Where's the Shiba?
Right there.
Conker's pads have gotten worse. He wanted to go for a walk today, so I tried to plan a route that would use the smoothest pavement possible. My hope was that no further damage would happen to his pads. I went barefoot (as I usually do) so I could judge the harshness of the pavement. None of what we walked on was nasty, as some of it can be in this neighborhood.
Anyways, my plan didn't work. About 1/4 mile in Conker began to lag behind. This is very abnormal for him, he never does that. Usually he's forging ahead and testing the strength of his collar and leash. So I stop and check his pads.
Yep, they are wearing off again.
Instead of turning around and going home, I put Conker on my shoulders and carried him the rest of the 1 3/4 mile walk. He wanted to go out dangit, he was going to finish the walk even if it meant him riding on my shoulders for the vast majority of it.
Only one car stopped to see if my dog was okay. The guy asked if I needed a ride. I was about 1/2 mile from home so I thanked him and declined his offer. One other driver talked to me, but he told me:
"You are supposed to walk them! Not carry them!" Before he blasted through a stop sign.
So, no more pavement walks for Conker. If he wants to go out, he gets carried until we find some grass. This is going to be so fun.
Sometimes a magnesium deficiency can cause the pads to wear like that.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of a magnesium deficiency. The first thing that pops out in my mind is zinc being the culprit, but everything else that would indicate a zinc deficiency is fine. I'll look into that one, thanks!
Deleteaw, poor buddy, can you use some type of booties for now?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to let his feet rest for a while. If he gets obnoxious then I'll make some cloth booties like the ones that mushers use on their sleddogs. I'd totally get some ruff Wear booties but I want to know if he'll even tolerate stuff in his feet before I drop cash on some of those.
DeleteI would try paw toughening stuff before going to booties. Using booties will prevent him from gaining callus on his paw pads, making him more likely to cut up his feet in the future. Musher's Secret is awesome, you might look into trying some of that if diet changes don't help.
DeleteHe's driving me nuts with not walking, hence why I want to try some booties until his paws heal. Then I can slowly work on rebuilding his calluses.
DeleteI'm gonna get some Musher's Secret soon. I'll need it for the summer, the dog's paws get a bit iffy when it warms up.
Well they wore off after walking on the pavement right? I'd think they need a touch more time to grow back :) Like at least a week and a half I'd think. That's about how long it takes for a scab to do some decent work, and keratin starting fresh from the skin takes a bit longer. Lots of food lotion!
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's too bad there wasn't a cop there to bust that jackass. At least he was balanced out by the nice passerby that offered a ride.
Yeah, on the pavement. This is a bit troubling to me since he has never had a problem like this before.
DeleteLOL I wish. There always seems to be a cop around when I don't need one, and never when I do!
He's got you well trained. I do hope his paws heal up.
ReplyDelete