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If it is obvious your dog has a problem with a paw gently look at the paw and if you see a piece of glass or a wood splinter remove this with tweezers. Apply a good antiseptic crème and wrap the paw on soft gauze. If there is a cut or bleeding use the same procedure and avoid walking the dog or allowing them to romp in the yard until the cut has healed.
The pads on your dog’s feet are prone to cracking creating a very painful foot so if this is common to your dog apply a good coating of lotion or crème and wrap.
Another thing to watch out for, especially in longer-haired dogs, is knots of fur growing between their toes. This can become quite painful. This is a problem for our Maltese-mix, but not for our Shi-poo mix even though both have long fur. You never know what dog may have the problem. If your dog starts limping or showing other signs of painful paws, don’t forget to check for this potential problem.
There is also the option of purchasing dog booties for your dog to wear, but what self-respecting pooch wants to be seen wearing pink booties! Besides, the dog usually pulls them off with his teeth and proceeds to reduce them to a pile of rubble. However, they can be good if your dog is outside a lot in snowy areas. They will keep ice balls from building up between the toes — IF you can keep them on the dog!
Protecting your pooch’s paws is not difficult when you use common sense and consider where you allow your pooch to walk and play.
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During the summer, I often end up taking my dogs on such a long detour. At one end of my road there is black tarmac that gets super hot in the summer – I’ve also seen broken glass there several times. It’s just not worth risking taking them that way!
Nancy Brady
says:In the article about protecting your dogs paws, putting lotion on their pads was mentioned.
Are there particular types of lotions or vitamin oils that are preferable or any to be specifically avoided?
Thank you.
There are some medicated lotions and cremes that you can find at pet stores or online. We don’t recommend any particular one.
I would only use them if your pup has issues with cracking paws. By nature, a paw should be hard and tough, especially if the dog spends a lot of time outdoors.