Cracked Paws

[Justine Archuleta]

I found some cracks on Blackies paws the other day, I know I should put vaseline on the paws but if I do Blackie will lick it off. If I try putting socks on him so he doesn't lick it he will just pull them off. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[Jennifer Hughes]

Booties work well if you have some. A good pair won't come off no matter how hard they try. Good luck!

[Justine Archuleta]

Thanks Jenifer, I will look for booties when I go to PetSmart. Anyone else have some more ideas? Thanks.

[Kendall Aliza]

shallow cracks on your dogs pads are totally normal. If he is limping or is obviously distressed by the cracks then I'd treat them otherwise you can probably leave them alone.
Some ideas if these arent just normal rouch spots/cracks on your dogs pads:
They make foot waxes that stay on a little better than regular jelly (Mushers foot wax)
Boots

[Summer Magic]

Hi Justine

Magic wears sox in Florida to keep her feet off of the ground (she has allergies) I just bought several lengths of ribbon and after I put the sox on her I tied a pretty bow with the ribbon on her foot and folded the extra length of the sock over the ribbon. They don't come off and she can't chew on the ribbon. Hope this helps you some.


Judy

[Sheryl]

My guy got cracked pads so bad that they would bleed anytime we went for a walk in the winter, and they were really sore. I started giving him some essential oils, thinking maybe the food he was on didn't contain enough. His paws are much better, but I don't know if it was the oils or that it isn't so cold.
Does anyone know if my thinking was along the right lines?

[Jo Russell]

Sheryl, do you mean a dietary supplement of Fish Body, Sunflower or Flax Seed oil? If so, then conventional wisdom among Barf or natural feeders would agree with that thinking.

These sorts of oils often feature in the ingredients list of many processed dog foods and people who feed raw or other home prepared food often supplement with them as a matter of course and more particularly for skin or coat prob's. Paw pads qualify as "skin" I'm sure. I think you (general "you") need to be mindful that overdoing oils can be a problem too... common side effect could be digestive upset, manifesting most obviously in softer poop.

Even giving a dog some sardines or other oily fish as part of their diet can help make a difference. Be careful of salt content etc, if choosing tinned fish.

[Justine Archuleta]

Thanks everyone. I think I will look for the wax. Blackies paws are not deeply cracked, but I would just like to make them smooth so nothing does get into the cracks and cause him pain. Again Thank you.

[heathea]

My guess regarding the "winter cracking" would be that your dog was encountering salted walk ways. If you walk your dog on salt, make sure you rinse their feet off right away and if possible use a protectant before you go out to help protect. Vasoline, Mushers, etc. Salt will crack and hurt their paws something awful.

Adding fatty acids/oils to a dogs diet has helped my dogs' coats, skin, etc. Making sure you are feeding the best food you can afford helps too.

[Sheryl]

We hardly have streets where I live, never mind salt on them!!! :) I have him on a limited allergen food because we thought maybe some of the separation anxiety was allergy based (chewing, scratching, licked all the hair off his belly and penis, mucky ears), but the behaviour specialist suggested I think about a raw food diet. I haven't done much research yet, but wonder if it is a lot of work, expensive, etc? My sister (the vet) is against a raw food diet because she has seen too many pets with enterics (ie- salmonella, campylobacter, etc).
Any thoughts?

[Jo Russell]

I had this page ( http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm ) bookmarked. There's lots of information there, including the book titles commonly recommended when barf comes up... no pun intended.

There's a question down there about salmonella, too. I can relate somewhat to your position re your sister. My sister has worked as a vet nurse and with racing greyhounds, so she'd always been the dog person in our family... As a come-lately, I've found it difficult sometimes to assert my way of doing things with my dogs.