Limping due to paw irritation?

[chien]

Hello,

I see a couple of other posts here about limping I was going to reply directly but as this is slightly different i thought to create a new topic.

I had my girl out at the beach a few weeks ago and she was running around like mad digging sand etc as i'm sure all spaniels do!
I got home and she was fine but then she did something silly and tried to jump between a chair and a sofa and ended up landing on the wooden floor.

I was told she landed funny on her back paw during this jump, but to be honest she seemed fine and was walking around the garden without issue. I left her for an hour or two and came back later in the evening. When she got out of bed she couldn't put any weight on her front left paw. She would nip at me when i went to investigate. I did a full exam by gently squeezing all the way up and and seemed to not like me near her shoulder.

I left her over night and came down to take her out in the garden. She got out of bed and happily walked out of bed with no limp!! I hadn't given her any medicine or anything! A miracle! 

Later on that day she started limping with her rear paw.. Not as bad as the front the day before. I checked her paws and noticed between all the paws were slightly red and looks a bit inflamed. Could she have injured them from digging in the abrasive sand? Or stepped on a jelly fish ? Or the sea salt? The one thing i didn't do is wash her straight after the beach (i did only later in the evening).

Recently I also noticed she limped on another leg the other day while out in the garden, i believe she may have stood on a thorn. I guess with this time of year with the salt (on the roads for ice) and the high winds bringing out old thorny branches from the hedges doesn't help as my garden is now full of them. 

The way she was limping really looked a lot worse than an irritated paw but i'm glad that all it was.. Thankfully she'd been groomed recently and it was much easier to see the flesh between her toes.

Until I read it I never gave much consideration to road salt and it's ability to irritate the paws (that cause irritation, causing the dog to lick at the paw which can cause high salt intake and a risk of kidney issues). Also the salt people buy to use privately can contain antifreeze as well.  Always best to wash paws after a walk!

[Mari]

When they salt the roads I put shoes on my cocker. It sounds silly but it really made my life easier when I lived in a city where they salted the roads frequently. I invested in ruffwears grip trex shoes, they have proper soles and are easy to put on, not to mention they stay on. I found it to be a much better option than washing her paws 3-4 times a day.

If the redness and irritation does not go away then there could possibly be a yeast  problem. Wet weather can cause problems for cocker feet. My girl was limping intermittently on different legs this last fall. She also started licking them more than normal. I treated her with a shampoo from the vets that kills yeast and bacteria and it cleared right up

[chien]

When they salt the roads I put shoes on my cocker. It sounds silly but it really made my life easier when I lived in a city where they salted the roads frequently. I invested in ruffwears grip trex shoes, they have proper soles and are easy to put on, not to mention they stay on. I found it to be a much better option than washing her paws 3-4 times a day.

If the redness and irritation does not go away then there could possibly be a yeast  problem. Wet weather can cause problems for cocker feet. My girl was limping intermittently on different legs this last fall. She also started licking them more than normal. I treated her with a shampoo from the vets that kills yeast and bacteria and it cleared right up

Thanks for the suggestions what size of shoes did you buy her and what is her weight? I read a lot of reviews for shoes and it seems to be  hard to find a good fitting pair! Thanks for the suggestion on the shampoo.

Washing paws frequently is a big pain and probably doesn't help control possible yeast if her paws are always damp from washing!

[Mari]

Thanks for the suggestions what size of shoes did you buy her and what is her weight? I read a lot of reviews for shoes and it seems to be  hard to find a good fitting pair! Thanks for the suggestion on the shampoo.

Washing paws frequently is a big pain and probably doesn't help control possible yeast if her paws are always damp from washing!

Ruffwear sizes are quite big. I bought size small first, but they were too big so I sold them and bought x-small which fit perfectly. My girl weighs 10kg and xs seems to be her ruffwear size both in shoes and harness. On their website they had a description on how to measure the paw to choose the best size for your dog Btw, these shoes are not waterproof, so if they wade through puddles they will get wet
I recently saw in a petshop that trixie have made some shoes that look very similar and are more affordable, so that might be worth checking out too. No idea if the quality is the same, but the design was very close 

[PennyB]

Am assuming there's no infection in any of her paws - its hard to see sometimes and can sometimes be because there is pain elsewhere too (and infection arises from them licking their paws)

[AlanT]

We have been using E45 cream on paws.  The vet told me that as a pup, he had irritated and tended pads.

We've had a couple in "lameness" episodes.  This is a very active outdoor dog.

But since doing E45 the paws are smoother and we've been OK.

[BobnDot]

We use an old metal baking tin with about an inch of 5% solution of Hibiscrub in water.

With the tin placed on the floor, the paws get sloshed about in this and it's amazing the amount of grit that comes out from between the pads while the antibacterial and anti fungal properties of Hibiscrub help to keep the areas between the pads nice and clean.

A quick drying of the paws afterwards followed by a cuddle and treat ensures that the procedure has become quite popular. 

Bob.

[AlanT]

Good tip. I'll be doing this.

Whilst my dog lets me descale his teeth without complaint, he's very tricky about his feet.
I think they tickle.

[PennyB]

Good tip. I'll be doing this.

Whilst my dog lets me descale his teeth without complaint, he's very tricky about his feet.
I think they tickle.

Paws are very sensitive which is probably why

[PennyB]

I used to have to wash Molly's paw in hibiscrub but now the vet has me washing it in iodine solution