Last week, Gravy had an encounter with a door. Gravy is a two-year-old smooth-haired female miniature dachshund, very well proportioned with a lovely, pointed nose.

The name dachshund is a literal translation of the German term for ‘badger dog’. This standard-sized dachshund was originally bred to go down burrows and hunt out badgers at a time when they were regarded as vermin. The miniature version of the dachshund, like Gravy, was similarly used to hunt smaller burrow prey such as rabbits and hare.

Nowadays, of course, they are more of a pet than a utilitarian dog and their relatively placid nature makes them a lovely family pet.  But the shape of their body, including the paws that once had a purpose, are a legacy that pet-owners have to take into account.  Gravy’s front paws which would once have been used for hard digging are large compared to her body, while their splayed shape, once used to dig and scoop out soil and dirt, can get in the way. And this is what happened with Gravy.

She was standing behind a tinted glass door which looks out onto a street when a visitor suddenly opened the door onto her and she got caught in the gap between the door and the floor. As she tumbled around with the force of the door opening, she injured her paw pad.

Gravy was very lucky.  She could have broken her leg – never an easy one with the short stumpy legs of dachshunds. Nevertheless, her owners were concerned when she started limping and immediately brought her to the clinic.  Examination of her foot found that part of the thick skin on one of her footpads had been partially sheared off, leaving the deeper layer of tissue exposed.

The hairless spongy footpads of the dog are constantly subject to injury or conditions that require veterinary attention. An active dog that is exercised outside will have hardened paw pads, while a dog that sees little exercise, such as a lapdog, or a dog that exercises indoors will have softer pads. The pads help the dog to keep its balance, much like the toes on our feet aid our own stability when walking. They also help the dog to grip surfaces while additionally serving as shock absorbers.

The skin of the pads themselves are composed of keratinised epithelium, which means that they are made up of layers upon layers of flattened and compressed skin. This compression renders the outer layers of the paw pads much tougher. But this does not mean that they cannot suffer damage.

While there is some reduced sensation on the outer layer of the pads, canine footpads are highly-receptive to pain, so injuries should be attended to by a veterinary surgeon. Signs that your dog might be in pain include the obvious limping, raising of limb, reluctance to walk or exercise and even excessive licking of the affected paw. The most common canine footpad injuries that vets attend to are lacerations and abrasions.

Canine footpads are highly receptive to pain; injuries should be attended to by a veterinary surgeon as soon as possible

Lacerations of the pads are cuts in the skin that often happen outdoors when the dog is being exercised. Fragments of broken glass, metal or sharp rock can slice through the thick skin, resulting in skin tags or flaps. The injury is often superficial, but can sometimes be serious.

Minor cuts can be treated at home using basic first aid. The important thing is to clean the wound before applying an antibacterial ointment to prevent infection. In healthy dogs, the tough outer layer of skin will quickly regenerate from the surrounding area.

Deeper cuts may be more serious, more prone to infection and more likely to take longer to heal because of their location, particularly if the dog persists in walking on the injured paw. A dog’s footpads splay during movement and exercise. If lacerations are not adequately treated, the cuts will continue to reopen and healing is delayed.

The management of these types of wounds very much depends upon their severity. Sometimes a pressure bandage that is refreshed and kept on the paw until healing starts will suffice. But cuts that have sheared through the deeper layers of tissues will require surgical intervention. The dog owner will then be advised by the vet as to how to hasten the healing process.

Footpad abrasions are injuries where the surface skin of the pad is worn off. This can happen during exercise, road accidents or other such trauma. A very common source of abrasion seen by vets are burns that happen in summer from hot asphalted roads, cemented walkways, as well as hot sand. The severity of the burn will determine the extent of the loss of upper and lower epidermis, that is, how much of the footpad has been burned. With superficial burns, the area will heal over in the same way that a small cut will, but with severe burns, the situation becomes far more complicated.

Deeper layers of the skin that has died will need to be surgically removed to encourage the regrowth of healthy tissue. Cleaning of the area to remove debris that might cause infection will also happen under anaesthesia. The difficulty is avoiding trauma to the remaining healthy tissue.

Due to the unique nature of the footpad, these type of wounds cannot be managed with skin grafted from other areas of the dog’s body. Repeated daily changes of dressing will be necessary and the dog must not be allowed to exercise. Once the area starts to heal, the dog will gradually and carefully be allowed to exercise. Ideally, the transition will be from bandage to bootee and then bare footpads. Throughout, medication that aids healing and prevents infection will be administered.

Thankfully for Gravy, all she suffered was a minor laceration, so she did not need surgical intervention. Although she was in pain, the large flap of skin that had sheared off in the accident involved only the outer layer. Even though the injury exposed part of the deeper layer of the footpad, there was no direct trauma to the area. The flap of skin was carefully removed, the area cleaned and disinfected. We opted to leave the area exposed to the air to hasten healing. Best of all, Gravy wagged her tail throughout the entire process.

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com

Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.

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