Feet

[Allan P 1,149]

Having a few problems with the dogs feet, is there anything I can do to condition them more. I hunt woodland and recently having trouble with deep cuts and a smashed nail. I understand it's part and parcel of a working dog but do I just stop hunting in this place or is there more I can do?Also what breeding of lurcher has the toughest feet or is it just down to luck. I work away and hardly got out with dog this time off and it's getting annoying. Any constructive comments welcome.

[Stud dog 632]

I had same problem with my foot its a f****r

[Allan P 1,149]

Shouldn't kick the dog so fecking hard then.

[jeemes 4,453]

If the dog has good feet then the rest is bad luck because you are hunting woodland. I like a dogs feet to be the right shape but also strongly built with thick pads and thick strong nails. The best feet for me are like a deerhounds feet or a fox hounds. To be honest the type of injury you describe could happen to the best feet,but dogs need regular exercise to strengthen tendons bone etc.

[low plains drifter 10,328]

Roadwork toughens the pads up well

[low plains drifter 10,328]

I had same problem with my foot its a f****r

Is that weils disease ?

[Stud dog 632]

Just goes to show them dogs are harder then they look

[Somewhereyournot 1,117]

Deerhound, saluki and bearded/border collies have the toughest feet in general I think. I like tight bunched high knuckled feet. You will never stop cuts to the feet really as most adult dogs pads should be hard so just bad luck. But maintaining the nails will always make the feet tighter n form better and not only that they got less chance of injury and less chance of getting caught and potentionally snapping then

[Allan P 1,149]

Thanks for your replies lads, The nails do look long but they are as short as they can be without cutting the quick. I have never needed to cut his nails due to exercising him and vet says there is no issue with length of them Just seems to keep happening recently. He gets a fair bit of road work when I'm away so must be just down to bad luck.

[king 11,972]

There is a trick to harden the skin on a dogs paws or your own feet for that matter.Wipe the pads withsurgical spirit several times a day and that will harden the skin over time.One of my previous dogs had an operation on his paw and had to wear a bootie for quite sometime which resulted in his pads going soft like a babys bottom.

 

If you'd like to know how i knew that a friend of mine used to do ballet and she had to do it to toughen her feet up.

Found this online Alan.

I have allways walked my dogs on a railway track every few weeks a few miles a time.its great for keeping the nails short as it chips away at them and after a day or 2 of normal mountain walking they smooth off again.you can see how close to the quick you are going aswell.i only use ever use a nail clippers on pups.never on an adult dog.

[BlackBuck 655]

Remember an old guy that lived beside , kept hounds and lurchers for years . He used to dip the dogs feet in methylated spirits , he reckoned it hardened the pads . Watched him doing it once with hounds , it was real hard frosty weather and he reckoned it would stop the feet from getting burnt

[Allan P 1,149]

Good stuff King and Blackbuck I will be trying the surgical spirit trick when the feet have fully healed.. Thanks for the advice.

[green dragon 701]

I was told runing the dog on beaches hardens the pads

[Somewhereyournot 1,117]

You can train the quick to become shorter. Keep clipping the nail as close to quick as possible and it will eventually fade back. Some of the dogs feet on here I see make me cringe, some don't look like they get walked lol

[king 11,972]

You can train the quick to become shorter. Keep clipping the nail as close to quick as possible and it will eventually fade back. Some of the dogs feet on here I see make me cringe, some don't look like they get walked lol

What would cause that the tip of the quick becoming cold and dying back a few millimeters ?