Sore in between paws because of snow

[liesy]

My sheperd collie X has been licking between his pads, incessantly. They are almost raw- it is from the snow etc. It has now warmed up, but he is still licking. Can I bandage these at home, and how would I do this? What would you recommend, anyone?

[Karin]

I would have your vet take a look at the paws. Try to discourage him from anymore licking. Also, I would not bandage them unless the vet recommends it. His licking probably stems from the irritation. A cortizone cream may help ease some of the irritation but only if the vet say's so...could also be fungal so that's why I stress a vet visit.

[twinmommy]

Sometimes it's also because of road salt, it can be quite irritating. After a walk, try some warm(NOT HOT) water on the paws to rinse it all away. Once I even had to use a mild dish soap.

And Karin has the right idea, rule out fungal infections first..

[db7]

Forget the vet, this is a common problem, easy to fix. Here are the solutions some pros use.

First of all, keep the nails trimmed as short as possible, this is usually the cause of bleeding around the nail beds

The rule of thumb with snow....run your bare hand over it; if it hurts, it'll hurt a pad.

.........i've run sleddogs a long time, and can tell you that the best defense for pad problems are genetics. Some critters are just more prone than others. The second best defense is conditioning. Building up tough feet before the snow flies will help immensely. the advice on keeping nails trimmed is definately right on. Depending upon the dog, trimming the fur, too. My buddy had a Brittany that also was a top notch sleddog and he had to keep the fur trimmed real well to prevent snowballs. Too many snowballs can lead to cuts and fissures. If you have too many snowballs still, you can spray the hair with PAM (yeah, I know, but it works....)

Zinc does wonderful things to build tough feet. I've supplimented with zinc (not zinc gluconate) before and we use a zinc methionone ointment when pad problems occur. I honestly don't remember the name of, because everybody I know calls it the 'pink stuff'. You'll recognize it if you have a good farm supply store.

If, however, you have an fissure or bad crack, we always treat with NFZ. its a nitrofurazone ointment that sticks to the foot (and your coveralls and the carpet....). What you can do is rub some NFZ on the cracked pad and cover with a polarfleece bootie.

Even with our non sleddogs, we keep a few booties hand for medicinal purposes such as treating cracks. Anybody with a remote ability to sew can sew booties for pennies, but if you don't have the time you can buy a pair for about $10...or I'd send you a pair.

........ had a Nasty Pad cut last year. Vets usually dont stitch them especially after 24 hours or in general. I was let down as it was early hunting season. I tried EMT Gel after reading Pointing Dog Journal and several endorsements. Within a few days I saw improvement-and was hunting in a week wound was normal after week to 10 days.
I would keep clean-saline-& anti bacterial soap rinse before using and then apply the Gel and Wrap up. Repeat next day. Rest a day or so and you should see improvement. Keep this stuff handy and dont wait so long before using! Pad cuts are nasty and vets just say to leave off it anyway. There you go.