Open paw pads & dog boots

[Flora & Molly]

Molly has chewed one of her paw pads open on her back paw. This isn't the first time she has had wounds on her paw pads, but it is the first time I am certain she chewed it open herself. I'm guessing it's some sort of allergy. Last time it started with one pad and after limiting her running around suddenly a second pad was open. So I went to the vet, who had no clue at all and only gave me some honey ointment that didn't do anything. Really felt like money wasted. I remember Molly licking her paws a lot (with or without the honey stuff on them). I think this was about a year ago.

So now I actually saw her chewing her paw open. We were at my mother's house where she had gotten different kibble than what she usually gets at home. That might not be the cause, but she has a sensitive stomach and gets pressed kibble at home(at least that is what it is called here, not sure if "pressed" is the correct translation). 

Anyway, she hasn't chewed her foot ever since and it hasn't bled or anything, but it is pink (her pads are black). It doesn't seem too painful, she walks normally, but it must be sore by the looks of it. I am restricting her exercise as I don't want a repeat of last time. We usually bike everyday but that is of course out of the question now. 
I am a bit unsure of what to do exercise wise. I don't want to do too much and make her wound worse. On the other hand, I don't want to restrict her more than necessary.

Today I tried out the dog boots I got for her and I am not sure if they're a good idea. They are great as they stay on really well and she has good traction with them. So no complaints there, they are excellent. But when we got home and I took them off she started licking her paw again and wanted to chew it again (I asked her not to and she did stop). I wonder if they can make it worse by chafing? Does she even really need them? If she's not limping or showing signs of discomfort can I let her run around on the grass? 
I know dogs can hide pain well and Molly is a dog that will go on with pain, so I don't ask her to do anything. So no biking, no fetching. But if we go on a walk off leash she will gallop around - and I'm not sure if she should. I'm limiting the galloping though, and try to do other things as exercise.

Bit of a long story to basically ask:

To dog boot or not to dog boot?
No more running around?
 

[D'Elle]

Gosh, that's a hard question. I guess if it were I, I would experiment, try it both ways,  and observe her closely to see if I really thought that the boots made it worse or not.

It does seem to me if she is not showing any signs of irritation, running around on grass couldn't hurt her, but again, watch her for signs that it might trigger the chewing behavior.

[Flora & Molly]

Thank you D’Elle. I have been doing just that and came to the conclusion that the boots aren’t helping.

Paw pad seems a bit better today.

Sometimes I need a little reassurance I’m not crazy  thank you!

[D'Elle]

On 10/23/2020 at 9:20 AM, Flora & Molly said:

 

Sometimes I need a little reassurance I’m not crazy  thank you!

Oh, I understand that. I do too. That's what other people are for, especially on a forum, right?

[GentleLake]

@Flora & Molly, how's Molly's pad now?

I don't have an answer to whether or not the boots are a good idea, but I wonder if it's possible on your bike runs if she could be stepping on something irritating (like stinging nettle or similar) or even something with small thorns that you're not seeing easily. I'd imagine even if she managed to remove a thorn that the tiny puncture could still bother her and then she worries it.

Hope you've been able to figure something out by now.

[Flora & Molly]

That’s certainly a possibility! We usually bike on forest trails or dirt paths, so she might have stepped in something. That would explain the chewing too. She hasn’t chewed since I last posted and stopped using the boots.

It’s loads better now, but her paw pad hasn’t fully grown back yet. It doesn’t hurt her anymore and she doesn’t mind me touching it. Looks better too, back to the usual black instead of red. I check every day still to make sure it’s not getting worse - just to be sure.