I swear there has been another topic like this, but I couldn't find it in search, so sorry if it's repeating.

So today when I was playing with Bode, I noticed his paws are very dry and cracking in a couple spots on the edge of the large part of his front paws (not the toe pads). He hasn't been walking weird or showing any discomfort, which is why I just noticed. We were at my parent's yesterday and my mom said she noticed a little blood on the sheet covering the couch, but it could have been from either dog as their dog's gums sometimes bleed when he's chewing too hard. But then I noticed this today and think the blood was probably from his paw. There is one larger spot that looks like it was open and has now dried up and crusted over. A couple smaller spots are cracking and you can see pink fresh skin in the crack.

We don't actually do that much exercise on hard surface or pavement. When we take walks, he mostly stays on the grass so I'm not sure why they are getting like this. Is it something we should ask the vet about or just find some kind of ointment to treat them with?

This is the best picture I can get of the largest sore

Put Vaseline on it a couple times a day like right before he eats so that when you put it on he'll just be distracted by his food and (hopefully) won't lick it off. Plus its cheap and you won't have to find some special ointment for him that will probably work just as good.

My first husky had something like this and with her it turned out that she had gotten something in her paw that she had healed over, almost like an abscess, but different. It looked similar but I didn't notice it until I saw little spots if blood around. It looked like her paw was just dry or cracked with a little bump, but nothing major. It's probably not that just something you might want to think about if the Vaseline doesn't help. I haven't used it yet myself but I think musher's secret would probably help too. I hope he gets better soon.

Rub Vitamin E into the cracked areas dailt - then get either mushers secret or tender foot, both work like a charm

Thanks all! Picked up Vitamin E oil and Musher's Secret, now the trick will just be getting Bode to sit still long enough to allow me to apply it...

It may be a two person job, Sara. Good luck!

Thanks Megan! I am waiting until Anthony gets home to attempt. I also am waiting on a call back from the vet since I noticed when I got home that the skin has started to peel off leaving raw pad exposed.

Dry it out with some Apple Cider Vinegar to clean it out. Then apply the vitamin E. Vitamin E wil just help heal. If anything you could give him caplets orally to speed the process.

For my dogs I've always done Neosporin when it's open and bleeding, then Mushers Secret after that. It's always worked like a charm for me. I have Neosporin on hand all the time already, I don't keep Vit E in the house.

We are like the opposite here, val. I keep Vitamin E and no neosporin!

Well now since I picked up the Vit E, I have both Neosporin and Vitamin E! I think I'll try the Vit E first since whenever I use Neosporin on myself, he tries to lick it!

What is the best way to apply the Vitamin E? It's an oil, so I feel that it will be runny. Should I just use my hands, or apply to a towel first and use that?

I just use my hands and rub in - it soaks in pretty quickly.

I just noticed Lycus has dry and slightly cracked paws. I will be getting some Vitamin E and mushers secret as well. My situation is also like Sara's, most of our walks are on grass so I'm not too sure why they're dry.

A thanks from me as well for the advice already here.

Glad I found this thread to keep talking about this here. Good advice.
So recently I noticed how very soft and smooth Prince's paws are (Mylos buddy).
Mylo has slighty rough paws, particularly his pads on the edge. His back paws are fine, still not super smooth like Prince's but not rough feeling like on the front ones.  
Now my gf and I are a little curious as to why their paws feel so different.
I recently got some Paw Magik (basically a mushers secret knock off lol)
He of course licked it up, but now I'm thinking that I should get him used to having this stuff on his paws cause when it starts getting really hot maybe his paws will get rougher cause of the concrete?
Now when we go on our park walks, I try to have him on the grass on the side more than on the concrete part just to see if it will change anything.
Finally to end this post… I have never never seen Mylo showing any kind of discomfort or bleeding.

