Doggie paws are comparable to the toes of a human foot. Dogs walk on our toes, like horses and our front legs are analogous to a human arm, with the wrist as the pastern joint, the back of the hand as the pastern and the paws as the fingers. Our hind legs are similar to your legs, our heels are represented by the hock joint and the human foot becomes the our rear pastern and the human toes are his rear paw. Each paw has four pads, with their own toenail. Dogs also come with a fifth toe, which doesn't touch the ground. This toe has a nail too, referred to as a 'dew claw.' Dew claws are often removed by dog breeders when we are a few days old as they can be difficult to trim and can snag as we meander around.Our paws do a lot of work, absorbing shock while running or hopping and bearing our full weight while we move and groove. Thick, rough pads create traction and the shape is quite handy for digging. A dog's paws are more likely then our other parts to sustain injury, since they are constantly in contact with a variety of surfaces and humans need to check them often to ensure there are no wounds.
I myself have sustained some pretty icky cuts from loose glass on the street. When this happens, my human will clean the wound with warm water and a gentle soap, dab some homeopathic, healing Calenudula ointment on the cut and wrap my paw in gauze. I prefer that she tape the gauze shut with a colorful band aid, so my bandage can function as a stylish accessory. (I never forget to be fashionable, folks!)
Paw care is dependent on the functions your dog performs and different dogs have different needs. For instance, police dogs in Germany wear rubber soled shoes to avoid cutting their paws on broken glass which is prevalent on the streets. The dogs that run in the treacherous Iditarod race in the arctic also wear protective paw covers to prevent the ice from causing injury. You might see a dog on a hike in heavily wooded areas in a set of shoes as well, to prevent a thorn in paw situation.
For most dogs, paw care consists of ensuring that a pooch's nails are attended to with regular pawdicures. Keeping nails trimmed and even can help avoid painful breaks, snags, traction problems and uber scary - ingrown nails. Nails that are too long can break, causing a ton of pain, distort a pooch's movement and result in lameness. In a puppy - this can even result in a deformity! Yowza!
Contrary to the misguided belief of some, a pawdicure is not about brightly colored nail pawlish. Pawdicures are all about trimming the nails to a safe, healthy length. When is it time for a pawdicure? When you can hear your dog's nails clicking on the ground or see them getting stuck in carpeting, its time for a clip or grind.Before attempting a pawdicure on your own, spend plenty of time handling your furry friend's paws and nails. Make it a pawsitive experience filled with tons of treats and praise. Your dog should allow you to handle all four paws without hesitation before you make any attempts at trimming.
Some pups are pawticularly shy about their paws, and home trimming doesn't work for those dogs. If this is the case, take your pooch to a pawfessional. A little spa treatment will sooth his nerves and you can rest assured your companion has healthy, cared for paws without pain or trauma.
Make sure your human uses a trimmer designed for dogs. Trimmers designed for other purposes can cause injury. I am pawticular about how my nails are trimmed! My female huma
n recently purchased the 'Peticure.'The Peticure is a grinder or dremel which gently removes paper thin layers of the nail very slowly. This grinding method causes no pain and its relatively simple for a human to master. My female human works nail by nail, rotating through all four paws a few times until all my nails are short, sweet and even.
Grinding, using a dremel type apparatus is one approach, another are clippers or trimmers. Clippers and trimmers run a higher risk that your human might hit the 'quick' which is the sensitive flesh inside your nail. Hitting the quick really hurts and it bleeds a lot. Styptic powder helps stop the bleeding, but it doesn't help make this hurt less.
My human likes to wrap up our nail trimming sessions by massaging Louis and my paw pads with some moisturizing Vitamin E. This keeps our pads supple and the skin healthy. It also feels fabulous!With all this information in mind, I hope you'll make sure your humans take extra special care of your precious paws!
Kisses,
Ella Bean
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