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Pad sores can be caused by several different things. Some dogs become "weekend or summertime
warriors" meaning that for the weekdays or winter months they are sedentary/not
very active then on the weekends or summer months they are out hiking, walking,
playing, and running excessively. This
can lead to cracked and sore pads that hurt.
When dogs have a wound or irritated area they lick, scratch, and bite. Check your dog's pads after a long walk/hike
and see if they are rubbing or wearing through to the sensitive skin below.
Try breaking open Vitamin E capsules and rubbing the
contents on the pads moisturizing and preventing cracking. Pet stores and some sports equipment stores
sell booties for dog's to wear to protect their feet—definitely worth a try—to prevent
injury to pads and to prevent the chewing.
A small biopsy of the pad, done by your veterinarian, when
the disease is active should be done to identify the cause—is there a deep
bacterial or fungal infection, is it an immune system disease? If you dog has any changes to its nose or
other skin issue immune related disease like lupus should be ruled out. These immune diseases are treated with
steroids and immune modulating drugs. It's
best to know exactly what we are treating but if a biopsy is not possible a
trial of prednisone can be done.
Ann Falk, DVM
Pad sores can be caused by several different things. Some dogs become "weekend or summertime
warriors" meaning that for the weekdays or winter months they are sedentary/not
very active then on the weekends or summer months they are out hiking, walking,
playing, and running excessively. This
can lead to cracked and sore pads that hurt.
When dogs have a wound or irritated area they lick, scratch, and bite. Check your dog's pads after a long walk/hike
and see if they are rubbing or wearing through to the sensitive skin below.
Try breaking open Vitamin E capsules and rubbing the
contents on the pads moisturizing and preventing cracking. Pet stores and some sports equipment stores
sell booties for dog's to wear to protect their feet—definitely worth a try—to prevent
injury to pads and to prevent the chewing.
A small biopsy of the pad, done by your veterinarian, when
the disease is active should be done to identify the cause—is there a deep
bacterial or fungal infection, is it an immune system disease? If you dog has any changes to its nose or
other skin issue immune related disease like lupus should be ruled out. These immune diseases are treated with
steroids and immune modulating drugs. It's
best to know exactly what we are treating but if a biopsy is not possible a
trial of prednisone can be done.
Ann Falk, DVM
