Buster 'drags' the top of his front feet, he scuffs them. He's got artritis in both elbows which have been fusing, so the lack of range of motion is the cause. If you can picture it, he walks from his shoulder, so he sort of swings his leg oout from under himself, then forward, but becasue he's not shortening it with a bend at the elbow, when he bends his 'wrist' the top of his toes/claws scuff the floor.

I noticed, about 1 week ago, 2 streaks of what I thougth may have been blood on the hallway floor (a very small amount). They looked like they had come from Busters foot (the pattern they left was the same as the pattern he leaves in the snow), but on inspection I couldn't find any problems and didn't see anymore blood streaks.

That is, untill yesterday. He has one walk per day and the streaks appeared in the hallway when he had come in from his walk, this time, I found a small wound on the top of a toe on his right front foot. It's the second toe in from the right, the wound itself is a little circular 'raw' patch, only about 3ml accross, it just looks like he's skinned that one little patch. It isn't bothering him, nor showing signs of infection (it's clean looking, no inflamation, surrounding area not sore/inflamed/red, not weeping, not itching him etc...)

I am not sure if he has either:
scratched/cut it on something when out and the occasional slight scuff is knocking the scab off
OR if he is scuffing that part of the toe constanly, but mildly when out and the constant slight friction against the floor is wearing the scab off & has caused it in the first place
OR if he is scuffing that foot quite hard every now & then which has caused the wound & is the cause of the scab being knocked off again (if you see what I mean).

Which ever it is, I think the best bet is to get some sort of cover for it when for when he is going out for a walk, either a dog boot or some other sort of protection.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what would be the best method or any recomendations of products or dog boots (for a rather large dog foot!)?

Someone recently told me how good Ruffware dog boots are and said that they remain in place which no other boot that I have used ever has. Not cheap but worth it if they do the job.

Brill, thanks G.Rets. :)

Just had a look on the Ruffwear site, (the boots look quite nifty :) ) but thier sizes only go up to 3.75 inch wide, Buster needs just over 4inch wide :(

The one I got for my dog had to be big enough to accommodate a lot of bandaging as she'd had a toe off. They're plastic at the bottom for the nails and pads and neoprene at the top fastened with two bands of Velcro. The only name on them is WALKER. Just measured the XXXL size & it is nearly 5" wide over the paw. I got them in a horse feed place that has a doggy dept.  Also I got a freebie boot off the vet (yes, really) that was used in the snow as it goes all the way up the leg, worked just as good. The label inside says www.medivetproducts.com
Can send you a photo if it helps?

Not a dog boot but I've used human porelle dry socks for covering various sore paws and they're brilliant; waterproof, breathable and very hard wearing. I just fasten them above the wrist with a bit of vetwrap.

I wish you luck in your search as have a similar problem with our youngest rubbing a number of front nails as he walks.

Had lots of good suggestions & even some kindly sent in the post, but boots only exacerbated the problem as they caught when dragging his feet making him trip. someone recommended nail caps which looked as if they could help, but at the moment manage the wear & tear by reducing his hard surface walking & ensuring he walks on grass, not always easy. Good luck.

I could go on Mastermind on the subject of boots for scuffing feet lol.

Buster would seem to walk just the same as Daisy ( i think hers is from a soft tissue injury that's never healed properly )

The big problem is that a lot of boots are great for dogs that walk normally, but once they start to scuff, the boots constantly being pulled off, walking in long grass is especially bad for pulling boots off.

I've honestly been through every boot ( up until 2 years ago ) on the market, from both the UK and US.

At one point I gave up on ever finding a boot that worked, and bandaged Daisy's foot with waterproof Vet Wrap for every walk ( I can now bandage a foot better than some vets lol )

I tried Active Paws from Ireland, which are custom made, very good boot, but because of the scuffing it would eventually get dragged of a little bit, then Daisy would stand on the toe and the whole thing would come off.

The best proper boot has been the http://canineconcepts.co.uk/en/dog-boots/3110-neopaws-high-performance-outdoor-dog-boots-2-x-boots.html I'm guessing that like Daisy, Buster will only need one at a time, the only draw back with these is that there's a left and a right, the opposing boot will still fit, just not as well as the one for that foot, but it will still stay on. Now, because they are expensive, and the rubber at the front will wear out because of the scuffing, I used stuff that was like latex in a tube, it's used by skateboarders i think, and will cover worn patches and make the shoe last longer. If your interested in using Neo-Paws I'll try and find the product for you.

I then came across these http://pawzdogboots.com/ and these were brilliant, mainly because they are so easy to put on. They do however wear out or can rip if they get caught, but even so, one would still last Daisy a few days. Even though they don't last, I think I preferred these as Daisy was able to feel the ground beneath her foot, which isn't possible with the Neo-Paws.

I actually have nearly a full pack of these that might fit Buster, they are size large, I had them for Ben when he cut his foot once. Buster is more than welcome to these, if want to try them out.

I now use silicone nail caps for Daisy, they will only protect the nail though, Daisy would wear her two middle nails down to nothing if it weren't for nail caps. they have the advantage of staying on all the time, so no faffing about with boots, and get replaced every week or so once they have worn out http://www.softpaws.net/ .

Thanks everyone :)

> they caught when dragging his feet making him trip

Oh no :( I was wondering about that aspect as Buster can trip up anyway, without having anything on his foot. Unfortunately, the wound is higher than his nails, is up on the next 'knuckle' so nail caps aren't going to help that. Yes, trying to avoid hard hard surfaces is not easy, Bust is stuck on the same walking route, due this his bad legs, it took months to build him up to that route as changes in terrain and slopes can effect his elbows :( He's doing well on this route that includes a steep hill to go up to give him (and me!) a bit of a cardiovascular work out as he's not an energetic dog!

chaumsong thank you for the tip, using one of those socks with vet wrap to secure sounds perfect :)

WolfieStruppi
Thanks, I googled the web address - here it is - scroll down to see the cute pic of a pug in a medi-vest :) Unfortuantely, they are a US supplier to vets, I checked out the UK distibutorr, but they only supply vets too.

ETA Ohh, thanks Celli, just seen you post, off to have a read of it now.

My flyss had this problem,and I used to but kiddy socks on and tape them on before a walk but they would come off and drag behind,one foot would tread on the dragging sock and off itd come!I also tried different types of boot but found the pawz direct disposible ones the best ever.They last for a few walks,theyre like balloons that you pull on and come in different sizes and packs of 12. Good luck .

ETA Ohh, thanks Celli, just seen you post, off to have a read of it now.

Just let me know if you want to try the Pawz, no trouble to pop them in the post :-)

>  Buster is more than welcome to these, if want to try them out

Thanks Celli, that's so nice of you to offer :) It's OK though thanks, I've sussed it. I have a bag full of odd socks & gloves, I cut the fingers off a glove yesterday and it fit really well (I used a small, stretchy 'magic' glove), the only problem is it doesn't stay on for long, so I just need to get some vet wrap to secure it - yay a use for all those odd socks & gloves at last!!
Bust doesn't mind wearing something on his foot, so that's a bonus.

Again, thank you for your offer, it's really great to know there are nice people in the world :)