Pads are tough, and they are not heatproof. Summer causes a specific set of foot problems, all of which are preventable.
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The seven-second test
Press the back of your hand flat against the pavement and hold it.
If you cannot keep it there for seven seconds, it is too hot for paws.
On a 25°C day, asphalt in direct sun can exceed 50°C. That is hot enough to blister pads within minutes.
The reason it happens so often is that dogs keep walking. They follow you, they do not complain, and the damage appears hours later as limping, redness and peeling.
When it is hot: walk early morning or late evening, and remember that asphalt and concrete hold heat for hours after the air has cooled. Stick to grass and shade, and on the worst days skip the walk entirely — a sniffing game indoors meets the need perfectly well.
Signs of a burned pad
- Limping, or refusing to walk
- Licking the feet persistently
- Pads darker than usual, or visibly red
- Blisters
- Missing sections of pad surface
- Pads that feel rough or have loose flaps of skin
What to do: move to a cool surface, flush with cool water, keep the dog off the foot, and see a vet. Burned pads are painful, prone to infection, and heal slowly.
Grass seeds
The summer hazard vets see most.
Grass seeds — particularly the barbed, arrow-shaped awns from foxtails and similar grasses — work their way between the toes, penetrate the skin, and then migrate. They travel up the leg, into the chest, or into the abdomen, and they do not show up on X-ray.
Signs: sudden onset lameness, persistent licking at one spot between the toes, a small swelling or a weeping hole between the toes, often with a strong smell.
What to do: if you can see one sitting in the fur, remove it. If it has penetrated the skin, do not dig for it — go to the vet the same day. The longer it travels, the harder and more invasive the retrieval.
Prevention:
- Check between every toe after walks in long or seeded grass
- Trim the hair between the pads and between the toes in summer
- Avoid meadows and verges when the grasses have seeded
- Also check ears, armpits, groin and eyes — seeds get everywhere
Sand and salt water
Sand is abrasive and works between the toes, causing irritation and hot spots in the webbing. Rinse feet after the beach.
Salt water dries the pads and irritates broken skin. Rinse it off, and take fresh drinking water — sea water causes vomiting and, in quantity, dangerous sodium levels.
Hot sand burns as readily as asphalt. Apply the seven-second test to the beach as well.
Cracked and dry pads
Summer dries pads as readily as winter. Hot ground, sand, salt water and chlorinated pools all strip moisture.
A balm applied at night, when the dog is settled and less likely to lick it off, restores the pad surface.
Musher's Secret Paw Wax
A barrier wax that works in both directions — protection from hot ground and abrasive surfaces before a walk, and repair for dry or cracked pads applied at night. Rub it in and let it absorb for a few minutes.
Deep cracks, bleeding, or raw red pads need a vet rather than a balm.
Water and swimming
Rinse after swimming, in the sea, a pool or a lake. Chlorine and salt both irritate, and pond water can carry parasites.
Dry between the toes afterwards. Damp webbing is where yeast infections start, and they are common in summer.
Watch for blue-green algae in ponds and lakes. If water looks green or scummy, keep the dog out entirely — licking a wet coat is enough exposure.
Post-walk routine
Ninety seconds, and it prevents most of the above:
- Rinse or wipe the feet
- Dry between every toe
- Check for cuts, cracks, grit, seeds and swellings
- Balm at night if pads look dry
Earth Rated Dog Wipes
For sand, grass pollen and general grime at the door. For an allergic dog this doubles as allergen removal, which is the cheapest useful intervention in pollen season.
Nails in summer
Dogs walking more on grass and less on pavement wear their nails down less. Check them monthly through the summer — if you can hear clicking on a hard floor, they are too long.
gonicc Dog Nail Clippers
Small, frequent trims keep the quick receding. Fortnightly is a reasonable rhythm for a dog whose nails are not wearing down naturally.
Boots
Worth considering for dogs walking on hot urban surfaces daily, dogs with existing pad damage, and dogs walking on rough or rocky terrain.
They need introducing slowly — one boot, in the house, with food, for ten seconds at a time — and the fit matters more than the brand. Measure the paw with the dog standing, since the paw spreads under weight.
The wider point
Feet are checked less than any other part of a dog, and they are where a surprising number of summer problems begin. Thirty seconds after each walk finds the grass seed on day one rather than the abscess on day five.
