# Sensitive Feet???



## Brett Bowen (May 2, 2011)

Anyone else have a dog that has sensitive feet? Seems like everytime we go for a run in the neighborhood, my female will come back and limp her way around the house for a little bit, lick her pads etc. I'm wondering if her pads are just sensitive to the concrete or if she runs weird and makes her pads raw. It wasn't so bad when we were running in the nieghborhood a lot, but we've been doing on runs in fields more often lately. 

Anyone have some experience with this? Any suggestions to help? Surely the SAR folks come across this. In the past I've tried bag balm but that just seems to make them softer. I've tried tuff-foot too but that's alcohol based, that tends to piss her off.


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## jim stevens (Jan 30, 2012)

It is pretty common for hounds to run their pads till they bleed, and also common for it to be chronic to some and never happen to others. We used to use coppertox on the hounds pads to toughen them up when I was a pup.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

Asphalt/pavement can be really abrasive on their feet. 

I ran my dogs with the scooter about 4-5 km on a paved trail one morning and my DS came back with a torn spot in her paw. Other runs on hard ground never caused damage, but perhaps it was just a matter of time. It took about a week for her to stop being sensitive on that foot, which was a painful week for me of trying to do minimal exercise with her.

On the advice of a musher friend, I bought booties - simple, cheap, lightweight cordura nylon ones, and I chose super bright colours. I laugh at my dogs when I put them on, but it doesn't seem to bother them to run in them, other people seem to think it's cute and I haven't had any problems with tender feet since. 

Pictures available. lol


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## Wendy higgins (Mar 12, 2011)

I have the same problem with one of mine, put tuff pad on her feet a directed. She will be fine


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## Sara Waters (Oct 23, 2010)

I have the same problem every summer with a Scottish working line Border collie on dry stony country with his front paws. The other dogs have no problems.

I bought some reletively inexpensive but excellent dog boots (they stay on in tough working conditions) from Ireland. That seemed to solve the problem.

What is tuff pad?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Wendy higgins said:


> I have the same problem with one of mine, put tuff pad on her feet a directed. She will be fine


Hi, Wendy,

Please don't forget the required intro/bio at 
http://www.WorkingDogForum.com/vBulletin/f20/

Thanks!


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## Mary Velazquez (Mar 31, 2012)

Tuff Foot, good stuff. We use it on our dogs and it really does work and pretty fast too. We moved from Ny where the ground is soft and the cement is cool to Tx where everything is hard and thorny and scorching and used this to toughen up the dogs feet.
http://tuffoot.com/


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Mary Velazquez said:


> Tuff Foot, good stuff. We use it on our dogs and it really does work and pretty fast too. We moved from Ny where the ground is soft and the cement is cool to Tx where everything is hard and thorny and scorching and used this to toughen up the dogs feet.
> http://tuffoot.com/


There also was (maybe still is) a product called Tuff-Pads, but I haven't seen it in ages.


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

Around Age 6 Rory started ripping his pads. Around July a friend of mine said her aussies run their pads off. Read in a vet book that with age zinc depletes in the body--causing skin issues. Started adding chelated zinc to his food and walla--never tore them again. Bag Balm sure helped to heal the ripped pads prety quick. 

T


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## Ron Ackerman (Jul 29, 2007)

I'm running Vulcan 15 to 20 miles a week training for an AD and have no problem. Been using Musher's Secret several times a week. Seems like good stuff.


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## Sara Waters (Oct 23, 2010)

That Tuff foot sounds worth a try. I looked on their site and they are currently setting up a distribution point in Australia, so hopefully this happens and I can try some on my tender footed Scottish lad.

The ground here is also dry, scorching, stony and thorny for a good part of the year.


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

What are the ingredients in Tuff Foot? I've seen an ointment sold for mushers that had sulfur, mineral oil and some pine oil. My dog's feet sometimes suffer in winter, so I've been looking for something to condition them. I'd like to know the ingredients before I put it on the dog. Some of the old-time remedies are now seen as less safe for dogs or people.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Meg O'Donovan said:


> What are the ingredients in Tuff Foot?



Ingredients listed here:
http://www.gundogsupply.com/7-95.html


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Tuff Foot, Musher's Secret and moleskin are things that I use. Good stuff for sure.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Ron Ackerman said:


> I'm running Vulcan 15 to 20 miles a week training for an AD and have no problem. Been using Musher's Secret several times a week. Seems like good stuff.


I use mushers secret too, especially in the winter when we have lots of salt everywhere. Both my dogs have ripped paw pads by turning quick on hard surfaces as well as blistered them working sheep usually the sheep field is pretty hard packed so I wouldn't put it past being like concrete for the most part. 

You really have to read your dog when it is in a place where this is possible. I've hurt my dogs feet by scootering them on asphalt trails too which is how I found out that the older dog has sensitive pads. So I just adjust myself accordingly. 

I also know a few people who use this horse hoof conditioner for their hunting dogs before the hunt season and swear by it. http://greenhawk.com/wdItemDesc.asp?strilhID=Web&strmdNumber=HOO8671&stricSKU=HOO8671


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