What happens when a dogs footpads become abraded?
Last night my dog was chasing and retrieving a ball on a tennis court. After we got home, I noticed some of the pads on her feet were pink instead of black. She is walking fine, but she has been licking them a lot more than usual. What could have happened? Is there anything I can do? The dog will likely experience tenderness until they heal. Footpads normally have a thicker outer layer of skin than other parts of the body. This helps protect the footpad against frictional injury during weight bearing, especially during walking or running. It sounds like the superficial part of this outer layer of your dog’s footpads has been abraded or worn off as a result of running on the concrete surface of the tennis court. Possibly her footpads are not used to this surface and are more sensitive as a result. Your dog probably will experience some tenderness as the abrasion heals and the skin grows back. Depending on the depth of the abrasion, the healing time may take up to two or three weeks. Dur
