Rob G
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| 10/22/2006 8:05 PM |
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Well we had our first hunt of the year today and Maverick performed great. I couldn't have been more proud of the way he worked the fields. It looks like this year could be the year that he really comes into his own!
We wound up with four pheasant and three chukar and he pointed about 3 more birds that we missed! He worked hard for about 4 hours straight (with a couple of short breaks).
When I was checking his feet at the end of the day, I noticed a small sore on one of his back pads (a little smaller than a dime). Although he wasn't showing any signs of being gimpy.
Does anyone have any good methods or products to deal with a sore pad? This is the first time I've had to deal with this. Should I treat it or just let it heal on its own? Should I completely rest him until its healed or can I work him this week? Sorry for all the questions, but any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rob
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| 10/23/2006 5:08 AM |
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| If this is pad "wear" and not a cut "Pad Kote" is the stuff. It is almost like a black ink and will stain anything it touches so put on the feet outside and keep him laying on his back for a while for it to dry once applied. Usually the wear will start from the back edge of the pads. |
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Rob G
Cedaredge, CO
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| 10/23/2006 5:15 AM |
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Yep, that's wear it is worn. Right on the back of the large pad on his hind foot.
Thanks,
Rob
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Doc_E
N.E. WA state
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| 10/23/2006 6:39 AM |
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Rob,
Where do you live? Here in WA, we have a lot of logging roads whose surface is rocks and more rocks.I've found that prevention of pad injuires is the best medicine. Casey gets "roaded" on these roads a lot, and it makes his pads extremely tough---which prevents pad injuries when we start hunting.
(Without knowing where he lived, I made the "roading" suggestion to a fella on another forum ----- he said that it wouldn't do his dog any good, because he lived in AZ, and all of the roads were sand ---- he was correct).
Because Casey has never had a "wear" problem, I don't know what to suggest for a treatment -- only a possible mode of prevention.
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Doc E and Cujo Casey boy. |
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Rob G
Cedaredge, CO
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| 10/23/2006 7:36 AM |
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Doc,
I live in CO. Most of Maverick's "roading" comes with daily runs with my wife which would be mostly asphalt and concrete (unfortunately). We train in fields (mostly dirt and weeds) but now that it is getting so dark in the evenings I don't have time to train him after work like I did all summer. Pad wear was not a problem last year at all and we hunted the same places I intend to hunt this year.
I ran him pretty hard yesterday and the cover was pretty diverse (grass, sage, wooded areas and flats with some cactus). I'm not sure which area created most of the problem for him, maybe it was just the combination with the fact it was his first time out this year and he ran a lot longer than his normal training session would last.
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| 10/23/2006 7:52 AM |
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| Rob- I routinely go thru this. My PL lives inside and thus his pads are not as toughened up. We will hunt each weekend and then he gets the week to heal up. We do fine this way. I rub that stuff on when I can remember and it helps. With regular use it is suposed to help toughen them up too. There is some other stuff out that I think is called tuff foot. I would defineatly advise giving him a few days off at least to heal up. A couple times when I ran him for 3 days straight they got really really bad and then needed more time to heal up. |
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Rob G
Cedaredge, CO
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| 10/23/2006 12:23 PM |
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Thanks for the tips. I thought I had seen the "tuff foot" at Sportman's but they don't seem to carry it anymore. I stopped by Gander Mountain and found some "pad guard". When I got home I checked online and it seems to have some similar ingredients to the "tuff foot" product. I'll give it a try and see if it helps.
Thanks again,
Rob |
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Trout Bum
Elbert County, CO
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| 10/23/2006 2:30 PM |
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Rob,
Boots would probably be in order until the pads heal. Though the fiber ones don't last as long as the rubber, they work pretty good. Easy on and off with velcro and you can get a set of four at Sportmans for under $20. That way you can still hunt your dog until they heal. |
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Rob G
Cedaredge, CO
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| 10/23/2006 9:31 PM |
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I'm not going out again until Nov. 5. Hopefully by then his pad will be completely healed. If not, I will probably have to go buy some boots.
I hope that this will not be a recurring problem this year. All of his other pads seem fine. Maybe he "skinned" it on something. Quite possible considering the types of terrain we were in.
He certainly did not like me spraying that stuff on his feet. I finally had to hold him down while my wife sprayed his feet. I think tomorrow I will try wiping it on with a cotton ball!
