How to prevent painful, overgrown paw pads on my senior dog?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! From the pictures, it appears that Freya has hyperkeratosis of the paw pads. This condition does not cause any major problems and is more of a cosmetic problem. You can try and file the overgrown pad by using a dremmel (I recommend having a veterinarian or veterinary technician do this) and then try to help prevent this from occurring by using dog booties and BioBalm by Dermoscent (can be found online). I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach! I recommend using a product called BioBalm by Dermoscent. Bayer makes this product and you can find this easily online. For the long hair like pieces, I usually recommend having these trimmed (there are no nerves going to these pieces and it is painless to have these trimmed back). I would recommend having this done at your veterinarian's clinic where they can trim them there using clippers or a dremmel file. Once these have been made shorter, the BioBalm can be applied 3 times daily. It may take several months for this balm to work well but I have seen cases such as Allie's dramatically improve. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This does not require stitches in my opinion. The spot at the top of the picture appears to be a cut or abrasion. The protruding pieces are likely pieces of pad that have not fallen off on their own. I would recommend soaking this in a betadine / saline mixture (mixed to give a light brown solution). I would soak this for 5-10 minutes twice daily until healed. I would also apply Sentry Wound ointment, which you can find at PetCo and apply twice daily. If this does not improve or it worsens, please have Bane examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Nugget may have blistered his feet from running outside or from chewing his feet from allergies. You have a couple of options. The first would be to take him to the veterinarian to be examined and to have the paw pad that is falling off trimmed away from the foot so it does not catch on anything in the environment. The second option would be to soak his feet in epsom salt soaks twice daily 10 minutes at a time and wait for the pad tissue to fall off on its own. I would also have him wear protective booties and applying a wound cream such as Sentry Wound ointment (can be found at Petco) while the feet are healing. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

This looks like hyperkeratinosis of the paw pad. It is basically a callous. There isn't much you can do about it. If you have it cut off, they usually grow back. I would try some pad balm to help keep it smoothe and to prevent it from cracking and causing any discomfort. Most dogs are never bothered by it. If it ever causes him to limp, start to crack, or is growing rapidly, I would have your vet take a look at it to ensure he doesn't need any additional therapy. I hope this helps!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Abby and for providing pictures, they are very helpful. That is a nasty looking growth, and yes I would recommend having it removed. You should have a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis done on her before surgery. That will help assess accurately her anesthetic risk, but keep in mind many dogs her age have surgery with no issue. I would also recommend x-rays of her chest in case this growth is malignant. Malignant growths on the paw tend to metastasize to the the lungs. I hope this helps!

Poor guy. If the areas are relatively superficial, then you can clean them with Betadine/Iodine diluted 50:50 with warm water OR Chlorhexidine solution (2-4% diluted until a robin's egg blue consistency). This will remove any bacteria on the surface. However, since this part of the pet is always touching the ground and getting debris in them, you should consider placing booties (purchased at the local Petco or on Amazon) on Lincoln for 4-7 days until the skin starts to heal back. You may not need to keep these on Lincoln while he is inside the house, but definitely when he goes outside to potty. Alternatively, you can try placing socks or some kind of stocking material on his paws and then wiping them down with the solution when he comes back in. I would not recommend placing anything else over the counter on these areas. The paw pads are normally very forgiving when they just have abrasions on them and not an actual laceration (cut) of the pad, and heal up well in many cases. If the paws are wore down to the point of bleeding or show any signs of infection, then it is best to take him to your veterinarian for additional medication and treatment. I hope that this helps. Best of luck with Lincoln and I hope that his paws heal up well soon! Take care.