Better Feet Make A Difference
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120 – February, 2025
By Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia
Most people are more familiar with their hands than their feet because we do so much with our hands every day. Yet our feet are equally as valuable given what they are asked to do. With our dogs, the pads of their feet support their pasterns, legs and bodies and make everything they do possible. Breeders and owners expect their dogs’ feet to support their weight and enable them to gait, play and perform a variety of activities for a lifetime without causing pain or discomfort. For humans, we average about 4,000 steps in a day–1.5 million steps in a year. Many take more than that, and most of our dogs far exceed us given the steps they take with feet that are designed for a variety of different jobs, from swimming with webbed toes to racing, herding and hunting. Dogs are known to have paws that are tough and able to handle hot pavement, snow, and a variety of surfaces and temperatures. When taken together, dogs have paws that can be separated into three main types: webbed feet, hare feet, and cat feet. They each are designed for a different purpose.
Injuries and ailments are also involved in knowing about dogs and their feet. Most fall into the following groups:
Excessive licking or chewing – can be a sign of environmental or food allergies.
Swelling of the toes or feet – can be a sign of a bacterial infection, or a foreign object that has punctured the paw.
Crusty, cracked paws – sometimes called canine hyperkeratosis, often caused by the overproduction of keratin and can be alleviated with a topical ointment or antibiotic.
Blisters and burns – are often caused by paws on steaming hot asphalt.
Click here to read the complete article
120 – February, 2025
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