Does anyone here have experience in dealing with or preventing torn/scraped carpal pads on their dogs? My dog keeps scraping the leading edge of his, as he always slides to a stop on his forelegs when chasing balls, etc. Sometimes it's bad enough that he causes a small tear in the pad on the front edge just where it meets the leg. Of course he never complains.
Right now, I just keep them clean and spray them with an antibiotic and as yet haven't seen any infection. I've also started to tape the pads if I know we're headed out to chase balls. Of course, I don't always have vet wrap with me...
We deal with this a lot in racing- torn "stopper" pads. There's the most common preventative- vetrap. You can also get some knuckle bandages- they're the perfect shape but work best under a single layer of vetrap. A single strip of elastoplast is fast and will stay on, but can be a pain to get off. The flyball folks have "Z-control skid boots", if you do a google search for that you should get the website. They are made to put on immediately before a run and taken off after, so might not work so well if you are headed to the park for a walk and some frisbee or something. They are stretchy with velcro. The same principle is used on some of the skid boots you can get from places like the greyhound and whippet shop in england. For ease of use and effectiveness, I like the elastoplast strip- you don't have to put any tension or even wrap it all the way around the leg- just a square over the pad.
vickie
Thanks Vicky. The Z-control boots look like a good solution.
Elastoplast? I remember an Elastoplast brand of Band-Aid type strips that were sold in Africa when I was there, but I don't think I've ever seen it here. Is that the same thing you're talking about? I remember they were super sticky and backed with heavy duty fabric.
the elastoplast is in a roll, it's flesh colored stretchy cloth tape. It's thicker than regular white cloth medical tape. It sounds like what you were talking about, I think it's also called something else- elastikon?
vickie
OK, Elastikon I know. That's the traditional adhesive sport tape, as opposed to vet wrap. I might try it after his paw heals.
Off topic, but my cousin, who plays volleyball, told me that no one she knows uses the adhesive tape for injuries anymore - they all use vet wrap instead. It's great stuff. I even use it around the house - like modern duct tape!
Jeff,
Do a search for something called "Musher's Secret". It's protective wax for the pads. It's most often used to keep snow and stuff from accumulating between pads, but offers a layer of conditioning and protection also. Probably worth a try, and easier than tape if it works.
T
mushers secret is great stuff, it's used a lot on the footpads if the ground is hard. It's protective, but on my dogs it doesn't do anything when they slide in hard on the stopper pad. You could try it though- if he's just abrading the pad slightly, it might be enough.
I checked the roll of tape- it is elastikon. I just stick a patch of it on wherever they are getting skinned up- the stopper pads and sometimes the back of the metatarsal area.
vickie
Vicki,
Tape is probably a more thorough solution. I have Briards, so am operating from a different place. The words "Briard" and "tape" used in the same sentence is enough to give me hives. LOL
T
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