Just like proper footwear and foot care are important for people hiking any significant distances, care must be taken to maintain and protect the paws of active dogs. Dog’s paws have a lot of natural protection built-in, and many dogs never have a problem despite hiking, running, or otherwise exploring hundreds of miles of trails. But when it comes to paw care on the trail, an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure.
As a veterinarian, I want to share knowledge about paw care principles for active dogs. From conditioning your dog’s paws to determining if your dog should wear boots while hiking, this blog post is all about how to protect your dog’s paws while hiking.
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Dog Paw Anatomy
First, let’s start with a little basic anatomy. Your dog’s paws consist of 4 digits (which are the equivalent of your fingers). Each of the digits has a digital pad (like your fingerpad), but of course, the surface of a dog’s digital pad is a different texture from yours. Each digit also has a nail associated with it.
Some dogs also have a 5th digit, called a dewclaw, on both front legs and occasional their back legs. The dewclaw can be found on the inside of your dog’s leg (the same area you would find your thumb in on your hand). If present, the dewclaws do not touch the ground when a dog walks.
The metacarpal pad is the main weight-bearing pad and the largest pad on your dog’s paw. (Technically, hind paws have a metatarsal pad, rather than a metacarpal pad.) Finally, on front legs, there is a carpal pad a little further up your dog’s paw (in an area that equates to the heel of your palm).
The picture below is a front paw.
Like your fingers and toes, you can spread your dog’s digits to examine the spaces in between them. These areas are called interdigital spaces.
If that wasn’t too much anatomy, I am now going to get a little more science-y. Skip ahead if the science and detailed anatomy is not as interesting to you as it is to me. On the other hand, if it is exciting to you, head over to this research study for even more details.
The paw pads on a dog are comprised of three layers: the external stratified epithelium, an intermediate dermis layer, and a subcutaneous layer.
The external stratified layer is the tough outer layer that is in contact with the ground when a dog walks. This layer is impressive as it is subjected to high levels of wear, friction, and impact as a dog walks. In young dogs or those who have not been conditioned to walking on rough surfaces, this layer may be smooth and relatively soft. In other dogs, this layer can feel quite rough. The picture above is from my dog Glia. She hikes and walks on neighborhood pavement regularly. As a result, you can see some of the roughness of her paw pads.
The intermediate dermis layer is in between the rough outer surface of the paw pad and the subcutaneous layer that we will discuss next. There has not been a lot of study on the details of this layer and how it works in the paw, but it is an important layer of the paw.
The subcutaneous layer is mostly fat separated into many small compartments. This is the softest layer of the paw pad and absorbs most of the impact when a dog walks and runs. The large amount of fat in paw pads also helps protect dogs feet in the cold weather, as fat freezes less easily than other tissues.
In addition to protecting the dog from rough surfaces and absorbing impact, the paw pad system also helps a dog thermoregulate (control body temperature). Paw pads are one of the only areas where dogs can sweat, allowing for evaporative cooling. And beyond sweating, dogs have a counter-current heat exchange system in their paws.
To understand this heat exchange system, let’s imagine a dog out walking on a cold day. Warm blood arrives in the paws from the arteries delivering blood from the center of the dog’s body. The heat from these arteries can transfer to the closely associated venules carrying blood that has been cooled by close contact with the outside temperatures. The venules then return the blood that has been warmed up by the arteries to the rest of the body.
Ensuring that the blood in the veins is warmed up before it reaches the dog’s core helps a dog maintain a good body temperature in cold weather. It also reduces the need for vasoconstriction to occur in the dog’s extremities to conserve heat.
Clear as mud? Check out this video that explains counter-current heat exchange.
Should Dogs Wear Boots When Hiking?
As discussed above, dog’s paws have several anatomical features that make them well equipped to traverse different terrain and handle outdoor temperatures beyond what humans are comfortable with. You almost never see people hiking barefoot, but most dogs on a trail do not wear boots. So the question often arises? Do dogs need to wear boots when hiking? And if they do need them, when are they the most beneficial?
