The easiest and most natural way to toughen your dog’s foot pads
The best way to toughen your dog’s paw pads is to walk them regularly on hard surfaces like asphalt or concrete.
Walking your dog regularly on hard and rough surfaces will help them to develp callouses on their paws, thus thickening the surface and helping to prevent punctures and scrapes.
It’s like nature’s booties for dogs (a dog’s food pads are really quire durable and resilient on their own).
This method is the most natural and easiest because you probably already walk your dog every day (or at least most days).
All you have to do to harden their foot pads is to make sure that a good portion of the walks are on sidewalks, city streets, or paved paths.
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Cathy is certified through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers, holding both the CPDT-KA and CBCC-KA designations. Cathy is a Fear Free Certified Certified Professional, a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, the Pet Professional Guild, and the Dog Writers Association of America.
When shes not geeking out about dogs, you can find her reading, hiking with her two Cardigan Welsh Corgis, or paddleboarding.
As Preventive Vets dog behavior expert and lead trainer at Pupstanding Academy, Cathy focuses on helping humans and their pets build a strong relationship based on trust, clear communication, and the use of positive reinforcement and force-free methods. With over 13 years of experience, she has had the opportunity to work with hundreds of dogs on a wide variety of training and behavior issues. Beyond her one-on-one consultations through Pupstanding Academy, she also teaches group dog training classes at Seattle Humane. Her specialties include dog aggression, resource guarding, separation anxiety, and puppy socialization.
Can I use Neosporin on my dog’s paws?
Neosporin is technically safe for pets, but we don’t recommend using it anywhere that your dog is likely to lick, including paws. Ingesting small amounts of Neosporin won’t do any permanent damage, but it can kill healthy gut bacteria resulting in vomiting or diarrhea.
Instead, use an all-natural moisturizer which is safe to ingest.
8 Common Dog Paw Problems that you must NOT IGNORE | How to care for your dog’s Paws?
Whether your dog likes to hike, participates in sports like agility or flyball, or they just walk a lot, you are probably concerned with making sure their paw pads don’t tear, get cut, or otherwise get injured.
One of the biggest keys to preventing your dog’s paw pads from getting damaged is to toughen them up and make sure they are flexible while being durable.
In this article, I share what I’ve learned over the years about protecting your dog’s paw pads.
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