# Blowing pads



## bamacpl

So after hunting my dog like crazy all chukar season he finally blew two pads. Half the pad is completely gone on both of them. I have been reading a lot on what to do to prevent this & was wondering yalls opinion? His pads are very tough & seems like they got too hard & dry & just peeled off.....what are some things I can try to prevent this?


----------



## Jedidiah

bamacpl said:


> So after hunting my dog like crazy all chukar season he finally blew two pads. Half the pad is completely gone on both of them. I have been reading a lot on what to do to prevent this & was wondering yalls opinion? His pads are very tough & seems like they got too hard & dry & just peeled off.....what are some things I can try to prevent this?


A small amount of bag balm or vaseline rubbed into the pads before and after the hunt, especially in the winter.


----------



## Packfish

I have never found anything to really cure it- tried everything I have ever heard of- I have one heavy footed boy that the problems occur and one light footed younger one that in 2 years has never had a problem- Boots are the only cure I know of


----------



## bamacpl

Thanks fellas! I will try both! I did go to Sportsmans & get some "pad kote" also


----------



## coolgunnings

I put mushers secret on my dogs pads, right before we head up the mountain.


----------



## Kevin D

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Blown pads are a symptom of soft feet caused by the dog's inactivity. Pads are like callouses where the more they are used the tougher they get. You can toughen your dog's feet by taking them out on a gravel road and letting them chase behind your wheeler or truck, a little at first but gradually building up to a 10 or 15 mile run.

Take it from an old hound dogger, a serious exercise program will yield far better results than any chemical cure...


----------



## Packfish

I think working them certainly is beneficial- no doubt about it- I also think there are dogs U can't do anything about- I run mine on gravel roads- they are not lion hounds but none the less they get ran- one dog never has had a problem- the other does frequently. He's a plodder and the other is a dancer. Just different feed and how they hit the ground- but every hunting dog should be ran.


----------



## bamacpl

Mine blowing pads is certainly not from inactivity....!!!! 
It looks as if they got hard calloused & cracked in half & then peeled partly off


----------



## bamacpl

This is some of the terrain we hunt in & he is constantly climbing up & down rock cliffs. I think he peeled them off going up & down so much ?


----------



## Packfish

yesm


----------



## Airborne

Blowing pads is just part of hunting chukars I think. The worst is the grey limestone type rock that feels like razor blades. Red and white colored rock are not as bad, like your picture, that looks like a more favorable rock, pads will last longer. When it comes right down to it really the only solution is to run/own more dogs so you can lay one dog off and rotate through so they have recovery time. Sometimes you have to let em lay and lick, especially before they tear the heck out of a pad, otherwise your recovery time is going to be a lot longer. 

I ran my dogs on Saturday in some nasty rock and their feet were sore at the end of the day, so much so that I didn't go out on Sunday, looking ahead so I could hunt this coming weekend. Had I ran them again I may have been done for the year. Also it helps to have buddies to hunt with so you can conserve dog power. It's either that or have 5 or more dogs to run all year!


----------



## bamacpl

Ya I hear what your sayin....we are always on those gray limestone ones your talkin about! I think it's more that i have hunted him at least 2-3 times a week all chukar season & just tore them up or maybe that's just not running him enough? I'll get another dog for next year for sure!!


----------



## Kevin D

Two different conditions, blown pads or gaulded feet. Blown pads are when the pad separates from the foot, almost always the heel pad, acting like flip flops, and gaulded feet (auto correct doesn't like this term but it's what I've always heard it referred to) is wear through the pad, generally on the toe but can be either, and is caused from over abrasion. Toughening up the feet through exercise almost always helps prevent blown pads but gaulded feet from cuts or abrasion?? Well, maybe not so much. Just so I'm clear what we are talking about here.

The story Packfish tells of his two dogs makes my point. I'm guessing the prancer is more active in the kennel than the plodder as well and thus doesn't have the foot problems the other one has. This exactly mirrors my own experience. He is right too about the role genetics plays, some dogs are more prone to foot problems from the start and there is little you can do about that. I know some hound breeders that even target good feet as one of the goals in their breeding program. I still maintain, however, that while exercise can't correct a genetic fault, it can at least lessen the impact. 

Dog age and weight also play a factor. Older dogs do have more foot problems, partly because they don't heal as fast and partly because they become less active as they age. Of course everyone knows a dog carrying around extra weight also is going to put more stress on the pads, but again, exercise can help both more so than chemical solutions IMHO.

The limestone rocks and terrain you are hunting chukars in I'm guessing is no more harsh than the limestone rocks and ledges I'm hunting lions and bobcat in. In fact, I often come across flocks of chukars during the course of my hunts. I also can't imagine the feet of a bird dog are a whole lot different than the feet of my hounds, nor do the miles travelled, nor do the up and down back and forth hunting styles of the dogs.....which is why I'm sharing my experience with dog feet with you. So take it for what it is worth.


----------



## bamacpl

I appreciate your input! My dog is 1.6yrs old. His pads that are blown are on 3 of his toes all on his right rear hind leg. The pad cracked right in the middle & peeled off....it is about 1/8" thick & hard as hell! It just cracked in half & peeled off right down to the raw meat


----------



## Bret

The conformation of the dog and the way it runs and strides plays a huge roll here too. There are some dogs you can condition the heck out of them and they still beat up their feet. I had one that was like that. She had a big deep chest and ran heavy on her front end. Even conditioning on gravel pulling chain didn't seam to save her front feet. The dogs I have now don't have many problems as long as I condition, but not all are created equal.


----------



## bamacpl

Ok, it's been several months now & my dogs pad will not heal.....I've been putting the ---pad kote, as well as the ---tuff-foot! It seems to heel up a lil then break open again.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do to try & get this heeled!?!?


----------



## Packfish

I have heard of honey packs on it or a Furozone (sp) Horse hoof treatment >


----------



## Packfish

PM sent


----------



## Packfish

My wife will actually soak my one boys foot in a warm Epsom salt solution,.
But if it was something I could not keep healed- I would be investing in some good boots for him.


----------



## coolgunnings

I always put mushers secret on my dogs pads before a chukka hunt. Also run her in the mountains and on gravel roads all year round.


----------



## Packfish

running them is key- I have had the MS work for an hour maybe less keeping the ice out but haven't seen enough to warrant me purchasing more-


----------



## bamacpl

Running my dog enough is not anywhere near the problem.....


----------



## bamacpl

His pads got so hard & callus that a few of them peeled right off....
--what I'm trying to do is help with the heeling/growth of a new pad


----------



## Packfish

Right now one of mine is down stairs with some Petro Carbo rubbed into his pad with an old sock taped on his leg


----------



## bamacpl

I'm ordering some Lewis Boots!! Idk what else to do?


----------



## bamacpl

He don't even seem to mind them!! Didn't even acknowledge they was there!


----------



## Packfish

Sweet


----------



## bamacpl

update....my pups pads are all healed up! I tried everything everyone here mentioned & everything under the sun....at the end of the day the only thing that healed his pads was TIME!


----------



## Packfish

Time on many injuries it what it takes- I have one right now that I haven't let do anything for 4 weeks- he ran out of the kennel - the other one bumped him and his leg hit part of the lawn mower . Down he went- limped on 3 legs for 2 weeks- wrapped the leg with horse stretch wrap packed with horse liniment twice a day- might let him run a little this weekend with out the younger one around but not too much. Time is the best healer of most wounds.


----------



## Packfish

the boy put in 5.2 miles Saturday with no limp------- takes a load off my mind.


----------



## bamacpl

That's awesome!!! Glad he is doing good!


----------

