Best way to treat cracked/broken pads?

[panovski]

What are the best ways to teat broken or cracked pads. I am putting EMT gel and Blue lotion, what other ways work good?
thanks in advance

[mcbosco]

what a coincidence, i was just going to ask the forum if anyone has used Mushers Secret...i dont have a problem now but of all the injuries that come during the season nothing is more of a hassle than a damaged pad...

so anyone use Mushers Secret?

[GWN]

I use a product called Bag Balm it is a salve that was and still is used by farmers to treat cows udders when they crack open etc.We have a container at the barn for the dogs and horses and one for us for cuts and stuff at the house. Try it sometime. It's about 6 bucks for a good sized container. I had a dog cut the big pad on his foot very deep. I used that stuff inside a bandage and he heeled up great. It is a good product. Try some on yourself if you get a cut or sore it starts to feel better as soon as you put it on. they usually sell it at farm supply stores. Green can about three inches cubed.

[slistoe]

I use a product called Bag Balm it is a salve that was and still is used by farmers to treat cows udders when they crack open etc.We have a container at the barn for the dogs and horses and one for us for cuts and stuff at the house. Try it sometime. It's about 6 bucks for a good sized container. I had a dog cut the big pad on his foot very deep. I used that stuff inside a bandage and he heeled up great. It is a good product. Try some on yourself if you get a cut or sore it starts to feel better as soon as you put it on. they usually sell it at farm supply stores. Green can about three inches cubed.

Great stuff. It was impossible to come by a few years back when Shania Twain let out that it was the product she used to keep her skin soft.

[SubMariner]

Depth of cut/crack aside, is there a general length of time it takes for this to heal?

Zio had one last year & it took about a week. However, the Vet gave us KeraSolv (keratolytic topic gel with humectants) for it. Apparently this is supposed to shed off the overly horny/thickened areas of the pad to stop further cracking & allow the crack to heal.

[mcbosco]

A NYC canine police officer recommended Mushers Secret to condition and toughen paw pads. It seems to be available most everywhere. I bought some and its a wax so it dries on the pad and wont attract dirt or mess up the floor.

[djswizz]

mcbosco, does the wax harden enough to protect it during hunts? I think this would be better than Tuffoot....

[mcbosco]

not sure at this point, the weather finally cleared here yesterday and it cooled so I had him at the farm running, when we got back i checked his pads and they were still black and somewhat shiny and felt a little harder, some of the wax got on hair between the pad and was hard, so far so good

the police officer told me it literally keeps the dogs out on the street and comfortable summer and winter (salt)

[TEX-X]

i second the bag balm....good stuff...

[MikeB]

I use Bag Balm too.... Here is Bag Balm's web site. http://www.bagbalm.com/

[mcbosco]

You dont find that bag balm picks up dirt when used on the pads? It is pretty sticky.

[Rick Hall]

I use it, or a clone, on my hands during the season to help prevent cracking from marsh work, and unless you really glop it on, it soaks into the skin pretty quickly.

[tommyboy72]

Tuffskin every once in awhile but if you baby a dog's feet the pads will never toughen up. I run my setter and pointers on arid cactus, yucca, mesquite and goathead infested sandy soil and rarely have problems with any of them other than the occasional goathead between the pads that I have to pick out or every once in awhile some prickly pear thorns to remove from the pads but most of the time the dogs can handle it themselves. Here are some pics of what I hunt and rarely have problems with the dogs feet. Dr. Naylors Blu-Kote works good as an antiseptic and fungicide if needed.

[mcbosco]

looks like a scene from No Country for Old Men

[tommyboy72]

I love that movie. Ya it is pretty desolate out here.

[phermes1]

I use Tuff-Foot or Pad-Heal to toughen pads up. Seems to work well.

For a torn pad, we usually keep it clean, use either Bag Balm or nitrofurozone, and just keep them in their crates for a few days until it heals up a little.

[westexasrepublic]

I just got in my Tuffoot and it smells like it has alcohol in it that would burn if I put it on the cracked pad? does the pad need to heal before I start applying this stuff?

[djswizz]

DO NOT EVER PUT TUFFOOT ON CRACKED PADS!!! My dog went ape - the stuff burns them....

