Page 17 - Chow Life - Winter 2025
P. 17
Better Feet
Make A Difference
by DR. CARMEN L. BATTAGLIA
Many spend a lifetime climbing the ladder of success tough and able to handle hot pavement, snow, and
only to learn their ladder was leaning against the a variety of surfaces and temperatures. When taken
wrong wall. together, dogs have paws that can be separated into
three main types: webbed feet, hare feet, and cat
Most people are more familiar with their hands than feet. They each are designed for a different purpose.
their feet because we do so much with our hands
every day. Yet our feet are equally as valuable given Injuries and ailments are also involved in knowing
what they are asked to do. With our dogs, the pads about dogs and their feet. Most fall into the
of their feet support their pasterns, legs and bodies following groups:
and make everything they do possible. Breeders
and owners expect their dogs’ feet to support their Excessive licking or chewing - can be a sign of
weight and enable them to gait, play and perform environmental or food allergies.
a variety of activities for a lifetime without causing Swelling of the toes or feet - can be a sign of a
pain or discomfort. For humans, we average about bacterial infection, or a foreign object that has
4,000 steps in a day1.5 million steps in a year. Many punctured the paw.
take more than that, and most of our dogs far
exceed us given the steps they take with feet that Crusty, cracked paws - sometimes called canine
are designed for a variety of different jobs, from hyperkeratosis, often caused by the overproduction
swimming with webbed toes to racing, herding of keratin and can be alleviated with a topical
and hunting. Dogs are known to have paws that are ointment or antibiotic.
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