Peeling Paws

When she was three and a half months old, after a fun short jog around the block, I noticed Denali's paw pads blistered and peeled. The main pad, on both her front feet.

I assumed it was due to the heat, it was a warm day. But it's been a chronic, recurring issue for her. Not just on her main pad, but sometimes on her toes too.

 I finally got booties for her in 2012 which she wore through very quickly.

I tried a very tough brand of dog booties next but dirt got inside the boots and made her pads peel badly from grinding on the grains of dirt trapped inside the boot.

 

I tried yet another kind, that I still use. They've held up great! Tough, flexible, and protective. Ultra Paws is the brand, the Rugged booties. 

She wears the booties. She gets fish oil. I apply coconut oil to her pads. I keep her nails trimmed short. I keep her on dirt as much as possible while mushing, since sidewalk is more abrasive. Despite this, she sometimes still would have her pads peel. They've peeled after agility class where she runs on grass even.

 

Last week on Monday, the husband jogged with Denali while I mushed Kaytu behind. They've been running together the last month or so, a couple times a week, and she's always been barefoot. She ran fine. Tuesday I had a very busy day, I didn't notice anything wrong in the morning, she was laying in her bed when I got back from the shelter, and was there for a couple hours until I went to get ready for agility. Normally when I say "Nali, you wanna go to agility?!" she perks up and starts prancing around. She wiggled a bit in the bed but didn't get up. I called her again and she slowly and awkwardly stood up. She didn't want to put her front left foot down. Maybe she'd been laying on it funny? I checked her pads, as is habit, and saw nothing wrong. I gave her a few minutes, keeping her sitting there, but she held it up. When she tried to walk she limped and hobbled, not wanting to put any weight on it. She let me move all her joints, her toes, I pressed on all her pads. Her main pad seemed a little sensitive but not bad. We didn't go to class and I was really worried, but it didn't seem urgent enough to rush to the vet. Wednesday she was limping but better. Thursday she was much better, barely limping at all. Normal on Friday. Yesterday (Monday) I was trimming her nails and noticed her pad had peeled. Worst one yet. This was the only pad to peel.

Frustrated and feeling bad for her, I emailed her breeder as well as posting on a couple mushing groups on Facebook. Everyone recommended the supplement Zinpro, which is a zinc supplement. Huskies commonly have zinc deficiency which affects their skin and coat. I ordered some and it shipped today, should be here in about a week or so. Her breeder said to expect 4-6 weeks to see a difference. She also ok'd the recommendation to give a double dose the first month, as long as it doesn't cause diarrhea.

While we're talking about her feet, I asked the husband to take a few pics while I was doing her nails. I often have them laying down on their backs as I find it to be a great angle and comfortable for them as well.

Emily Larlham has a great video about teaching your dog to do this. I was pleasantly surprised to know I'm not the only one who does it this way!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EITYvqs32Hg