[westexasrepublic]

yah thats what I thought.... So i put this stuff on her pads since she was limping...

[tommyboy72]

I must be a hard a$$ because I use alcohol rather than peroxide on my own cuts so I expect my dogs to be at least as tough as me and if they cannot tolerate a little alcohol on cut pad where the pad should already be tough enough to run on rough ground anyway then I am not so sure I would have that dog. JMO

[djswizz]

I must be a hard a$$ because I use alcohol rather than peroxide on my own cuts so I expect my dogs to be at least as tough as me and if they cannot tolerate a little alcohol on cut pad where the pad should already be tough enough to run on rough ground anyway then I am not so sure I would have that dog. JMO

I think that may be the dumbest comment I've ever heard about a dog. ^^ Dogs don't know tough.

[ezzy333]

Tommyboy,

Whats your point? Does it make them better dogs and what does it do for you? I have used alcohol if nothing else was available but I don't like to make something hurt just to make myself feel tougher and the same for the dogs.

JMO
Ezzy

[tommyboy72]

Ezzy I don't do it to intentionally hurt the dogs but if you wanna baby your dogs then baby them but when they give up hunting because they got a sticker in their foot or they got tired or whatever then that is your business. My dogs are tough dogs regardless of the weather, the terrain or physical condition. Don't take it wrong I would never let a dog who seriously injured themselves continue to hunt but I am not going to pick a dog up and walk 2 miles back to the truck because his feet hurt either. I wasn't speaking expressly about putting alcohol on a dogs cut to make it hurt. I guess I phrased that incorrectly, sorry about that. If the dog needs antiseptic put on a cut to keep it from getting infected and to help it heal then I am going to put on the best I can find to help the dog heal and to keep the cut sterile regardless of it stings and the same goes for myself. To answer your question it may very well make them a better dog. Dogs learn what they can and cannot get away with and how far they can push a person in training as well as in other aspects of their life. If a dog learns they are expected to for lack of a better phrase "play through the pain" then they will but if you pick them up and put them in the truck at the first sign of physical exertion then they learn that that is all they have to give and that is all they ever will give. JMO

You are right dj dogs have no comprehension of the meaning of the word tough but some dogs have heart and toughness and some don't, some dogs will hunt regardless of how hot or cold it is, or whether or not they are running on sand burrs or through yucca and cactus and some dogs cannot handle it. They just give up and limp back to the truck and that is not the dog for me. I hunt where the birds are and out here that doesn't mean a preserve or game farm or mowed strips of crop fields or whatever you guys hunt. Sorry if I gave the impression that I am heartless or cruel I am not. I will pick up a dog or give a dog a break when it is too hot or too cold or they show signs of being injured but with my dogs I make that decision because they will hunt until I pick them up. For example I took my setter to the vet a few years ago for a bad cut she got on her chest, vet put her anesthesia and sewed it and at the time I only lived about 5 minutes from the vet, took her home and lifted her out of the truck and put her on the ground, first thing she did was go on point on a bird near the house and fell over, she continued to go on point and fall over do to being drowsy from the anesthesia about 5 more times until I picked her up and carried her in the house to let the anesthesia wear off. That is the kind of dogs I have and the kind I will always have.

I am very sorry if I have offended anyone.

[ezzy333]

No offense and I understand what you are saying. I just didn't and still don't get the connection of using alcohol instead of Hydrogen Peroxide, specially when I think the peroxide does a better job of cleaning. The rest you describe is pretty much true with any dog with a lot of desire which is called prey drive in the modern world.Dogs with desire keep going when others may quit. I think we all have that in our dogs that perform well in the field since it something we breed for and pick the pups that have it. And I do agree that some dogs can and do get spoiled.

Have a good one,

Ezzy

[mcbosco]

Progress report on Musher's Secret, still on the pads, and they look great. For $9 seems like a keeper.

[mcbosco]

Putting alcohol on a cut or raw skin is like torturing a dog and it is not nearly as effective as other first aid treatments. Your dog will hunt just as well if you use peroxide or something a little more humane.

I would never do that to my baby.

[djswizz]

Thanks mcbosco. I'm buying some today. I've used Tuffoot in the past but didn't like the results.

