Raw Brake Pad due to Running

[L.Wa03]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience and/or solutions for this particular topic. My GSD runs quite a bit and tends to damage her brake pad pretty bad. It's constantly getting raw from harsh stops and running, then it scabs and is a continuous cycle of scabbing and getting raw. The first few times I bandaged them and put some neosporin on it which helped but since my husband and I are pretty active and take her hiking, biking, running, etc it's something that is always occuring. I was thinking maybe I would need to get her some shoes or bandage that particular area whenever we would take her out but I'm not sure.
Suggestions, tips, and advice are welcome!

Thanks,
Lori Waters

[Elaine]

Is she scraping her stop pad up the back of her legs or the large pad on her foot?

[Sunflowers]

You might try hiking boots.
Dog Boots | Dog Shoes & Dog Booties

[mygrace]

Awwwww..... I went through the same thing. Try Ruff Wear Performance Dog Gear | Dog Packs | Dog Boots. She didn't like them at first. It took awhile before she wouldn't try to chew them.

[doggiedad]

since you know what's causing her pads to become raw
why don't you stop the activity that's making them raw.
once her pads become raw make sure they're completely
healed before begining the activity again. what kind of
surface are you biking and running on? how old is your dog?

[Chicagocanine]

You could try using something like Tuff Foot to toughen up the pads.

Do you mean the metacarpal pad, or the carpal pad? This shows the locations if you're not sure: Paw - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If it's the metacarpal pad I would try boots, but they may not protect the carpal pad. My terrier used to tear up his carpal pads from skidding to stop and turns when playing ball. I tried wrapping with vet wrap but he'd end up tearing through that too...
However, a heavier layer of vet wrap might help or else maybe one of these:

Wax Stopper Pad Protectors - Boots and Paw Protection - Dog Clothing

https://www.neopaws.com/catalog/legw...269345cc8249c3

K9 Skid Boots for Flyball Dogs

Z-Control Skid Boots

[L.Wa03]

@Elaine: It's the break pad.

@Mygrace: Thanks for the link! I was thinking I'm probably going to have to get her some kind of pad protection because she's just a nut when it comes to running. She will run herself RAW and not a care in the world about it!

@Doggiedad: We've got her on probation right now which is no running period. She'll play with a few of the other dogs at home but nothing to intense. We've tried this probation period a few times before but it doesn't work. This time we're having to do it not only because her pads are scabby but also because she's starting to lick and bite them which is causing quite a bit of redness. I've had to bandage her paws because of this and put a cone on her because she won't leave them alone. So far the redness has gone down. I've been applying benadryl for the redness, itching and inflammation and then neosporin for the healing pads.

The few times I've taken her biking with it's been on the pavement/grass. When she runs around at the dog park or plays it's usually on grass.

Our dog is 1yr 6 mo or so.

@Chicagocanine: It's her capal pad and then the larger metacarpal pad has some scabbing. That's exactly the problem I'm having with my dog is that she skids to a stop when chasing smaller dogs!

Thank you guys for replying to my question. I've never had this problem before! I've never even seen it in practice but then again I've never had a GSD. I'm going to look into some boots and test out that Tuff Foot to toughen up her pads. The first few times her pads got raw I thought "Maybe she just needs to have this happen a few times so her pads can get used to the strenuous activity and then toughen up" but that never happened. Instead they're constantly scabbing and/or raw. She doesn't seem to mind it because she's not limping and is still running around like crazy but I know it must hurt/bother her because it's inflammed.

- Lori Waters