Bleeding feet.

[Tinaweena]

Boones back feet always bleed after a walk. It looks like the toenails rub the pads and cause it to get raw (poor thing)! It's not the bottom of the pad, but the side of it. We've had him to the vet about it, and she gave us antibacterial soap for them, and told us to run in some polysporin throughout the day when we can.
We did this and it was clearing up just fine, then we started going for walks and it's getting worse now.
The vet said it's not his toenails, but I can't see it being anything else. The sores are in the exact shape of the curvy nail, I hate the thought of him being hurt on our walks when I want him to enjoy it. When we get home he doesn't bother with them or chew them or anything so they don't seem to really bother him, but I don't like it. Do you think letting his nail grows to the point where the tip of it won't rub against the pad is a good idea?
Also, if it doesn't stop even then, when we take him to be neutered would it be an option to remove those two toenails causing the problem? I don't know if thise would have a negative effect at all or be just like taking the nails off a cat. It would only be two toenails of the 20 he has.

 

[Mordy]

Tinaweena - just for your information: "taking the nails off a cat" is not a minor issue. When a cat is declawed, it's actually the first digit of their toes being amputated. It's considered inhumane and illegal to do in many countries of the world. If you are interested at all in this topic, please check out http://declaw.lisaviolet.com.

That being said, you could try managing your dog's problem by keeping the nails short. See here for an example of a nice, short nail.

Amputation of any body part should always be a last resort, reserved for situations where you absolutely can't manage differently.

To learn how to keep nails short in the most effective way, check out this page:
http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merensjp/doberdawn/dremel/dremel.html

 

[Tinaweena]

Yes I know that taking the nails off cats is a very involved procedure. I was asking because I wanted to know that as an absolutely last resort we can get some relief for him.
His nails are very short and I think this may be what's also contributing to the problem. The edge of his nail is up near the pad of his other toe. I'm putting polysporin on them whenever I can, and they get better....then the first walk we take, even if it's 15 mins they are bloody again.

I hope that works cuz I made a little diagram of what I mean, since it's hard to describe.

 

[Mordy]

That helps a lot! I didn't understand that it wasn't the toe the nail grows out of that's the problem.

Do you think that with the Dremel maybe you could shape the side of the nail that causes the problem? Or maybe something like these vinyl nail caps glued over the nail could make a difference? If you had to put them only on 2 nails, one pack would last quite a long time.

 

[Tinaweena]

OOOO pink! hahah Doubt the boyfriend would go for that. Maybe a manly blue. Thanks Mordy, if it doesn't gte itself cleared up this weekend (no walks) I think I will buy some. I think that the toes on the side just need to catch up with the middle toes growth wise, and these would help till he gets there.
I'm wondering tho, and it doesn't say on the page...can they be removed if he really hates them and starts to bite at them (which would just aggitate this pad more)?

 

[groominggal]

When he gets fixed, maybe talk to your vet about having his nails quicked all the way back. When he is asleep for his surgery, the vet can cut his nails all the way back to the quick and caterize them at the same time. This would be a MUCH better option to having him declawed. Try putting some Utter Balm or Bag Balm on his pads (those are creams that were orginially used for cow udders but have made their way to the mainstream human market for extremely dry skin). Maybe the problem is that the pads are cracking from being really rough, kinda like with dry skin?

 

[Mordy]

Tinaweena, you can remove them with nail polish remover. It might take a little bit of work, but they will come off.