Sully has sort of false pads on his feet, where he drags his back legs, and sometimes he gets ingrowing hairs in them. That turns into an infection, and eventually it splits open. It's just happened again tonight. Unfortunately he doesn't give any obvious sign that they are sore before it reaches that stage. He bites his feet a lot anyway, so that's not helpful, and he was off his food the last 24 hours, but I thought he had toothache! (He had hurt his tooth, that wasn't just a random guess)!
He isn't bothering it now it has split, he ate some sardines and rice tonight, and is looking a lot more comfortable. We are off to the vet tomorrow morning for antibiotics, etc.
It's definitely the 2nd time this has happend (and possibly the 3rd, but one may have been misdiagnosed as a glass cut).
Does anyone else's dog suffers with this? Is there anything I can do to prevent it? The pads (and his feet in general) are very tough and calloused, so you can't tell that there is an infection inside, it doesn't show on the outside. I have been using paw wax to try and soften his feet, but it doesnt seem to make much difference, and he hates having it on. Is there anything else I can do?