burned foot-pads from hot pavement
I know with the summer heat we should be very cautious about letting our dogs pads touch the hot pavement and that if its too hot for our bare feet, its too hot for them. When I run my dog, I'm careful to go in the AM or evening to avoid that, and whenever possible I let her run on grass. I must admit, she has had a blister or two in the past, which I felt unbelievably guilty about. Anyway, what I'm wondering is that altough blisters & bleeding are the extreme of burned pads, is there a mild to moderate amount of burning that may not be as noticeable as blisters, but still harmful? Someone told me that the black coloring on the pads of my dog's feet is burning from hot pavement. Is that true? I've always wondered about the changing color in her pads. Portions of the pad are pink/skin colored, and other portions are black. What is very interesting is that the coloring in the pads CHANGES! Sometimes one portion of the pad that was once black, will be skin colored the next time I check, and vice versa. I always wondered what caused this, but I just assumed it had something to do with callousing of the pads and the thickening and the pigments in the skin made the pads turn black - but I don't really know, I was just guessing. Am I burning my dog's feet every day and not realizing it? Do other people have multi colored pads that change? What signs can I look for, other than obvious blistering/cracking that would let me know my dog is being over-exposed to hot pavement? |
|
|
There are soooo many people who seem oblivious to the fact that the black asphalt their dogs are walking on is actually hot. When my husband and I walk our dogs we always test it with our hands before walking our dogs on it. I cringe when we see people walking their dogs in 90 degree weather at the local street sale, art fairs or festivals. I wonder how many of them would be walking barefoot on it? It sounds like you are very conscientious about this. 
As for the dogs pads turning black... I've never had a dog with an injured pad so I can't tell you whether the pad turns black after an injury. I've only had full OESs for about 4 1/2 years so I am definitely not an authority but I think it's common for their pads get black spots. I was once concerned that one of mine has a nail fungus because her toenail was turning black  Lisa told me that there was nothing wrong and that the nail would eventually all turn black (which it did!). An OESs pads turning black I think is also normal as the dog ages. Here's one 6 month foot comparison (we were tracking a yeast problem she had last year... I don't normally photograph dogs feet  ). This dog doesn't run let alone on asphalt (she my dysplasic girl) and you can see that there's more pigmentation in just 6 months. OESs kind of seem to be a hairy version of Dalmatians because of all the spots some of them have under their fur! |
| After Onyx got a nasty blister from a run on a warm day I became more cautious about how hot the pavement is. I felt so bad that I did that do her - it seemed very painful for her. I can't say I NEVER let her step on hot pavement, but I limit it as much as possible. I have winter boots that she wears in the snow to keep the snowballs out of the hair between the toes and I've thought about using them for walks on the pavement as well!
Anyway, her nails have started turning black also. It makes it really hard to trim those nails because you can't see the vein! Thanks for the reply...the picture was not posted though..i'll check your photo album. |
| They continue throwing pigment for years, nails turning black and pad turning black is part of the process. Not all do, bries nails are all black now at nearly 6 years old with some of her pads black, she is heavy pigmented. Kelsey at 13 has two black nails on each front foot and no black on her pads.
Here is a picture taken awhile ago of Bries Pad and the pad starting to develope pigment there, it is all black now. 
If you want to walk the dog and it has been hot, try a grassed area down at a park or if you have not got access to that and feel the pavement is still hot on foot then you can get some booties to protect the paws. In summer here we get very hot temps, I have to take the dogs across a brick patio that gets the full afternoon sun to a grassed potty area, I have slipped socks on them for the hot surface so they can potty outside without it burnig there paws and get across to the grass area on a scorching hot day. |
Zooba07 wrote: Anyway, her nails have started turning black also. It makes it really hard to trim those nails because you can't see the vein! quote] Try a dremel to file her nails down instead of trimming if the black nails become a problem to cutting. |
| I am truly amazed by the people on this forum. Photographs of their dogs' pads at a moment's notice, collecting baby teeth and things removed from their insides....
The next time my family tries to tell me I'm a little <?> nuts due to my dog obessession, I'm sending them here to read the forum....
Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: I am truly amazed by the people on this forum. Photographs of their dogs' pads at a moment's notice, collecting baby teeth and things removed from their insides....
The next time my family tries to tell me I'm a little <?> nuts due to my dog obessession, I'm sending them here to read the forum.... Kristine Yes dog people are a weird mob  
My sons think I am nuts and half the time feel embarassed by me.
I can tell you how to clear a restaurant, go out to dinner with a bunch of dog people and listen to what the conversation is, non dog people are horrified at everything that is discussed in public hearing, normal for us, graphic and ?????? to the general non dog public, we cleared a chinese restaurant one night with 10 of us at a table and what was discussed from graphic details of matings to everything else.  |
| Then add a nurse who is a dog person - there is absolutely nothing off limits for us!!! |
| Or a vet!
And for some reason our conversations always seem to drift to our dogs' digestive functions. Never mind how freely we use the word bitch
We used to joke that they should have Dog and Non-dog sections in restaurants
Of course, seat me near a bunch of moms who feel compelled to discuss their babies' diaper contents and I can't get out of there fast enough. So I am somewhat empathetic with the non-dog obsessed crowd. Just not enough to remember to keep my mouth shut.
Kristine |
Quote: Thanks for the reply...the picture was not posted though..i'll check your photo album. Yeah... It might help if I actually posted a link to the pictures- http://oesusa.com/PandasFootCompared.jpg Quote: Try a dremel to file her nails down instead of trimming if the black nails become a problem to cutting. Meesha, my Schip-mix, is the only one that hates having her nails clipped so I've tried a couple of nail grinders. I eventually went with a Dremel tool and got an attachment for it so I don't have quite so much airborne dust and there's less worry of getting fur wrapped around the drum. ALL of her nails are black and she has back dewclaws too. She tolerates grinding much better than nail clippers. Let me see if I remember to attach the picture of the attachment this time http://oesusa.com/NailGrindingAttachment.jpg Quote: My sons think I am nuts and half the time feel embarassed by me.
I'm not alone! |
| If your dog will tolerate them, you can use booties for their feet also. Mine won't let me put them on but I know others are successful.
I also test tyhe pavement or blacktop with my hand to see if its too hot to walk. Blacktop seems to get real hot in even lower tempertures than 90. I think it was on this forum...Ron I think gave the suggestion. When using a nail grinder, to keep the hair off the nails while grinding, use a nylon stocking with the toe part cut off.Slip the nylon over the foot with the open part by the "toes" and it will hold back the hair. |
| Not my suggestion! BUT it is a great one.
Are you sure about cutting the toe part off the nylon first? I thought it was you poke the nails through the nylon! |
This is just the topic I was looking for, Yesterday Elliott went for a run with a friend of ours, he ran him a mile, last night we noticed parts of his pads are raw  I called the vet ,she said to keep them uncovered with no type of ointment on them. Does this seem right? Last night we put antibiotic ointment on them before he went to bad, and it was this morning when I called her. Is there anything I can do for his pain? Rick came home in the middle of the day to let him potty, to help him outside. H e does not even want to walk I feel terrible, I should have only let him run him a quarter of a mile to start with, I am so mad at myself  Can you guys please help me? |
Ron wrote: Not my suggestion! BUT it is a great one.
Are you sure about cutting the toe part off the nylon first? I thought it was you poke the nails through the nylon! thats what I do - I think cutting the toe off would defeet the purpose. |
| Maybe the vet feels that ointment will soften the pads... you don't want the pads to be soft where they'll injure easier. But I'm not a vet so I have no idea!
Socks might help if you need to keep his feet clean when going outdoors but it might be painful to put them on him. You might ask the vet if you can give a buffered aspirin to help relieve the pain if it appears to be a problem. But always ask first! Hugs to Elliott 
And don't beat yourself up about it... things happen! Maybe next time have him wear some doggie boots next time he's out for a run. |
| I like the Nylon idea, I borrowed a friends dremel to try especially on those darn black nails and all I did was get it jammed up and stuck on her foot with miles of hair around it. Had fun unwinding the foot hair from the dremel as I could not cut it as she was in show coat
So might try the Nylon idea and borrow the dremel again to try and see how we go this time. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|