Feet Blisters

[OurDempsey]

So I have a call into our vet, but I would like to ask everyones opinion about feet blisters!

Dempsey has been going to daycare for two days now, we noticed he was licking his feet a little after the first day, but thought that since he was running around all day he was just cleaning them. Last night he wouldn't stop licking them again, but he was much more obsessive about it and he was limping a bit--not wanting to put full weight on the pads.

At first glance his pads seem normal. Not too pink, they smell fine, and his nails haven't changed. Then I just looked between his toes and there are these big blisters and the skin is red! My poor boy! They look a little "juicy" for lack of a better descriptor, but do not look like you could pop them...more of a sore than a blister.

Could these be from the licking,or has anyone had these before? He hasn't switched foods...nothing really in his life has changed except going to doggie daycare. They run around on asphalt and dirt all day. I am going to call them too just to make sure they haven't given him any food or treats without asking first.

 

[Rock's Ma]

Duke had something similiar. We finally ended up taking him to the vet. The vet put him on antibiotics for two weeks and also put him on pain meds because he was limping. Poor baby, I felt awful. What ever it was went away and he hasn't had a problem since.

 

[boxer granny]

Just a suggestion, but could it possibly be a disenfectant that is to strong and/or caustic that they are using to clean off the asphalt area? This happened to my baby when I was trying to "sterilize" my floors as the vet called it. Or could it possibly be a weed in the dirt area, now that it's spring that he had a localized reaction to? Sorry, I'm not much help. Good luck with your baby.

 

[Mama's Boys]

Both of my dogs came home with feet blisters after their first few days at doggie daycare. I asked the daycare supervisor about it after my lab came home with blisters, and she said that it happens to the majority of the new dogs at daycare. Our babies paw pads aren't used to running and playing on different surfaces than they are used to. The play yards at my daycare are covered in pea gravel. Since most dogs aren't used to playing on pea gravel for 8 hours straight, it takes a few days-weeks for their paw pads to build up calluses or durability to play for 8 hours on the pea gravel.

Do you know what material Dempsey's daycare has in their play yard? Even if it IS grass, Dempsey probably isn't used to playing and running for such a long period of time. It will take his paw pads a little while to get strong enough to tolerate it. Talk to your daycare owner/supervisor...I'm sure she or he will say that most of the new dogs get sores or blisters on their paws after the first few days.

Plus, I remember you mentioning in another post that Dempsey came home and fell right a sleep after he came home from daycare. He has probably never played for so many hours straight in his life. It is very exciting for a dog to go to daycare for the first few times. He probably plays non stop from the second you drop him off till the second you pick him up. The excitement will die down a little after he realizes that it isn't just a one time event where he needs to get as much playing in as possible. It will take a little while for his body (including his paws) to get adjusted to the new experience.

That's my guess. It happened to both of my boys after their first few times at daycare, and the daycare supervisor assured me that it is very common with new dogs, and that their paws will get much stronger after a few more times.

 

[OurDempsey]

Thank you so much for your response! It made me feel better...

He is playing on asphalt all day. I originally thought there was a grassy area, but I was incorrect. Our original thought was that he was having a tough time adjusting to running on a different surface all day. After the blisters happened, I wasn't so sure. Now that I read your post, have spoken with the daycare and they say that they don't feed anything and that the surface is cleaned at night with nothing left wet in the morning when the dogs arrive, and have researched a little more it seems as if he has irritated them himself with the licking.

He won't have to go for the rest of the week, hopefully that will give them time to toughen back up a bit and he can go back next week.

 

[HeatherLynnG]

When we take our puppies to daycare and they stay overnight (when we travel) they come home exhausted, sore, and hungry. Since they're young and energetic they just play the entire time. The daycare owner says that they play and play all day and she makes all of her doggies take mid-day naps because they get so worn out. They even have a baby pool to play in...so its just crazy out there. I'm sure your little one is just adjusting to the constant play like everyone mentioned.
My vet and daycare owner advised me to use Ecotrin when they are sore from playing so much. Ecotrin is a form of aspirin thats safe for them because its very gentle on the heart. You never want to use regular aspirin and especially not use Ibprofin.

Good luck!!!!

 

[peytonmonte]

My dogs haven't been to doggie daycare before, however..my dog Peyton has really bad allergies and licks her feet a great deal. Those sores have developed on her feet when she's licked too much. All i can say is that something has irritated their feet, hence the constant licking. I guess the thing to do would be to find the source of the irritation. I was thinking the cause could have been some kind of floor cleaner, like the previous post, but since you called and they said it couldn't have been that, i'm not sure. However, with a few days "paw rest" they heal really quickly. Just keep them dry and try to keep them from licking too much. You'll be amazed how quickly these will heal. Not to worry! Take care!