(Question) I read your column every issue in Gun Dog. I have a seven-year-old spayed female Lab. Her weight is 63-65 pounds year-round. Excellent hunter.

We go to Iowa every November for pheasants. First day is fine. Second, she's a little lame from insignificant nicks and cuts to her feet, between toes, on pads, etc. Third day, her feet are nearly useless.

Also, but not as much of a concern to me, is that even though we quit each day by noon or 1 p.m., she is very stiff and can't even get up to the bed. She lies motionless all night and won't even get up to "go potty" outside but is ready to go the next morning. When I put on my bibs she bounds off the bed and whines at the door.

So, if I wanted to hunt more than three days, we couldn't because of her feet, though she'd go until bloody if I hunted her that much. She's not stiff at home, shows no arthritis and has been examined for hip dysplasia. The doctor says one hip was mildly dysplastic, but not bad at all.

Granted, her exercise at home isn't as intense as four or five hours of hunting, but she does do up to two miles nearly every other day with me, jogging/fast walking on pavement. Before hunting season she does about a mile or so steady jog on gravel/dirt roads for a month for physical training.

So what's the answer to nicked and cut feet on my once-a-year trip? Sissy doggie boots (on my tough dog that sleeps beside my wife each night in the air conditioning)? Some way to toughen the tender web skin between her toes? I'd like to hunt a full week, but as I said, her feet are almost hamburger at the end of day two.

(Answer) Foot conditioning is the first thing I would consider and it sounds like you have made a good attempt to do that. Good foot care is also important and you should keep her nails trimmed short and all hair mats trimmed out of her feet. If any underlying disease occurs, then have it treated (staph infection, allergies and foreign bodies).

I've tried soaking feet in a mild salt solution to toughen the skin with varying success. Be sure you take time after each hunting session to wash her feet with a tamed iodine solution followed by thorough drying. Be especially careful to get out any accumulated debris.

I've used boots and had them work well--sometimes. Just be sure you condition the dog to wearing them well in advance of your trip, as many dogs may balk at wearing them, at least initially. Take the boots off after each hunt and do the routine foot cleaning. Also carry an extra set so you can dry them out when they get wet and replace the ones she loses.

(Question) I am an avid reader of Gun Dog and a hunter and I have a spayed nine-year-old "retired" English pointer and a six-year-old black Lab. I decided to write to you concerning an issue with my pointer as I value your input and my veterinarian seems stumped by the problem.

My pointer no longer hunts and has become a 53-pound couch potato and a family pet and until a week ago, other than not handling thunderstorms well, had not shown any real problems. A week ago my wife and I noticed that her left back thigh is larger than her right thigh.

I examined her closely, massaged the inner thigh where the swelling seemed to be and she did not seem to be in any pain. The swelling is definitely on the inner thigh of the left leg, there is no discoloration, and it is not hard to the touch, not hot to the touch and not red. In fact, there is no indication that it is anything but a large muscle. However, it concerns me that it is not like her other thigh, so I had my vet examine her.