Gun Dog Forum

Anyone have any experience with the pads peeling off of all 4 feet on a 16 week old puppy? They are coming off in a single layer on all 4 feet of this poor puppy (Brit). he is showing now adverse affects other then chewing his feet. There is no real redness or sore areas....just a slough off of the first layer of pad. He is teething right now, and actually just started that, but he is otherwise healthy, happy, active, and by all accounts normal.

He is the runt of his litter of 7 and is just a mini version of his litter mates now. When he was born he was all bones and skeleton that I thought would not make it through the first week. He was a fighter from the get go and thrived in spite of himself.

He has just begun to run with the 4 wheeler but he isnt running hard and has been on mostly grassy areas when he has gone along. He is fed NutriSource Grain Free Chicken formula kibble. 28/18

Gotta say I'm stumped on this one. Any ideas???

Often a sign of Zinc deficiency.



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I respect your opinion Dr. but wht would just one pup have a zinc deficiency?

PS My TPLO surgery dog has done great - 5weeks since surgery and putting full weight on that leg.

Doc E -

Often a sign of Zinc deficiency.

Ok, if it is a zinc deficiency, what is the fix? Although I'm sure the rest of the litter have all changed foods with their new owners, would there be a reason this pup is not retaining whatever Zinc might or might not be available in his food? I'm not opposed to changing foods for him or adding a supplement, but would/could this be an underlying thing with this as a symptom that I need to address?
Agree with Sharon that he is the only one with this ailment......have 23 dogs on this food and no one else is having any issues?????

It could be pigment in the pads, a malabsorbtion issue or "rabbit skin," where he is just delicate. Try Boudreaux's Butt Paste diaper ointment directly on the pads.

Sharon wrote:I respect your opinion Dr. but wht would just one pup have a zinc deficiency?

PS My TPLO surgery dog has done great - 5weeks since surgery and putting full weight on that leg.

Malabsorbtion.



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1 mg Zinc Gluconate per 1.0 to 1.5 lbs of body weight.
Daily for two weeks
Then 3 times a week.



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Kiki's Mom wrote: He is the runt of his litter of 7 and is just a mini version of his litter mates now.

Sometimes runts have other problems. Being small might also mean that certain other aspects are affected as well (like malabsorption).



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Thank you.

Thank you Doc E and Cajun Casey )

Mal-absorption makes sense, given his size at birth and the fact that he continues to be smaller, to the point of being much thinner then I like to see a pup over all. He isn't rail thin, doesn't have rib/hips showing but he isn't by any means a fat puppy either, never has been. Stools are normal. Wormings with strongid and interceptor have been regular so a parasite infection is probably an outside dx.
He is fed 2x day.
Do you think I should consider a pro biotic addition as well as a zinc supplement? Should I consider putting him on a 3x a day feeding regime for a while?
Hate to think this lil guy is gonna have a chronic condition that plagues him for the rest of his life , he is an awfully nice puppy with a lot of potential to make someone a really wonderful companion hunter. His smaller size makes him appealing for ease of travel with a dog too.....

*sigh

thoughts and suggestions welcome!!

I think all dogs should be on some kind of probiotic.
A quality PLAIN yogurt (Nancy's or Mountain High) is probably better than a "freeze dried" probiotic pill.
Feeding twice a day should be fine.



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Gotchya. Will add a good organic yogurt to his meals.
Went on the hunt for a Zinc supplement. Only able to find tablets in 50 mg size tonite. Pup weighs approx 15#s Am I correct in thinking he should be getting approx 1/2 a pill once a day if my calculations are correct?
Thanks Doc.

For a 15# dog, it comes out to 21.5 mg of zinc --- definitely close enough in my book.



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I have seen the same issue be caused by ring worm, You might want to get them checked for that.

Thanks for the tip. There are no other lesions to suspect ringworm but I will keep it in mind of the zinc supplement and probiotics don't improve the situation.

Kiki's Mom wrote:Thanks for the tip. There are no other lesions to suspect ringworm but I will keep it in mind of the zinc supplement and probiotics don't improve the situation.

The one time I saw it the pups had no lessions at all . just looked like a tiny bit of swelling in the feet and sluffed pads.

Could be this young dogs in a growth stage that has his gait messed up .....Does he run like a crazy pup, lots of heart and go?

Young , growing exuberant dogs can easily slip their pads.....until the build changes or they learn how to take care of their feet...... Just a thought.