Dogs should wear dog boots if their paws are not conditioned for certain terrain types (like rocky mountainous terrain), especially if they will be expected to spend a long period of time on that terrain. Dogs should also wear boots when the ground is very cold or hot. Dog boots are also useful in covering and protecting a paw injury.
However, in most cases, a healthy and well-conditioned paw pad is better for a dog than a set of dog boots. The best way to condition your dog’s paws to new terrain is to start with short periods of exposure and work up to longer hikes. Walking on the rough sidewalks around your neighborhood can be a good start, but ultimately finding terrain similar to the terrain you want your dog to hike on is the most helpful.
Mountainous rocky terrain is among the most abrasive surface, so take care to introduce your dog slowly to mountain hiking. Give the paw pads time to become thickened and calloused before expecting your dog to summit a Colorado 14’er with you.
And please make sure to check your dog’s paws during every hike. This is especially important when hiking on new terrain. Many people who backpack with their dogs make it a habit to check paw pads and the interdigital spaces every night in order to catch potential problems early on.
Teach your dog to allow good handling of their paws. Check the surfaces of the digital and main paw pad (metacarpal/metatarsal) for abrasions, cuts, cracks, peeling, or other abnormalities. Then spread the toes out to look between the paw pads. The skin between the pads is not as tough as the pads themselves and this is a common spot for irritation to develop. It can also be a placed for burs and thorns to lodge.
If you see any problems developing, it is time to cut your hike short. This is also a good time to put a boot on that paw for protection as you hike back.
For protecting an injured paw, my favorite dog boots are the ones from DogBooties.com (see our full review here). They are small, lightweight, and easy to pack along on any hiking adventure.
You can see in the video above that my dog does wear boots in the snow, so let’s talk about some of the temperature extremes that dogs can encounter when out exploring with their humans and how to protect paws from these extremes.
How to Protect Paws from Extreme Temperatures
Just like people, dogs are most comfortable walking on surfaces above freezing, but below body temperature. A dog that is well acclimated to the heat or the cold, can likely handle surfaces outside of an average dog’s comfort zone. But let’s take a look at basic ways to protect your dog’s paws when temperatures are beyond normal comfort zones.
Cold Weather Protection
Each dog will have a slightly different cut-off for when it is cold or snowy enough that they need paw protection. But a general rule of them is to watch for signs of discomfort anytime there is snow on the ground or it is below freezing. Signs of discomfort can include lifting a paw up when standing still, licking at paws, or limping.
If your dog is showing any signs of discomfort, consider a winter dog boot to help protect his or her paws. Examples of winter dog boots include Dog Booties, Muttluk Fleece Lined Dog Boots, and Ruffwear Polar Trex Dog Boots.
Some dogs can handle the cold well but have long fur between their paw pads that stick to the snow and results in the development of snowballs on paws. To prevent the formation of ice and snowballs between the pads of your dog’s paws, trim the fur short between the paws. And consider using a paw wax to help repel snow and ice. A dog boot can also protect the paw from snowball formation, but for many dogs, short fur plus paw wax is enough.
For more detailed information about paw protection in the winter, head over to our blog post “How to Protect Your Dog’s Paws in the Winter.”
Hot Weather Protection
The biggest hot weather concerns for a dog’s paws are pavement and sand, which can both trap a significant amount of heat
We all know that black top, pavement, and sidewalks can get quite hot on sunny summer days. But did you know that pavement can become hot enough to result in burns on your dog’s paws? In addition, some of the materials used to patch cracks in roads can melt in hot weather and become a sticky hazard to your dog.
On a sunny 77 degree F day, asphalt temperatures can reach 125 degrees F. On a 102 degree day, asphalt temperatures can reach 167 degrees! Yikes. Concrete is generally a little cooler than asphalt, but it still heats up past ambient air temperatures.
