Part of being a responsible dog owner is to become a professional dog examiner. Learning how your dog’s body feels, looks, and smells when it’s healthy and free of illness will help you recognise when something may be wrong.
Have you ever smelled your dog’s feet? If you haven’t, you are missing out! Go smell them and come back to this blog.
Now that you’re back, be honest, you went to the store and bought Doritos didn’t you?
Dog’s paws smell just like corn chips!
I remember noticing this with our first dog Benny. He ate a low fat diet of kibble, which was full of cornmeal, which we regret giving him, after learning about the benefits of raw food (which we now prepare for Tilly). At the time, it made sense that the reason his paws smelled like corn is because he had corn in his diet, but surprisingly, that’s not the reason.
The Reason for the Corn Chip Smell
The real reason is a bacteria called Pseudomonas and Proteus, which dogs pick up on their paws from walking around. Dogs actually sweat through their paws, and this creates a perfectly moist environment for bacteria and fungi to grow. It sounds kind of gross, but the good news is, it’s perfectly normal! Unless of course your furry friend has a strong odor coming from their paws, as well as redness, hair loss, and licking, then that would be cause for concern. Dog’s excessive licking of their paws could also indicate a yeast infection.
Some indications that your dog may be having paw problems include:
- Pus or drainage
- Broken, flakey and cracked nails
- Redness or swelling around the toes and pads
- Limping
- Flaky or crusty paw pads
- Foul odor
- Excessive licking or chewing of paws
- Redness
- Hair loss
If that’s the case, you should take your dog to the vet to rule out anything serious and to get proper treatment.
How to take care of your doggo’s feet
Your healthy dog will usually clean their own feet, but you can help by trimming the fur around their paw pads or using an unscented hypoallergenic wipe after their walks. Of course, dogs are dogs and they don’t need to be pampered, but making sure they don’t have a build up of dirt, grass, or any other foreign bodies will help prevent any potential infections.
But I thought my dog worked the night shift at a corn chip factory?
Unfortunately no, our doggos don’t sneak off in the middle of the night to work at the corn chip factory, even though that would be adorable!
One Response
Very good!!! Sounds very professional and the pictures are super cute. Well laid out page.