PLEASE READ BEFORE ANSWERING
my dog is a 2yo staffy x and a few month back he started licking he's paws excessively, and then started to gnaw at them.
OF COURSE i took him to my vet, who tried a number of things - cone (elizabethan) collar, antibiotics, foot bathes.. to no avail.
i have since seen a dermatologist vet and we have realised that his paws are worn down so thin (SLIGHTLY bleeding at times) due to running on the v. rough concrete in my yard.
no matter how sporty and "durable" dog boots i buy, they are just not cutting it (he is VERY active).
SO i need to do something to get rid of the rough concrete.
I AM A UNI STUDENT AND DONT INTEND ON LIVING HERE FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE OF YEARS.
I CANT SPEND MORE THAN A COUPLE $HUNDRED.
so far i have thought of
- painting concrete with something smooth? is this going to work on very rough concrete
- putting down large rubber mats (expensive), a tarp (time consuming), mulch? (painful perhaps?)
any other ideas/thoughts?
2007-10-30 23:55:48 · 6 answers · asked by punk_girly8 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Buy some indoor/outdoor carpet to put over your concrete.
2007-10-31 00:05:28 · answer #1 · answered by Shadow's Melon 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the others, I was going to suggest dog boots but you tried them. Try to limit his concrete playtime. Maybe find a dog friendly park in the area with some nice soft grass for him. Lots of carpet stores have end pieces they sell for cheap, see if you can buy some of those, we get some for the nature center I work at occasionally and we have very limited funds there as well. Or take him for a walk away from your concrete yard. There are also creams for sore and rough pads....ask your vet if you can use those.
2007-10-31 00:43:41 · answer #2 · answered by NatrGrrl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Poor little guy :( The only thing I can suggest is keeping him inside until his paws heal. Only let him out when you supervise him and make sure he doesn't run around on the concrete. He may not like it, but it will be best for him.
If you can't keep him inside then I think you should go with the tarp idea. Or maybe buy a bunch of cheap little mats and spread them around to cover as much of the concrete as you can.
Good luck!
2007-10-31 00:01:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Please don't be offended by my asking this, but do you do any type of weight pulling with your dog?
A lot of people will put a rig on a dog, for "play", and not think about the types of surfaces that could harm the pads of the feet. Concrete is VERY bad for this type of activity, even if the dog is only pulling a small amount of weight. Boots will not help to protect his feet in this situation.
If he's not pulling, then I would suggest as others have... supervise his play time and don't allow him to be on rough surfaces like concrete.
Sorry I can't be of more help. I hope you find something that works for him soon.
2007-10-31 00:25:30 · answer #4 · answered by ProudPibbleMomma 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Mulch might work, you could use straw which would have no pointy stick ends. OR use sand or pea gravel (traditional in dog runs) for that matter any small stone - my dog run has plain small mulch stone.
2007-10-31 00:59:30 · answer #5 · answered by ragapple 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
One can assume that this dog (as most pits/amstaffs) spends 24-7 on the concrete. Right???
I'm glad you care, however no "boots" will help.
2007-10-31 01:35:53 · answer #6 · answered by Tony II 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