burned foot pads

[Cheryl Lynn]

Hi there!

 

at 7 months old, Spencer has recently become really into playing frisbee. He's pretty good at it and loves his play sessions with Dad. Today we noticed that the little round pads on his front legs (the little ball part, not the bottom pads, not sure what that's called) are black- burned from stopping I imagine- and ripped a little too. We cleaned them and put some neosporin on them. They don't seem to be bothering him at all, but of course I am going to bring him to the vet tomorrow.

 

my question is this something that happens with other dogs/border collies? How is it usually treated and can we prevent it from happening again? I admit I am a little weary of vets in some ways ($) so I figured I'd ask you guys before going into the vets office.

 

We just play frisbee with Spencer for fun, but he seems to like it so much I would hate to have to stop. We play in a field of grass, but the grass does seem to be getting really dry. Not sure if that has much to do with it or not.

 

thanks so much for the advice!

[spencer]

Hi!! Just had to tell you that my 2 year old border collie is called Spencer too! he's grey and white and was the runt of the litter bless him! he has a few problems but he's lovely and sooo obidient!

[2 Devils]

I believe you are referring to the stopper pads. They burn them playing when they stop too quickly, slide, turning and making cuts, just being idiots, etc...

 

It happens and there is no way to stop it that i have found. You can try wrapping the legs with vetwrap.

[juliepoudrier]

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I hope y'all haven't been letting him do a lot of jumping, etc., to catch a frisbee. His bones are still growing, and such activities can do some serious damage. Let him chase rolling balls or rolling frisbees or those that are thrown low and long.

 

I have very active dogs, some of them working, some not. They have had various injuries to their feet and legs, but none have ever ripped that particular pad. Spencer must be doing some major sliding to be tearing those pads up. Maybe you need to just tone down the play a bit and give him a chance to mature before overextending him.

 

J.

[Cheryl Lynn]

Don't worry about being a "wet blanket" it takes quite a lot to offend me! We are new border collie owners and this is all new to us, which is why I asked.

 

However, I wouldn't say he is being over extended- he only plays frisbee 10-15 minutes every few days. At least I hope that's not overextending, because we are trying to be real careful of that, not because of his growing bones (only because I didn't think of that before) but because he gets so worked up so quickly and is so fixated on the frisbee he of course wants to keep playing. Normally we play fetch or soccer with him.

 

thanks for the help guys! I appreciate it.

[Rave]

Tearing up the carpal pad is typical in dogs who slide a lot, whether playing fetch, chasing other dogs, etc... My girls rip those all the time. Wrapping is one way to prevent it, but then you'll always have to wrap, as the dog will start to slide harder when wrapped, so it's probably not the best choice. You can try to strengthen those pads (once healed) by using any of the commercial pad conditioners/tougheners out there.

 

I'd advise to just watch how your dog is playing and find out what's making him tear them up, then try to modify that action. Some dogs just naturally slide. My fast girl does it a LOT since she doesn't like to slow down for turns or stops.