[mcbosco]

yeah honestly i have never used anything like this except Halo's Derma Dream and supermarket Sulfodene once in a blue moon, but the stuff works. I put his paws in warm water last night to see if the wax was still on and the dirt came off easily and i noticed some water beading on the pad.

[westexasrepublic]

I dont think I baby my dog cuz I take her feelings into consideration. luckily I opened the bottle of Tuffoot and smelled it before applying it, it is very obvious the level of alcohol in the product. So I guess until her pads heal I will just have to wait to apply tuffoot. Ill see how I like it, but already im skeptical of a liquid solution to the problem. I thought this stuff was like a balm or wax. Like I said though, im gonna try it, but im already starting to fill out the order info for Mushers Secret instead.

[mcbosco]

i bought it because i know what those police dogs go through here in NY, cracked streets, broken glass, melting asphalt, salt & sand, rough concrete sidewalks....i have never seen one with boots on and see a half dozen a day.

[tommyboy72]

Personally I think alcohol cleans, disinfects and sterilizes better than peroxide, that is why at the jail where I work we have spray bottles of alcohol to disinfect our hands rather than peroxide but to each his own.

I RARELY USE ALCOHOL TO CLEAN UP THE PADS IF THERE IS A CUT BECAUSE I USE DR. NAYLORS BLU-KOTE WHICH IS A TOPICAL GERMICIDE AND FUNGICIDE SPRAY THAT COMES IN A PUMP SPRAY BOTTLE AND IS COLORED DARK PURPLE WHICH HAS A STRONG CONCENTRATION OF ALCOHOL IN IT BUT VERY RARELY DO I HAVE THAT PROBLEM BECAUSE I ALLOW MY DOGS TO TOUGHEN THEIR FEET ON ROUGH GROUND.

The whole point behind my post was to say you should let your dogs feet toughen up by running rough ground and you probably would not have the pad problems you have- not to say that I torture my dog by putting alcohol on their cut feet. Another point of the post was to say that I am going to use the very best germicide and disinfectant on my dogs feet no matter how bad it burns because I care about the ultimate health of the dog and keeping the infection out rather than if my dog has some momentary discomfort. I am not sure what you easterners, westtexasrepublic excluded, hunt but where I hunt it requires tough dogs with tough feet to get the job done. I wish that all of you back east had the chance to come out here and hunt with me. I would be more than glad to take all of you, just be sure to bring boots for your dogs and pliers for the cactus. My dogs have grown accustomed to the terrain we hunt so it doesn't really bother them.

mcbosco I learned after the raw food vs. kibble debate that you will never see anyone's side of the debate but your own, but what would I expect from an eastern, tenderfoot new yorker so I am going to gracefully bow out of this debate on whether or not your medicine or mine is better.

[slistoe]

It amazes me that you had to waste that much typing trying to explain and re-explain yourself. It was quite clear to me the first time.

[tommyboy72]

Well it seemed to me that some think I just throw alcohol on my dogs foot when it gets a cut just to hurt them, I just wanted to make it plain that was not the case.

[ezzy333]

I too have never had to worry about my dogs pads. I used to kennel them on crushed rock and they were always tough them but they are on rough cement now and still have no problem plus I don't have to trim their nails. The only thing I have found that does get to them is some of the grass stubble such as switch grass that has beem mowed. But I have had that come right through the soles of my shoes. If they were going to run on that long I think they would need boots.

Ezzy

[tommyboy72]

I tried boots on mine both the pvc/tarp type material boots and the solid rubber boots. They hated them and the rough ground doesn't seem to bother them so I have 2 brand new pair of boots worn only once by each dog. Guess I will hold onto them in case I ever need them. I guess I could use them if I ever get to hunt Arizona or deep south Texas.

[ezzy333]

I tried boots on mine both the pvc/tarp type material boots and the solid rubber boots. They hated them and the rough ground doesn't seem to bother them so I have 2 brand new pair of boots worn only once by each dog. Guess I will hold onto them in case I ever need them. I guess I could use them if I ever get to hunt Arizona or deep south Texas.

I think if you hunt down there you need hightop snake proof boots for the dogs.

Ezzy

[tommyboy72]

My male actually pointed a rattler a few weeks ago, luckily mine listen well enough that I just yelled at him and the female backing him and they pulled off before any damage was done.