What is Dog Paw Pad Injuries? Causes, Prevention and Treatment

Why Do The Wounds Appear on The Pads?

The cannon pads are prepared to hold in good condition regardless of the surface on which they rest. However, various circumstances of both the soil and our dog may imply the appearance of certain wounds on these soles of the legs.

Wounds by Erosion

Erosion, that is, excessive wear and tear on the soles of the feet is one of the main causes of injuries to canine pads. But what are the main reasons for this deterioration? There are several reasons that cause this situation.

The most obvious is the hardness of the surface. When the soil is stiffer, the canine pads suffer much more and erosion is noticeably increased. Within this category, asphalt and ice are the two surfaces that “make the soles of dog legs suffer the most”.

Physical Exercise of The Pet

Overdoing the exercise also causes excessive soil erosion and the dog also suffers pad injuries for this reason.

Another reason why erosion injuries arise, although it seems a contradiction, is the lack of exercise. Dogs' pads get soft when they don't have their daily activity dose. For this reason, the fact of not strengthening this area enough causes that, at the slightest effort, wounds appear on the pads.

Injuries caused by erosion on hard surfaces are not serious. The wounds that usually arise do not go very deep and have a much easier healing if they are treated with time.

Burn Injuries

The weather plays a fundamental role in this type of injury. When it is excessively hot, our dog has a good chance of burning his pads on the asphalt. In addition, if the ground is frozen or with ice, the burns on the soles of the legs will have many ballots to appear on the animal.

For all this, both in summer and winter you must calculate very well when to take your faithful companion for a walk. In the hottest months, avoid hikes in the middle of the day, as the asphalt fumes! In the winter period, try to get your dog to run as little as possible through the snow - especially if it is not used to it. You must protect your dog from the cold in the winter season.

Injuries from Trauma

Here we consider injuries that are caused by certain elements that your dog can find on the asphalt. We are talking about splinters, glass, metal points and other sharp objects.

Trauma caused by these objects usually cause deeper wounds –with more abundant bleeding- and, on many occasions, the implantation of stitches is necessary, adding more complexity to the recovery of the canine.

How to Cure My Dog's Pads?

The treatment of the wounds of our dog will vary depending on the severity and depth of the same. There are wounds that can be healed from our own home, on the other hand, there are other more serious injuries that require the appearance of a veterinarian who is in charge of studying the area.

We always recommend that you go to your trusted veterinarian to find out about the severity of the wounds. It is always best to have the opinion of a professional, even if the injury does not seem very serious.

It must be said that wounds in this area, in general, usually require conservative treatment. However, they are difficult areas to heal, since they are in a very sensitive area of the dog. What we must always do is pay the necessary attention to them, so that our dog does not develop more serious problems.

When the wounds are deep and the pads present a hemorrhage, before going to our veterinarian, we must stop it. What will we need in these cases? Just hydrogen peroxide and sterile gauze.

How to Prevent Injuries on My Dog's Pads?

There are many measures we can take to prevent our dog from suffering injuries of this type. If we apply them in our day to day we will avoid more than one displeasure to our faithful companion.

Avoid Walking During Excessive Hot or Cold Hours

As we have already discussed in this article, pad burns are a common type of injury that dogs can present on their soles. How can we avoid this type of injury? Preventing our dog from going outside when there are high temperatures and when it is likely that he will encounter a large amount of ice and snow.

In cases of burns or more superficial wounds, we will have the possibility of carrying out the cure at home. The steps that we must follow are the following:

Clean the pad. For this we will use warm water that will allow us to observe the size of the lesion.

Disinfect the wound. We will treat the clean area with hydrogen peroxide helping us with gauze. The touches that we will give will be soft. If the wound is not very large, this will suffice. The application, with another gauze, of Clohexidine Digluconate is also possible.

Cover the wound. The ideal is to leave the wound in the air, however, since it is the sole of the legs, contact with the ground will be unavoidable. For this reason, we recommend putting on a bandage that should be changed between two and three Roboto a day (where the process would have to be repeated again). You can also help yourself with healing ointments, to make the wound disappear as soon as possible.

Avoiding Areas That Have Sharp Objects on The Ground

Apart from the fact that our dog can stick these objects in the pad, it is also likely that he will put some of them in his mouth, with all the consequences that this entails.

Apply Aloe Vera Gel on The Pads

We are talking about a product that can serve both to prevent and heal wounds. Aloe Vera has moisturizing, regenerating, healing, antiseptic and analgesic properties, characteristics that make it a perfect ally against wounds on the pads. The plants of the dogs will gain resistance to any external erosion!

Physical Exercise without Going Over

The sedentary lifestyle of our dog implies soft pads that are more sensitive to erosion. Therefore, it is convenient for the dog to have its dose of daily physical activity. Of course, do not go overboard either, because excessive exercise ends up wearing down the soles of the legs!

Use Products to Harden Pads

There are products that give the possibility of hardening these areas. Where can we get them? Any veterinarian can provide you with certain products of this type, although there are also pet stores that are responsible for marketing these substances. They are ideal when your dog is going to walk longer distances than usual!

Use Protective Ointments and Creams

They are products that are responsible for reinforcing and hydrating this area, factors that allow a much greater resistance of the pads before any considerable chafing.