Hi all, please can someone give me some advice? Bonnie was hopping lame this morning, pooor girl and has one cracked pad on a fore foot. Although she is very lame, it appears a small clean crack. I have bathed with salty water and put on real Aloe Vera juice and put her on "cage rest" on a clean vet bed. I have never had this happen before and it is difficult to get to the vet today as our track is impassable and I cannot get the car to the house -its about 1/4 mile to the road. I just cant carry her that far. Can this be treated by me at home? Does it have to be bandaged? What if anything should I put on it, in the way of creams/ointments? I do find Aloe Vera is very good for most cuts, but any other advice would be most welcome. I think it would be pretty awful to have to put a "cone" collar on her in a cage, but if I have to of course I will. If anyone has experience of this please could they help. Needless to say I shall wax everyone else's pads today. Thanks in anticipation. WL

Hi Westie lover.
Is it a crack or a cut?
With a cut I bath in salt water, cleans it and helps to harden the skin.
For a crack I would put a spot of Vaseline on to soften the pad and help it increase flexibility.

Without being able to get out I know it's no help but I keep some Leo Laboratories "Bitter Spray" handy. It's only available from a vets I think but it is safe to use on open wounds and stops the dog from licking the place.

Regards, John

Hi John thanks for your prompt reply, I dont know if its a crack or cut - how can you tell the difference? Its a straight clean wound, not too deep, but you can see "pink", if you see what I mean. I have rung the vet and he says to keep her on crate rest on spotless bedding and make a boot for her when she has to go out. Luckily he says I shouldn't need to "bring her in" unless it looks infected. I have some bitter spray so I shall go and squirt some on. She's not licking it much though fortunately. Thanks again. WL

Hi WL.

My lot are forever cutting their pads. :rolleyes: All we do is make sure that it is clean and try to let *the air get to it* as much as possible :-) They very rarely need to have it stitched and very rarely chew it. If it is really deep and we need to take them out, then I will put a sock on them and tape it on . Taking it off the minute they come back in again. Usually it isn't necessary though. Pads heal very quickly :-) I have found that waxing them made the problem worse. Their pads are normally very tough and by softening them .... I caused a bigger problem.

Leigh

Hi Westie,

Our GSD cut his pad yesterday and covered my kitchen floor in blood. I cleaned the cut, applied a sterile dressing (not that he kept that on for long) and left him to sleep for the night. By this morning it was fine. I have checked the wound for glass etc. but there is nothing there. He is now on bed rest and will no doubt destroy my home without his daily exercise. Hope that your dog is ok. Sure that it will be,

Bye Naomi

Hi WL,
for what it is worth, here is what I found on Cracked Pads in my "New Choices in Natural Healing" book: (quoted verbatim)
An important nutrient, vitamin E, improves blood circulation so that cracked pads heal more quickly. It also strengthens immunity and helps prevent parasites or infections from causing cracking. You can give pets under 15 pounds 50 IU (international units) of vitamin E a day. Those weighing 15 to 50 pounds can take 100 IU, and larger ones 200 IU of vitamin E a day. It is also recommended to open a vitamin E capsule and squeezing the oil into your pet's food. (Dr Donna M Starita, D.V.M. - holistic vet in Oregon)
Soften the pads with oil. You dont want to moisterise the pads too much because they need to be tough to maintain their strength. But when the pads are cracked, applying a little sesame or olive oil will help them heal, and the oils are safe if your pets decide to lick it off. (Dr Kathleen Carson D.V.M. - holistic vet in California) Dr Carson also recommends applying lotions containing vitamin E, although you will have to keep your pet distracted for a few minutes while the lotion soaks into the skin.

I hope this helps.
Love
Inigo

Hi Westie

Hope you are well. Nell cut her paw quite badly once thought the bleeding would never stop, it was awkward right inbetween her 2 pads, however I didn't really want to take her to the vet unless necessary so I bathed it in very salty boiled but cooled water 5 times per day, it took 3 weeks but eventually healed up nicely and no traumatic trip to the vet. Hopefully if you keep bathing the pad it should heal in a couple of days, in the past I have found salt excellent to speed up the healing process.

Good Luck.

Thanks very much everyone. You have all put my mind at rest, that it will probably heal up ok with good nursing. Fingers crossed. WL

Hi there, My GWP is forever suffering with this after screaming around like a mad thing. I keep it clean and give Calendula in tablet form,one tablet twice in the first four hours and then one tablet twice a day until it heals. It really helps the body to repair itself.
Diane