Poor Chapped and bleeding paws

I put dog booties on all my sled dogs when I work them so their paws DON'T chap or tear. Well i was working my 0ne year old Akara with her booties on for 10 min this afternoon and then when I brought he back into the barn I noticed that her paws were bleeding . Her paws seemed fine before our run and it was just very weird. And so I moved her into the house and more closely examined her paws. Her tears were small but obviousely irratating like a paper cut poor baby. And so I got some of my doggy safe suave on her paws to take away some of the pain and also put some soft cotton wraps around her paws so she would still be comfortable but cannot lick off her medicine. Its not a dramatic thing sometimes some dogs paws are more sensitive to the weather i will just have to keep her paws not only always in boots when working but also every night working some lotion into her paws to keep them from chapping. I have to do this with a few other dogs of mine but I still feel bad when they get sore feet.

What a good person Akara has! Is the stuff you use anything like Bag Balm? And have you tried putting some vitamin E on her paws underneath the salve? The vitamin E should help build up her skin's integrity as well as helping with healing.

Another question . . . are the dog booties lined on the bottom with fleece?

I'm just so curious. I've always been fascinated by the sled dogs and their work.

The stuff i put on her feet is this lotion i get from the pharmency I don't know the name right off the bat but yeah it is like Bag Balm i can put the name on here later. And Yeah I also treat my dogs feet with vitamin E oil also. And also yes the insides of their booties are lined with fleece. Their made like this a layer of fleece, sponge, rubber, and then the leather on the outside. my dad makes his own booties and taught me how also it helps to get the right size for the dogs paws.

Yeah any questions you have i will be happy to answer .

The lotion is called ExmaRid Skin Lotion

Thanks for the info! The whole world of dog sledding seems like a completely different universe - it seems like it would have to be an incredibly bonded life with your dogs.

I know I'd love to hear some stories about your experiences and your dogs and I'm sure there are lots of others here who would also think it fascinating.

I don't want to sound like I'm selling anything

I don't want to sound like I'm selling anything, but I make a salve for dogs feet for my clients that has no petroleum products in it and is made of certified organic oils, botanicals etc. One of my dogs is a Newf mix, and his paws used get soooo bad. I'd feel so sorry for him because they would crack and bleed

Anyway here is a basic recipe that you can make at home that works really well.

2 ounces Sunflower Oil
2 ounces Olive Oil
1/2 ounce beeswax
1 chamomile tea bag
1 vitamin E capsule

Use a double boiler and gently heat the sunflower and olive oil with the tea bag for about 15 minutes. Remove the tea bag (let the oil drain from it) and add the beeswax and Vitamin E. Heat gently until the beeswax it completely meted. Pour into a clean jar and let it cool until firm.

Just massage this salve into the paws and wrap with some cotton. I always do his paws at night before bed. It works really well on all three of my dogs (my hands too).

ok yeah I'll try that thanks

I'm going to try that for myself. My hands crack and chap like crazy during the winter and anything with a petroleum base (like Vaseline or Bag Balm) makes me itch like mad.

Thanks so much!

Bet it's good for chapped lips, too!

It works really well on hands and lips. Pour some into a seperate container for your lips though, I love my pooches, but I don't want to share the same jar with them.

You can also make a salve with basically the same ingredients except add calendula, pau d' arco bark, grapefruit seed extract and tee trea oil. The combination is great for healing cracked, dry skin and paws but the combination of ingredients also have great anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. I use it on my Newf's paws and on her skin if any rashes are present - this time of year she gets them on her belly from the road salt.

The Tea Tree oil is great stuff, and a good addition to the mix. Lavendar oil is another good essential oil for the skin.

i gave AAron a Duct Tape calander, and tonight he was sitting there reading outloud to his friends when I heard him say that you could tape the dog's foot to keep it from getting cut in rough terrain. I don't know about regularly for dogs feet sweat so but if a person had an emergency..like your in the car..it breaks down and you don't want to walk (guess who doesn't have a cell phone) long way down a road that could have glass and who nows what....it might not be a bad idea to throw a roll in the first aid dog box. just thought I would throw that in for what it is worth.

Not a bad idea! My only question, though, is how do you get your dog to walk instead of stopping and trying to pull the tape off of his feet every few steps?

haha i just meant in an extreme emergency. I had to walk both of mine about a mile recently. My cars are always old and always breaking down..it is my specialty in life! When you walk down the highway there is broken glass, metal parts, and a close up view of more roadkill then u ever imagined. Skinny ol Vics pads are tender and as pink as a baby. I think if i had it with me I could tape him up and do a quick trot down the asphalt without having to pick my way through the tall grass where you got broken bigger pieces of beer bottles and oh gag, the road kills!

I refer to my cars as "venerable," lol. I love them all, and they're very good to me. When something goes wrong (rarely) it always happens either close enough that I can get home or somewhere I can get it taken care of without a problem. It's kind of become a happy joke with my friends. They've learned not to laugh when I bring another one home and take it out on the road to bond with it!

My mechanic uses words like posessed... and not you again...and it never breaks down close to something..always! always in the tundra or the back 40. You must pay homage to the great car gods....they don't like me!

Canine Therapies: What would it take to talk you into selling something? I love to cook and make things like balms and soaps, but I'm so kitchen-cursed that it never turns out right! I could burn a cold salad!!