Why are my dog's paw pads so rough and scaly? Is this normal?

It's normal that as Boo grows, his paws will not be as soft and become rough and hard. They should be rough to give him traction when he runs, and protect his feet from the ground. You can protect them from the snow, salt, and ice when you walk him outdoors by using Musher's Secret on them.

I recommend to leave his paws as they are since he has no signs of pathology. The paws will roughen in response to his environment. Softening the paws may make them more prone to injury. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It may be something about the way that he walks or stands on that paw. Dogs do develope calluses in the paws (just like we do on our feet) and they are protective in nature so you don’t want to soften or remove them. The best way to know if it is a callus is to have the paw examined by the veterinarian. The doctor will palpate it and will likely be able to know if it is pathologic or normal. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Phoenix's paw pads may benefit from a change in diet. Royal Canin diets are fortified with Omega 3 fatty acids which are good for the coat and skin. They make a diet for sensitive skin (you may need to look online for the product) and this one would be a good option. It will take about 4 weeks to see if they improve with a new diet. You could also try a product such as Baely's Paw Shield. This balm may help to heal the cracked skin. Lastly, avoid rough surfaces and dry the paws well when they get wet. If the skin starts looking red, bleeding, scabbing or if he seems bothered, have hime seen by his vet. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Those look like very normal changes to a more adult paw pad. If there is any redness, swelling, or crusting then I would encourage you to have him evaluated by a veterinarian soon. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

I suspect that Nahla has developed these hard callouses (also called corns) from being in a kennel at the quarantine. They may go away with time - you can speed up the process by softening her pads - applying something like Vaseline or Aquafor to the areas daily and covering with dog boots (which you can buy from larger pet stores). If she is showing signs of lameness, you should take her to the vet for further care and pain relief medicine. Please do not use human pain relief medicine on her as they are often not safe, and can be toxic.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. The spots you are seeing on the bottom of the feet could be secondary to callus formation or previous blister formation from friction or heat when running or coming in contact with hot surfaces. If she goes hiking a lot and walks through gravel, sometimes callus formation can cause these spots to show up. There are pad diseases that will cause discoloration of the pad, however this does not look concerning to me at this point in time. If the feet become swollen or you notice any wounds in between the toes that I would bring this to the attention of a veterinarian and have it examined. Further testing can be performed on this such as obtaining a biopsy of the paw pad. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns. I'm also available via consultation if needed