I noticed while I was out training with Shadow that he was leaving small spots of blood on the snow, so I had a look and he's split his middle pad, right on the end. I'm assuming it's become brittle due to cold. I've been putting Mushers' Secret on their paws once a week, but I'm going to have to do it more frequently, I think. And maybe some coconut oil. In the meantime, I've just bathed it in betadine (cue browny-orange liquid all over the bathroom) but was wondering if it would be better to use Hibiscrub instead? I'm unclear as to what each is for. The vet gave us the betadine when Willow took her nail off. He doesn't seem bothered in the slightest by it. He's not limping, and he's not fussing at it. Would you restrict exercise? I'm not sure how he'd take to walking with a sock on, especially in the snow, because it'll get wet and iced up.
Oh bummer. Betadine is iodine based and Hibiscrub is chlorhexidine based. Either would be perfectly good for a foot injury. You can dilute it in water to a 1 to 10 ratio (1 antiseptic: 10 water) and it's just as effective. Makes it go further if you just want to bathe the foot. We have betadine at home so I just use that. I'd just wash it daily and dry it off after walks. If he is not licking at it I wouldn't cover it - it will heal faster if it's not kept moist and covered. Hope it's all healed up soon!!
Oh no, poor boy. Betadine is iodine based, isn't it? And Hibiscrub is chlorhexidine. Both antibac cleansers, and I would have thought both find to keep a split paw clean. Keeping it clean and dry....would be thing - how much easier said than done is that????
Oh lord, not what you need at all... but like Rachael says, I would just wash and clean it after walks and not bother about it, if it isn't too deep.
I put lots of Mushers Secret on them yesterday and they're all now soft as a baby's bottom. It's good stuff. Shadow was more than happy for me to put it on his split one, too. Anything for sausage.
I missed this Fiona,hope it seems a bit better today?When Dexter had the 'grazed' paw it was salt water that healed it up ....but it was very easy for me to keep his paw dry...you've got the challenge of the snow.....I hope it doesn't linger x
It's quite a deep split in his pad, poor little man, but it's not bothering him in the slightest. There was a teeny bit of blood last night on our walk, but none this morning, which is good, because he was running around like a loon on hard snow. I'm going to use the wax every other day for a while and hopefully that will help.
Pros and cons for Betadine vs Hibiscrub: in my experience you are a tad more likely to get a contact irritant reaction to Betadine than you are to Hibiscrub, plus it stains the fur and is the very devil to get off your carpets.....Hibiscrub is better against some infective agents than Betadine.....on balance I'd choose Hibiscrub if both were available, but there's not much in it really. Mushers Secret is good stuff but make sure all traces of Betadine are off before applying it, as a classic way to induce a contact irritant/allergic reaction is to put a chemical on the skin then occlude it with a dressing/ointment.....My previous dog Remy used to get cracked pads every winter to the extent I used to wrap a bit of vetwrap around her paws before going out to protect the cracked areas from salt and grit.
Interesting, thanks Julie. Weirdly, the Betadine hasn't stained his fur! I was really expecting it to. We don't have carpets, luckily, but he wasn't allowed anywhere near the cream leather sofas for a while! I'll switch to Hibiscrub, though, if you think it better. I have both in my cupboard, so it's neither here nor there for me. Top tip re the Musher's Secret*, thanks! *It bothers me every time I type that. The pot says "Musher's Secret", but is it just one musher? Surely more than one musher uses this, so shouldn't it be Mushers'? It's also not a particularly well-kept secret, seeing as you can buy the stuff on Amazon...
Poor boy, hope it heals quickly. We used hibiscrub when Harley cut her paws last month. We also ended up bandaging it fir 2 days as she wouldn't leave it alone. When the bandage came off she left it alone and we just put vet wrap on when going out to stop any bits getting into it.
Ah, but it's not like Fisherman's Friend, because the "man" makes it quite clear there's only one. If there were several, it would be Fishermen's Friend. If you tell me there's only one musher, though, I'll believe you. I'm sure you can cite sources and everything Liar
There are loads of fishermen, of course, but only one fisherman has a friend. Only one musher has a secret.