My dog has had problems with his left front pad for the last 6 months.I've been spraying it with Pad-Tough.It's a protective covering and toughening agent.Does anybody know what causes this? I wanted to take him out for a walk the last couple of days but his paw is too sore.I'm not sure what to do or what is causing it.

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 09:45 am:

The only time I ever knew of a dog having a problem with their pads was due to grass/weed allergies. My friend had a dog that was highly allergic to *some* kind of grass or weed in the grass and his paws were constantly red, sore and inflamed. Have you taken him to your Vet?

By Tripletmom on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 10:03 am:

I never thought of that!!!I took him to the vet 6mths ago and thats where I purchased the toughening agent.He never had this problem at our old house.Its happened only here at the new house.I don't get to walk him as much as before, since the triplets came, but he still does get out.Do you know what you're friend had to do?I will put a call to the vet.Thx Karen,I never thought of allergies.He already has an allergy to any kind of corn in his diet.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 11:07 am:

You can buy socks or foot protectors from most large pet supply stores (getting the dog to wear them is another story, of course), but if it were me I'd take the dog to the vet and check to see if there is any underlying infection, or maybe an allergy to the pad toughener spray.

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 11:44 am:

Sherri, I'm not sure. She had a Shar-pei, and he had allergies to so many things! I know he took something for one of the allergies, but I don't know *which* allergy it was! I also remember her rubbing something on his paws - it may have been a cortisone cream, she may have gotten it from the Vet. I don't know if you can use OTC hydracortisone creams for humans - why don't you give your vet a call? Is it just one paw, or all of them that is affected? If it's all of them, I'd be willing to bet he's allergic to something. Poor pooch!

By Tripletmom on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 11:47 am:

You're right Ginny-I called the vet and because its happened 3 times in the last 6mths they want to see him again.He's prone to ear infections and skin infections already.We've solved Remingtons skin due to allergy in food and his ear infections only happen twice a year now.The poor guy.I feel bad for him b/c he's really uncomfortable today.My DH just called from work and he'll take him in tonite.Thx for you're advice.

By Tripletmom on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 11:55 am:

Karen we were posting at the same time.Initially is was his 2 front paws.This time it is only the 1 front paw.I think allergies also.His skin and ear infections are allergy related.We just don't know to what.We removed corn from his diet and that cleared up his skin.The ear infections we are not sure what causes them but they only happen twice a year now and the vet just repeats his drops for us.I'm hoping something stronger than the spray will help.He's become a very expensive member of the family.Totally worth it but just expensive.

By Tripletmom on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 09:33 pm:

Update on Remington

The vet says it isn't allergy related.He has an infection and a slight fever.He's on an antibiotic for 2 weeks.He told us to keep spraying his paw once a day.He thinks he is stepping on something to cause it to split.My DH is going to do a thorough check in the backyard again.Here's to hoping we figure it out soon.

By Mrsheidi on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 11:27 pm:

What food do you use to avoid allergies? I think that's why my dog licks her paws so much. It's so red in between the pads.
So sorry he has to go through this. Does he wimper because of it? Poor guy!!

By Karen~moderator on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 07:28 am:

My dog had food allergies when we got her from my oldest DD - she was feeding her all kinds of stuff, and a lot of *dog food* from the health food store where she was working at the time. She had incredibly dry, itchy, irritated skin and just scratched ALL the time. Our vet said to give her lamb and rice dog food only, and she has been fine ever since then.

Sherri, poor dog! Allergies was a good guess, but it's a good thing you got him in! I sort of don't understand why the Vet would want you to spray this stuff on a paw that's infected - it seems like it should heal first. What kind of dog is he???

I hope his paw is better soon and he's feeling like his old self!

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 08:01 am:

Heidi, when Sascha had her last ACL repair they wrapped the soft cast a bit wrong around her foot, and the inner surfaces of two pads rubbed together. When the cast came off she started licking, which, of course, made it worse. She had red/pink surfaces, and it was clearly uncomfortable. The vet said she had a minor infection, and for the next three weeks we kept the foot wrapped, unwrapping to put a topical antibiotic ointment on every day. It did clear up and is healed now. Of course, she kept trying to pull the wrapping off, but fortunately Scott and I are both good at re-wrapping. We had to put a plastic cover on it when we took her out to keep the wrapping clean and dry.

I think, Heidi, if your dog is licking its paws so much that they are red, a vet visit is in order. Dogs lick at irritated spots and unfortunately, despite the common belief, the licking can often make it worse.

By Tripletmom on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 09:04 am:

Heidi-We feed Remington Nutro Max-Chicken and Rice.We've had no problem with his skin being on this for about 5yrs now.My vet said sometimes dogs pads can get red and raw more in the winter.The hair between the nails must be kept short and nails trimmed.Sometimes if there's too much hair between the nails it causes the area to spread and the dog to walk more on the back of his pads.We don't have this problem we're thinking something in the backyard.He's not whimpering,he is limping and just not his old self


Karen-Hes a lab/sheppered and 8yrs old.I'm going to question the vet about the spray when he calls me back this morning.I have a concern with the medication.He's on novolexin 500mg.He told my DH to give him 2 tablest stat and then 1 tablet twice a day.The bottle however says to give 2 tablets twice a day(500mg)tabs.I'm wondering if they meant to give 250mg tablets.It just seems like a large dose for a 70lb dog.I gave him 1 tablet this morning just in case.