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| 10/23/2006 9:38 PM |
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| Maybe in your case it is isolated- I go thru it all the time. He is always ready to go again in a couple days... We usually have visible wear on a lot of the pads-not just one spot. We also have problems with the outside edges above the pads of the toes getting worn raw ...Nov 5th will not be a problem-just give him a few days this week to get a good start healing up. Mine is not a spray- I have both squirted it all over his feet in the parking lot and used a soaked cloth to apply-wearing laytex gloves is a good idea with the stuff i have as it looks like ink! I'll bet there are still "dog prints" in the parking lot in SD ;) |
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bubulkaj Moderator
Blue Springs, Missouri
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| 10/23/2006 9:54 PM |
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Rob, I have hunted my Setter and lab for days straight in SD and
it is going to happen. Their pads will wear raw from all the
miles. My wife also runs my dogs on rock trails, asphalt,
concrete you name it but they still wear their pads raw. It
usually does not stop them from wanting to hunt but may slow em up a
little. The sand burrs are what really get them. (I
hate those things!)
I always put boots on my dogs in SD, I never did in ND.
There are a lot of Sand Burrs in the area I hunt in SD. I
just never ran across them in ND near Minot and NW ND.
I have tried the Tuff Foot stuff and did not have much success.
The way it works is it dries out your dogs pads and sort of chaps them
up a little to make them some what tougher. You have to apply it
for a long time before you see any effect. I was not impressed
with it and decided it was better to use the boots. I use
the lucky dog boots that are made of cordura and stay on with
velcro. They are cheap 14 bucks, and effective. You can
wrap a small strip of duck tape around the top to keep from losing
them. I usually buy two sets in case I lose one or two. It
will happen what ever you do to keep them on.
I have heard some folks use Bycycle inner tubes cut down as
boots. I may try them but these lucky dog boots are cheap
enough and do work. Your dog will prance around at first when you
put them on but they get used to them. Put them on at the house a
few days prior to get em used to it. It is good entertainment as
well. It is usually quite comical.
You can find those boots at Gun Dog Supply or Dresslers.
Good Luck,
Joe
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Rob G
Cedaredge, CO
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| 10/23/2006 10:13 PM |
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Thanks for the tips guys. I probably should pick up some boots at some point anyway. We hunted all of last season with no pad problems at this same place.
However it is about 4000 acres and the cover is pretty diverse so at some point I'm bound to get into some stuff where boots would be helpful. How do boots work on cactus?
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Trout Bum
Elbert County, CO
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| 10/24/2006 5:54 AM |
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The rubber Lewis boots work well on cactus. The cordora boots not as well on cactus but certainly will help. I also think they are easier on the dogs feet than the rubber boots. Allowing better air flow with less weight and so much easier to put on and off.
Like Joe I always have at least 2 sets of the cordora with me. I also have a couple of sets of the Lewis boots. I rarely use the Lewis boots because the cordora are so much easier. You never know when you need them and they can certainly extend a hunt that otherwise might be over. The downside of the cordora is they won't last long in rocky terrain, but as cheap as they are not a big deal for me. I believe the brand Sportmans carries is Remmington, probably made by the same company that makes lucky boots. |
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hooligan
Southern California and Vancouver Island
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| 10/24/2006 7:50 AM |
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| You can also give your dog a zinc tablet every day (50 mg-just buy it in the drug store vitamin section). Zinc works really well for toughening up pads. It also will help skin/coat issues and with healing of any kind. |
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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. |
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Rob G
Cedaredge, CO
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| 10/24/2006 8:18 AM |
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The more I think about it, the more I think this is an "injury" rather than pad wear considering that the rest of his pads seem fine. I still think the boots are good to have as a backup. Had I noticed this injury earlier a pair of boots (or is it a double pair!) might have made life a little easer for Maverick.
Still, I didn't notice him favoring it at all during the hunt. I'm certain he's too tough for his own good. I need to just do a better job of checking on his status during our outings.
Rob
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CPR Bearpoint's Top Gun "Maverick"
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Rob G
Cedaredge, CO
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| 10/25/2006 12:39 PM |
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My buddy emailed a picture that he took of Maverick "eye balling" the birds. I thought it was funny, because every time I see someone else's dog in front of the day's harvest, their dog's seem so well behaved and disinterested in the birds. I even snapped several of my own trying to capture his "good" behavior (like the picture above). My buddy's picture is a bit more accurate of what Maverick's true intentions were!!
The other picture may answer any questions as to why my dog always appears soaking wet in my hunting photos. There are a lot of water tanks near where I park.
By the way, his pad is healing up nicely .
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sonicman Moderator
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| 10/25/2006 5:55 PM |
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| You don't need boots to keep hunting him (other than cactus or sand burs). It will heal on it's own. It is part or growing up for a bird dog, don't worry about it, just keep an eye on it. |
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