Here's a pick of Mylo's front paws


I should take a pic of Princes paws just for fun to compare

Like people, a dogs paws will form an almost callus to how they walk. If they are walking differently for some reason they can have some strange wear until they go back to their normal way of walking (the light spot on the bottom of his foot might be an indicator of this). From what I can tell Mylo has pretty normal looking feet. Rough is common. Cracking and splitting is a different story that should be taken care of. Our dogs feel the world with their feet. Their front feet in particular. They do all their ground testing for heat or surface change with their fronts as well as directional changes. Their back feet just hold the power. I think genetically that traveling lineage breeds have feet that are prone to roughness, but exercise will certainly play a role. If you are running and walking on concrete with Mylo whereas Prince spends most of his time romping on grass then there you will see some difference. I suspect you will also see differences in dogs that are only walked versus dogs that are ran or biked with.

Callusing and texture are normal and necessary reactions of the body to the terrain they are exposed to. It is the body's way of protecting itself from the elements. Women who wear heels all the time build the same calluses on the bottom of their feet that make the heels tolerable to be in for long periods of time. It would make sense that dogs feet will do the same.

I'm not sure if musher's secret will protect from heat or not. Would be interested to know though.

@Twisterll
Thanks! I have never thought about this as callusing wow, its only normal for it to happen..it all makes sense now. It is true Prince, doesn't get any action outside of the house gate. Granted he is not our dog but we try to take him out for some park fun with Mylo on the weekend at least.
Mylo on the other hand, does have fun everyday. I take him to the park every single day for at least 1 hour. We walk, run, play, and walk some more
And the Pawmagik Cream I got recently says "specially formulated to help heal and soothe paw pads, as well as protect paws from salt, snow, ice, hot pavement, hot sand and abrasion."
Seems pretty neat, if it actually works.

Kenzi is on rocky paths, concrete, and asphalt every day and her feet are rough but they aren't cracked or forming any sores or wounds. I do notice that she gets hot feet in summer so it is nice to hear that the paw cream says specifically that it is made for heat. Might have to get some for this summer for walking at the car shows. I've always just let her shadow surf.

i try my best to keep S&J's feet rough, walking on concert, dirt and rocks. it helps protect them hiking the mountains. they do get soft spots in the middle of the pad if they are worked to much, and the callus is worn off, then i need to keep an eye on them to make sure they do not get cut open.
With Sierra's feet, on the out sides of the pads it almost sticks out like weird pointed formations on her pad the callus's is so rough. Jack is not that bad.

i have only had to deal with bloody paws a few times and i treat them using Epsom salt and mushers secret, with a bootie on till healed up.

mushers secret is very useful when its hot out, i was curious if it would protect their feet form the hot cement so i put some on my hand and touched the hot cement and didn't feel a thing. it really helped with pottie training Leo when he was little during the hot summer months.

Great tips
David this is what I do to get my pups used to mushers secret with out instantly liking off. I either put it on right before we go walk when hot or before going out side when lots of snow (reduces snow balls clumps in between pads). I have used it also right before eating dinner as I put it on the put down the bowl. This give it a bit of time to seep in. I do not use it that often though as long as they are not cracking as I like a little callus to protect them.

We use Musher's Secret. And we found the secret to keeping it on and not in her mouth

We apply and cover her paws with socks (yes, we're those people) to allow the wax time to set into the pads.

Anya hates boots with a fiery passion and will not wear them. Our vet recommended we try toddler socks. They're thin and flexible, so dogs can still move and flex normally and can feel the floor more than boots. Shockingly, Anya doesn't mind getting them on. The first few times, my husband held a peanut butter bone while I rubbed on Musher's Secret and then slipped on the sock. Once they were on, she didn't even seem to notice. She went about her routine without a seconds hesitation. We let her put around in them for an hour or two (sometimes longer; sometimes she naps with them on). So toddler socks, folks, try it.

(Moreover, toddler socks are really really cute and she looks ridiculously adorable in them. I mean, come on, look at them!)

As for heat, we're in Florida and it's already 90 degrees. While Musher's Secret can protect the feet a bit, I still wouldn't let your dog's paws touch concrete or asphalt. It burns through the wax quickly and can scorch the pads. If you wouldn't want to walk barefoot on it, don't let your pup.

(Anya wears her socks when it's hot and she needs to go outside. Our neighbors find us ridiculous)