Dog Paw Pad Injuries in Summer Heat
Hot Pavement Can Burn a Dog's Paws, Causing Injury to Foot Pads
The summer heat and hot sun means there's serious dangers facing dogs in the summertime. Dogs can develop heat stroke and sunburn in the hot weather, but one danger to dogs that's frequently overlooked is the potential for paw pad injuries and burns from walking a dog on hot pavement or sand.
Summer Paw Pad Injuries
A dog owner could be exposing his/her dog to paw pad injury or severe discomfort from hot pavement or sand on a daily basis without even realizing it!
What's worse, a dog's paw pad injuries are hard to treat. Paw pad cuts, blisters and sores are prone to infection and healing is slow due to the constant pressure placed on the dog's injured paw.
When a dog paw pad injury occurs due to hot pavement or sand, healing can be complicated by the fact that in most cases, all of the dog's pads are injured with burns and sores – it's not a situation where the dog sustains a paw pad injury on just one foot (thereby enabling the dog to limp, which limits pressure to the paw, allowing the dog's pad injury to heal.)
Preventing Dog Paw Injury in the Summer Heat
There are several measures that dog owners can take to prevent burns and injury to a dog's paw pads. Some of these preventative measures designed to prevent pad injuries will also make the dog less vulnerable to other summertime pet dangers, like canine heat stroke and sunburn.
- Walk the dog in the early morning or evening to avoid paw pad burns. Avoid walking the dog in the heat of the day, when the sun beats down, heating the pavement and sand.
- Walk the dog on the grass. The grass remains cooler than the sidewalk, lessening a dog's chance of paw pad injuries in the summer. This makes a trip to a shady park a good option for an afternoon walk in the summertime.
- Take frequent dog walks on the pavement during cool times of day. This will help toughen a dog's paw pads by promoting the formation of callus. This makes the skin of the dog's foot pads thicker and less prone to injuries like burns and cuts. Dogs who rarely walk on pavement will have more sensitive paw pads and they require more frequent nail clippings, as walking on pavement files the dog's nails.
- Moisturize the dog's paws on a daily basis. Keep a dog's paws well moisturized with Vaseline® or a special paw pad balm or cream, like Musher's Secret®. Moisturizing the dog's paw pads will prevent cracking, peeling and minor pad cuts. These injuries will cause the dog's pads to become more sensitive once healing is complete, so preventing injury is key.
Treating Paw Pad Injuries Like Burns, Blisters and Sores
If a heat-related foot pad injury does occur, owners should take the following measures to prevent infection in the dog's injured paw.
- Wash the dog's injured paw pad using antibacterial soap like Dial® and rinse thoroughly.
- Pat the injured foot with a clean towel to dry the area.
- Pour an antiseptic like betadine (preferred) or hydrogen peroxide over the burned, blistered or cut paw pad and allow the liquid to air dry. (Note: Hydrogen peroxide can damage tissue and delay healing. After the initial cleaning, hydrogen peroxide must be used at half-strength, with 50% water added. This is why betadine is preferred.)
- Apply a generous amount of antibiotic ointment to the site of the dog's foot pad injury.
- Wrap the paw and ankle with rolled gauze. Roll the gauze in a "figure 8" pattern, looping around the paw and ankle to prevent the bandage from slipping off.
- Cover the bandage with a sock, placing a bit of tape around the dog's leg at the sock's ankle to hold the sock in place. The sock will prevent soiling of the foot bandage.
- Bring the dog to the veterinarian for an examination. Antibiotics are often prescribed for a paw pad cut, burn or sore due to the high risk of infection.
Typically, bandaging is not recommended for a dog's injury as the limited air flow can promote the growth of anaerobic bacteria. But paw pad injuries are an exception to this rule, as without a bandage, the injured paw pad will be contaminated with bacteria and irritated by debris.
Paw pad burns and cuts are very prone to infection, so visiting the veterinarian is very important. A more thorough cleaning may need to be performed under anesthesia; removal of dead tissue may also be necessary to allow for healing to occur. Antibiotics are often required for complete healing; a visit to the vet is even more vital when more than one paw is involved, which is often the case with foot pad burns.
In the case of a dog with burns (or other injuries) on more than one foot, pain medication may be prescribed since the dog will be forced to walk on injured paw pads. Burns in particular are very painful.
Related Articles on Paw Pad Injuries in Dogs
Readers may also enjoy How to Treat a Paw Pad Injury along with Dog Paw Pad Injuries in Winter.
Summer Safety Tips for Pets offers some additional information on how to prevent heat stroke in pets, and how to avoid other summer health risks to dogs and cats.
Dog Paw Pad Injuries Can Occur in Hot Sand
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