Guest scfilby Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Mickey has injuries to multiple pads on three of her paws.. you can read about her ordeal HERE . Her stop pad on her rear leg is almost entirely skinned, and she has abrasions on three pads on one front paw, and two on the other front paw. A few are deep and bleeding. The poor girl is having a really hard time walking. Currently we are keeping clean, using triple antibiotic and have baby socks with grippers on her feet, but she is in a lot of pain when trying to walk. Is there anything else we can do? Also, she goes for regular walks on pavement, she goes up and down two flights or wooden stairs 10X a day, and the dog run is gravel. I would have thought that all this activity would have conditioned her pads to accept rough treatment (she is 8). Her pads are generally rough. Is there something we can do to prevent this type of injury? DW wants to use heel cream on her pads to reduce the roughness, but I would guess having rough pads is good protection. Or, maybe the rough pads is what caused the injuries when she was running on the pavement.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KennelMom Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 (edited) Time is really what it takes to heal pads. I would try to walk her on grass surfaces and avoid the gravel/pavement whenever possible...ouch! I bet that gravel would hurt her footsies. When we've had pad injuries from lure coursing, the pups usually voluntarily restrict their activity and choose not to do every turn out...that's fine, I let them do that. Try to make sure the pads have good access to air - moist, dark, warm environments can hamper healing. My usual protocol is bag balm 1-2 times a day, leash walk on soft surfaces. I've generally found pad injuries seem like they take forever to heal and look like they aren't getting any better and then *poof* they seem to heal overnight. eta: prevention - even tough pads can suffer damage from overuse. Esp in very cold weather when the pad skin gets more brittle or in the summertime when the grass is very dry and the ground is very hard. Using a pad cream like bag balm keeps the pad skin supple and flexible...think about your hands. If they become dry, they tend to crack easily because your skin isn't flexible enough to accomodate the stretching/bending of your fingers/hand. Use lotion or stay hydrated and your hands fair much better. Same principle with the feet. I apply bag balm daily to my lure coursers during "the season" - esp in the coldest and hottest months. The best prevention, though, is to keep them from over-doing it on unforgiving surfaces. I don't care how soft and supple the pad skin is...running on pavement is like running on a cheese grater...the skin is just not going to hold up for long. Hard ground and dry grass can have the same effect. Edited December 12, 2009 by KennelMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scfilby Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Thanks KennelMom.. Exactly the advice we were looking for.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Energy11 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Staggerlee has corns, so when we walk him on hard surfaces, he wears a thick toddler sock and I use Booties by The Voyagers. They are WONDERFUL and stay on! http://k9apparel.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=130_118&zenid=04ee3f15578618d38e8129b2bfb4761c. Good Luck with this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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