Dog loses pads?

[PamperedPup]

So one of my customers tells me that his dog got loose and was gone for a half hour and when they found it it's back pads (the metatarsals) were gone! He said the inside of the dog's legs were all red too. I cannot imagine how something like that could happen?? He took it to the vet who put him under to cut the rest of the pads off and then glued them so they would grow back? I have honestly never heard of anything like this before and am wondering if any of you have. The dog can't even walk now. Would the pads grow back? I can't imagine why the vet would cut what was left off.....I know he went to a 'private' vet who doesn't work in a clinic so I am wondering what kind of care he got. But honestly I can't imagine what kind of injury would result in just the back pads being taken off. Can anyone shed some light on this or has anyone ever heard of this and if so what was the treatment and outcome? Thanks guys.

[gr8danlvr1]

One of my danes, Isis actually had something similar happen. In the summer, in the evening when it has cooled down, sometimes I will take Isis out for a run beside my bike. She never once whined, slowed down or gave any kind of notice that she was in pain. When I got home, I saw she was leaving bloody footprints everywhere. When I examined her feet pads, the tough skin covering the large pad had basically gotten a blister under it that popped and the tough skin was just hanging on by a little bit. The vet cut the rest of the tough stuff off, wrapped her feet, gave her antibiotics and said now we just wait until it heals. He did give her something for the pain to, poor dog could hardly walk for a couple of days. I felt like the worlds worst momma. It seems like she had a skin covering over it in about a week and a half, then it toughened back up by a month. Now, you can't tell it even happened. It wasn't the first time I'd ever ran her beside my bike, no new terrain, went the same amount of time we always did. The vet just figured the pavement hadn't cooled down enough and the heat is what caused her problems. This time of year I'm thinking the extreme cold might cause the same thing if a dog were not used to it. The dog may have ran through something that scraped up the inside of his legs too. He'll need to rewrap the dogs feet 2 times a day and keep them dry. It probably wouldn't hurt to get a little pain control either, can you imagine having to walk on raw flesh? OUCH!

[4Sibes]

I had a neighbor who's Dobe got loose several years ago. Dog ran after deer for a couple hours when we had about 6" of snow on the ground w/ a thin layer of ice on top of it.
When she got him back...he had no skin left on his toes, feet and up to almost his "wrists" and hocks. Pads were almost nonexistent. Feet got numb from the cold and he just kept running, never feeling a thing.

Dogs are capable of doing some pretty spectacular damage to themselves.

Maybe your customer's dog was hit by a car?

I'm not familiar w/ gluing the pads back on though.

[PamperedPup]

Sorry, I should have written that more clearly....the pads weren't glued back on rather the vet glued were the pads were to I guess close off the open flesh. But there is literally no pad left at all so the dog can't walk. He says he will probably put him down but I think he is jumping to the wrong conclusion so that is why I was hoping that some of you guys had heard of something like this with a good outcome. The dog is an Am Staff (aka capable of doing some real bite damage) and is not letting the owner near his sore feet. He has been snapping at him when he tries to touch them. I realize that the tough covering would grow back over but if the pad is totally gone than would a complete and full pad grow back that is capable of supporting the dog so it could walk normally? The image of the dog running after the deer makes it seem possible for the pads to come off so I wonder if this dog did something similar. It had apparently been running through the old corn fields and we do have snow and ice now so perhaps something like that is what happened.

[4Sibes]

Yeah. We're surrounded by acres and acres of (now cut) corn fields.
When I read your post...it rang a bell.

That poor dog needs some serious pain meds and now, if he isn't already on them, and the owner is gonna need a strong muzzle, a second person, and a whole lot of commitment to get the dog thru this.

I had a friend that took her Lab w/ her on vacation to Watertown, NY 2 years ago and not knowing the lake flooring was comprised of broken mussel shells...threw a tennis ball into the water for him several times. It looked like someone had taken razor blades to all of his pads.
I had him here recuperating for 6 weeks, crated, soaks, dressings, meds, boots.
It was almost a fulltime job...and he lost several good size chunks of pad.
Ultimately...everything healed, but it was a torturous process and his "rehab" lasted most of the Summer.

The idiot owners of the Dobe took the dog to the shelter and relinquished him after a consult at one of our ER's. Didn't have the time or the money.

