Question on cut paw pads

[Katiesmom]

So i have a general question I thought I would see peoples thoughts on.

Both my dogs paw pads (and a friend of ours as well) get completely shredded when we go up to our cabin at the lake, lots of rocks. Our neighbor recommended some product at Cabella's that is suppose to harden them to prevent this from happening in the future.

Does anyone else have this problem with the paw pads and have you found a solution? I just feel so bad for them when they are all cut up I'm sure it must be very painful. Our friends dog last weekend was so bad she went from limping to just stopping and laying down where she was.

We try to get them to not run around so much, but anyone who knows Katie know explaining to her there is a dock and water 20ft away and she can't jump in it is just not going to happen.

[ssejrnv]

Hey Natalie,
Well my poor boy Riot tears his pads up more than any other dog I have ever had or known for that matter. It is an ongoing battle and I have tried a variety of products without much luck. I know Urs had a product she liked and although it didn't work for me (again Riot's has the wussiest feet around) it might work for you. I know lots of people recommend Tough Pad which is a spray on product and my herding instructor recommends a mixture you can make up. You take a normal size spray bottle and mix 1/2 with whitch hazel and 1/2 with aloe vera gel with lidocaine and shake and then spray on each pad. It is messy but if you do twice a day everyday people see very good results within about 2 weeks. Again helped a bit with Riot (and I do still use this when I remember) but lots of herding people have great results with this and herding is pretty hard on the dogs paws. Hope that helps as I know it's very sad watching your friends hobbling around because they just don't understand how to take it easy. Good luck
JJ

[Katiesmom]

Yikes twice a day everyday I love my pups to death but I don't know about that, any other suggestions?

[lede]

Rough ware makes boots for dogs that might help for extended periods of time playing in rocky terrain. The fun part is getting your dog to learn how to ware them and not chew em up.

Another idea would be to set Katie into the lake for a few hours before feeding and let her wear herself down a bit. The only down side to this is the more you do this the better her conditioning will get and the longer you need to work her before she gets tired again.

Good luck with Katie and her feet.

-Lee