How do you know if the pavement is too hot for your dog to walk on? Use the 7-second rule. If you don’t want to rest your hand on the pavement for at least 7 seconds comfortably, then it is too warm for your dog to walk on.
To protect your dog from hot surface temperatures, avoid walking on hot pavement, avoid mid-day hikes, consider protective dog boots (like Ruffwear’s Grip Trex <–Amazon Link), and try to walk on grass and other naturally cooler surfaces.
Be aware that a dog’s paws are an important part of their ability to cool off and dog boots may interfere with that cooling. Take caution having your dog wear boots in warm weather and make sure you are up to date on recognizing signs of overheating in your dog. You can check out our post on preventing heatstroke in dogs for more information.
Sand can be similar to the pavement, in that it has a lot of potential to trap heat. So make sure to also check sand temperatures with your hand before taking your dog for a hike at a place like Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Protecting Your Dog’s Paws from Common Trail Hazards
Besides temperature and rough terrain, there are some other common trail hazards that you may need to protect your dog’s paws from. Let’s take a look at each of these individually.
Cactus Spines
If you are planning a hike in arid, desert-type terrain, please be aware of the cactus. Cactus spines can easily poke into a dog’s paw pad or into the sensitive skin between the pads.
You can protect your dog’s paws from cactus spines in a few ways. A thick-soled dog boot offers a layer of protection similar to a human hiking boot. Additionally, keeping your dog on trail (and leashed) can limit the chances that they step on a cactus spine at all. But either way, bring a pair of tweezers along on desert hikes in case you need to remove a spine from your dog’s paws or legs.
Ruffwear’s Grip Trex (<–Amazon Link) are a good example of a dog boot with a thick rubber sole. We haven’t tried this boot ourselves yet, but have been please with the winter version – the Polar Trex Dog Boot.
Tree Sap
If you are planning a hike through a forest in warm months, you may encounter tree sap along the trail. Tree sap is very sticky and can easily adhere to a dog’s paws.
You can protect your dogs paws from tree sap with a thin dog boot or a layer of paw wax (although some sap may still adhere despite the paw wax).
If your dog does get tree sap on their paws, it may be difficult to deal with the sap while still out on the trail. I always hike with a couple of dog booties in case of paw injuries, and they work pretty well to cover the paw and sap and prevent your dog’s paw from sticking to the trail surface and other items for the rest of the hike.
Tree sap can be removed with oily substances like olive oil, mineral oil, or even peanut butter. After getting as much out as possible with a safe oil, bath your dog’s paw with pet-safe shampoo to remove all residue. In a pinch, hand sanitizer should also work, but don’t let your dog ingest any of that.
Burrs
Burrs, those sticky little seeds with hooks or teeth, can be a problem on the trail, especially for dogs with longer fur. When burrs get stuck in the fur of the paws, they can create a matt/snarl and lodge against the paw causing irritation as the dog walks.
You can limit the chance that your dog will acquire burrs on the fur around the paw by keeping the fur around and in between the paw pads trimmed short.
If your dog does get a burr, many burrs can be removed simply by pulling it out with your fingers. For burrs that fall apart more easily, a fine toothed comb can be helpful. For really thick and tight burr matts, you may need to clip or cut the mat out.
Please be very careful if you choose to use scissors to trim fur. I have seen injuries on pets when people use scissors to groom pets at home. A clipper is safer. It can still cut the skin, but it is less likely to create a big laceration. We use this nice and quiet dog clipper to groom Sasha (my cavalier mix) at home.
A Note about Nails
Nail care is equally important to paw pad care for active dogs. Keep nails trimmed short, as this will help your dog’s paws turn over with a natural gait when walking or running. Just as long finger nails can affect the way you type or perform other tasks, long nails on a dog can affect the way they move.
Additionally, long nails are at a higher risk for catching on items and breaking. So keep those nails trimmed and in good health.
Okay, that’s all for this post.
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