[merrypuppins]

I had a 9 year old shih tzu the other day.....new client said she just got her back from her ex...when I first looked at the dog she really needed some cleaning up.....especially around her feet and pads....well, I soon came to find out that I couldn't clean them up....everytime I thought about going near them the dog jumped a mile off the table.....all 4 paws were swollen, I could barely see the nails....couldn't even lift the foot to see underneath....at first I thought frostbite....so I asked the client to come back to the van and discuss this issue....and she said when she got there...'oh yeah, she has seen a vet and he has me soaking her feet in salt water'.(well, gee thanks for telling me)...I must of looked at her like she had 6 heads and said.....' I have alot of concern about this pup right now, I'm willing to not charge you for the groom, this pup needs to see a vet now!' Thinking maybe it was a money issue......told her I would finish drying her...trim up her face and bring her in..client says she will go call the vet and leaves the van and calls me and says " you are going to give her a hair cut...she always gets a haircut"....I ended up charging her full price for the groom....I just pray she does take this pup to vet...I hate to see them in pain!

[Particentral]

..client says she will go call the vet and leaves the van and calls me and says " you are going to give her a hair cut...she always gets a haircut"....I ended up charging her full price for the groom....I just pray she does take this pup to vet...I hate to see them in pain!

UMMMM WHY would you let the woman dictate to you what youw ere going to do in that manner? If it is a health issue, the you have the right to refuse service, HECK you ALWAYS have the right to say, I quit when working on a dog! If your working on her would cause her more injury or pain you had every right to stop immediately. I send those people to the vet. WHat they do is their problem, but I do not aggrevate the situation by grooming the dog.

I have never seen a vet take off pads completly, but then again I never heard of a Private vet either? Can someone enlighten me?????

[groomingbymichelle]

my dog has had this happen and they can heal. my dog was thrown out on the side of the road in an ice storm when she was 6 months old. one of the shelter volunteers saw her and picked her up, brought her to the shelter. she had frost bite on her paws and almost lost the pads on her front feet. they are good now, but she has to wear boots in the winter and if hiking to protect her feet, because her pads cut so easily now. she is a pit, and most bully breeds do not show signs of pain until the pain is severe. so I hope the owner gets some pain meds for the dog and doesnt give up.

[4Sibes]

Dunno if it constitutes "Private" in the way the OP intended...but we have a lot of vets in this area that are not associated w/ a practice. They work for the Gov....like FDA, NIH, or any number of research labs, but still have enough "stuff" laying around the house to help out family and friends in a crisis or vaccinate, simple things. They don't spay or do surgeries, but I do know one that will neuter male (I know...that's redundant) kitties.

[PamperedPup]

This guy works out of his trailer and at one point had gone through vet school but is not licensed ie he works for really cheap because he is not set up properly or actually allowed to be a vet. Its bad news. I was trying to put it nicely. He put this dog under and did the surgery in his trailer.........

[Helly]

This guy works out of his trailer and at one point had gone through vet school but is not licensed ie he works for really cheap because he is not set up properly or actually allowed to be a vet. Its bad news. I was trying to put it nicely. He put this dog under and did the surgery in his trailer.........

If this guy is not licensed, he SOOOOOOOOO breaking the law. I'd drop a dime on him in a heartbeat.

I don't know if the dog needed to have the pads amputated or not. It's possible, if there was not sufficient blood flow to the parts that were left. And if the vet didn't completely botch the surgery they'll grow back fairly quickly.

But I'd still turn him in for practicing veterinary medicine without a license.

[4Sibes]

This guy works out of his trailer and at one point had gone through vet school but is not licensed ie he works for really cheap because he is not set up properly or actually allowed to be a vet. Its bad news. I was trying to put it nicely. He put this dog under and did the surgery in his trailer.........

I agree completely w/ Helly. That is waaay not cool and illegal. Might be one person that even I... would consider stepping out of my Pollyanna universe and reporting to the appropriate authorities.

[PuppyFluffer]

This guy works out of his trailer and at one point had gone through vet school but is not licensed ie he works for really cheap because he is not set up properly or actually allowed to be a vet. Its bad news. I was trying to put it nicely. He put this dog under and did the surgery in his trailer.........

Yikes! I agree with everyone else - report this guy before he does some real damage. Something is definitely wrong there.

[sheilabgroomer]

I totally agree w/the others. Report that fool if you know for a fact that he isn't an actual licensed vet. There is a vet that is down the road from me that is licensed, but if you go to the government website for licensing you can look up all the complaints and legal issues this man has had and their are a lot! It really makes me wonder what a vet has to actually do to get his license yanked. This guy is a menace to animals IMO.

Sorry, that was off topic. I hope this guy has the patience to get his dog through this, or can find someone like Sibes to nurse the dog.

[Kindredkiss]

It sounds like it could be from the cold. But then you would think it would be all four paws and not just the backs. We had a Springer in our clinic that had the same problem and it turned out to be an autoimmune problem. It started on one paw and slowly progressed to all four. The owner ending up putting her to sleep. Then there was another dog and English Bulldog who had skin cancer. There was irratation at his paws and then turned to lesions all over his body