around awkwardly for the first few minutes after we put them on her...

I was not asked to write a review about the boots, I just think they are a great product and they are now filed away in my brain for necessary travel paraphernalia. If we lived in Tucson, I would probably have the dogs wear a boot like the Ruffwear brand that comes with a hard rubber sole.  These kinds of boots would do well in the Tucson environment where the pavement is always hot, and you have to deal with rocks and other dangerous things like scorpions, which we did run into:

What ways do you keep your dog's feet protected from the scorching summer temperatures?  Or do you not have to worry about it in your part of the country?

We’re participating in this Saturday’s Pet Blog Hop, hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.  Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!  You can join the hop by visiting any of those three blogs.