By Tripletmom on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 09:20 am:

Well the vet just called and said to give 2 tablets twice a day that it was not to much to give him.I don't know why I feel so hesitant on this.As for the spray he said only once a day and it is used as a stringent(sp)Well hopefully he'll be back to his old barky self soon.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 11:31 am:

If you are worried about dosage, check the medication on the internet and go to the manufacturer's website listing. A lot of animal (and people) medications are by weight; others, particularly antibiotics, can sometimes be based on the seriousness of the condition.

By Tripletmom on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 11:45 am:

Ginny-I called the pharmacy already and you're right, I told them my dogs weight and they said regardless of weight it breaks down differently in animals.I work in pharmacy and I thought the dosage was high.I do feel better and I will give him the correct dosage tonite.Thx for the info.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 02:23 pm:

I think medicines go through a dog, much quicker than they do humans, so they need to have a bigger dose.

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 08:11 am:

Jasmine eats California Natural Chicken and Rice. We tried the lamb and rice once and she didn't like it! She doesn't seem to have allergy problems, though.

By Tripletmom on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 08:20 am:

Dawn We tried the lamb and rice also and he didn't like it.I actually had to make him a bowl of rice last night b/c he has seem to have lost his appetite.I'm thinking the antibiotic he's on is causing it.He had no problem eating the rice though.This morning he ate a little of his food and drank lots of water.I'm hoping to see a difference in a couple of days.

By Karen~moderator on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 09:18 am:

Antibiotics can definitely cause appetite changes. My dog didn't exactly like the lamb and rice, and she constantly begs for food at dinner time (bad doggie!), especially since DH will mix chicken, etc. in her food sometimes. But the only dog food she gets is lamb and rice, and like I said before, it has made a huge difference in her itching and scratching.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:11 am:

Try mixing some boiled ground lamb into the rice, along with some of the cooking water. But as long as he's drinking and peeing well, you/he should be OK for at least a couple of days. And your vet is only a phone call away - don't hesitate to call if things don't seem right.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:13 am:

Here's the page about adverse reactions in dogs I found last week. http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/

I don't know that I'd take it as 100% gospel, but I *think* the statistics and lists of adverse or potential adverse reactions are fairly sound.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:18 am:

I was re-reading your post about the med and dosage, and have asked Scott to look at the thread and comment to me. But, I have sometimes had my own doctor tell me to take a double dose first and then normal doses at normal intervals - the doc said it was because the particular condition was so bad he wanted to give it a good hit right away.

By Tripletmom on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:56 am:

Thx Ginny-I agree with the double dose stat to get a jump start into his system.I was hesitant on the same dose twice daily.1000mg twice daily just seemed like alot.Unfortunatley working in the medical field I've personally have come across some doctors who don't like to be wrong and will not change the rx,even if the dosage or strength is wrong.Yet there are alot of doctors who appreciate it when it is brought to there attention b/c nobody is perfect and the well being of the patient comes first.I will check out the website. Thx again Gin

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 01:20 pm:

I agree with your comment about sone doctors not wanting to be questioned - I don't go to a doctor like that a second time. I had a problem several years ago when my ortho switched me to the once a week Fosamax, but didn't write it correctly (it was new then and wasn't in his edition of Merck). The pharmacist caught it, but when I called the doctor's office, the nurse/clerk just kept saying "that's what doctor prescribed", no matter how many times I said "yes, but the doctor was wrong", and would not agree to take a message to have the doctor call me. I finally had to fax a letter to the doctor with a copy of the dosage information from the manufacturer's web site, at which point the doctor immediately faxed back the right prescripton order.

By Tripletmom on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 01:42 pm:

I had a similar situation where they prescribed an adult dosage for my DD.I asked the Dr if she was sure if thats what she wanted and she said YES.I took the rx to the pharmacy and told the pharmacist how much she weighed and thought it would be easy for the pharmacist to call and get it changed.Boy was I wrong.The Dr would not change it.Flatly refused.Needless to say my DH,DD and I went to E.R. to get a new rx.I got her license # and reported her.

Doctors Nurses-I know they work hard and have to deal with alot of issues but they are not the doctor I hate when they will not even bring it to the Dr's attention.

Well a little of topic but thats why I was hesitant on giving Remington his meds b/c I thought it was a high dose

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 05:57 pm:

Sherri, I checked with Scott, and he has seen this medication used a lot in lab animal medicine. He says, of course, he is not a vet (just a vet tech) and doesn't know your dog and hasn't seen the serology, but he would have no problem with that dosage based just on what he knows.

By Tripletmom on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 08:13 pm:

Thank-You so much Ginny!!! and Scott.Its nice to have the reassurance.Thx again.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 10:22 pm:

Scott says you're very welcome, but reminds you that he is NOT a veterinarian. All of his experience is as a vet tech at U.Penn's animal hospital and in lab animal medicine - and, he has never seen your dog or the lab tests.

So if you observe something that doesn't *feel* right, do call your vet right away. The most important thing is to keep an eye on the water intake *and* outgo. You want to be sure if your dog is drinking more than usual, she is peeing more than usual also.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 10:24 pm:

As for the lamb and rice diet, Scott says they are great *if* your dog has food allergies. Most of the time they aren't much good for other kinds of allergies but if you have a highly allergic dog it can't hurt. But, he says, many of the supermarket "lamb and rice" diets also have a lot of wheat and other grains, and may also have chicken and other stuff in them, so check the labels.

By Tripletmom on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 01:03 am:

Thx Ginny-I know he's a tech and so am I, its just nice to have the reassurance with somebody that works in that field.I never buy Remingtons food at the supermarket we get it at a pet store.We spend extra money but its well worth it, with no more skin problems.He eats the Chicken and Rice and it does well for us.He's been peeing well today and seems to be more a little active.He actually chased a squirrel in the backyard today so he must be getting there.Thx again