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My dog’s feet are bleeding after walking in the snow – what could it be?

Hello,
I have a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and we noticed the other day, that after a little while of running around in the snow, her feet were bleeding. All four of her little paws were like that and we’re not sure why. The blood was sort of coming up at her ‘knuckes’ (if that makes any sense), and we could see it soaking through her fur. When we got back home and she settled down and warmed up, the bleeding stopped, but now we’re a bit worried about taking her out again.

Dog’s feet are not weather proof. Snow is especially harsh. There is a good chance that the cold chapped them, they cracked and started bleeding, as well as there is deicer or salt on most roads and sidewalks which should be rinsed off immediately when you get home (even if you assume that the pavement hasn’t been treated). Also, another cause of the lacerations could be ice. It could have snowed, frozen overnight, and snowed again. The ice could have cut your furry friend’s knuckles.
If your dog will allow you to put doggy boots on her, then by all means, you should. Otherwise, it might be better for your pup to stay inside.

For the treatment, I would rinse her feet really well, use a mild tear free shampoo (like Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo) to get all the chemicals off (if there are any- better safe than sorry) and then put neosporin or a generic triple antibiotic on it so it will heal faster.

How to Reduce the Risk of Parvo

The risk of parvo increases for a breeder each and every time the breeder allows the general public to come into contact with their puppies and dogs, regardless of their age. Problems also arise when a breeder not only allows multiple people to handle their young puppies but when the breeder fails to vaccinate the dogs they create. You would be amazed at how many dogs and young puppies go unvaccinated for this dreadful disease.

As Goldendoodle breeders hop on the bandwagon, more and more seem to not be very experienced with canine in general, much less properly care for the puppies they bring into this world. Laziness or lack of owner irresponsibility, there really is no excuse NOT to vaccinate your Goldendoodle or young puppies when it is readily available in most pet stores, feed stores as well as many canine supply sites all across the internet. Because the age at which individual puppies can respond to parvovirus vaccination varies, all puppies should be vaccinated beginning at age 8 weeks, if not sooner. There should be a series of five vaccinations given at 2-4 week intervals as the puppy ages. While there are many different brands available, most are within a single vaccine such as your 7-in one; 8-in one. Prices can range anywhere from $2 per vaccine to $15 per vaccine. (7-in one & 8-in one means there are a series of 8 various vaccinations combined into one shot.)

It has been our own experience that some vaccinations not only cause problems for the Goldendoodle dog, but some do not even help protect them from parvo. We began to use NEO-PAR in 2005 because it was a quality brand of vaccine that covered five different strains of parvo as well as could be given to our pups while they were still nursing at the age of three weeks. We could also re-vaccinate at 2 week intervals without any incidence of problems. For some reason, the Goldendoodle dog can be very sensitive to vaccines. Some can have seizures, some can die and some can become extremely ill within 24 hours of their vaccination. Unless the owner tells their veterinarian about this issue, they will not check FIRST to see if your dog is having a bad vaccine reaction should this occur. We had a higher incidence of parvo with our young puppies when we did NOT have our strict purchase policy put into place. Since implementing our strict purchase policy of NOT allowing the general public to handle or come into contact with our young puppies, we have not had a single incidence of parvo. Our strict policy as well as changing our vaccines to Neo-Par made a huge difference!

Changing the way we worked as a breeder made all the difference in the world even though we had lots of potential consumers NOT happy with our change of policy. Breeders can make the difference between life and death where their puppies are concerned if they have a strict policy in place and change the brand of vaccines if they are having issues with the ones they presently use. Every breeder has their own choice of brand they use for vaccines, however, for us, Neo-par made all the difference in the world. For years it has been known that Doberman Pinschers and Rottweilers all responded poorly with parvo vaccines and for a long time, no one knew why. Studies have been conducted on both of these breeds and to date, I am not sure if they came up with a solution as to what specific brand worked out better for either breed. Since 1999, we have always known that Goldendoodles react differently to vaccines than many other types of dogs. We did NOT realize until 2004 that the brand we had been using was NOT affective at all in protecting our Goldendoodles from parvo and distemper! In 2005, we spoke with a company that offers vaccinations to the general public and we spoke at great lengths of what was going on. We were fortunate enough to have found a gentleman who had 25 years of vaccination experience that really changed everything for us! His knowledge turned the tables with ONE vaccine! New high titer-low passage vaccines are most effective than older vaccines even in the presence of maternal antibodies, and have narrowed the window of susceptibility that occurs between declining levels of maternal antibodies and acquired immunity produced by the vaccination.

We discovered that by NOT allowing the general public to enter our premises unless they made a financial commitment to a puppy (this stopped all the breeder hopping that so many potential customers do when in search for a family pet) and by vaccinating our young puppies at the age of three weeks instead of waiting until they were six or eight weeks of age, our puppies remained parvo free and this reduced the risk of possible exposure dramatically! Many breeders never give if a single thought when someone calls them wanting to “swing by and have a looksie” at their adorable puppies! We learned tragically of how dangerous this simple request could be! Until more breeders hop on the STRICT POLICY bandwagon, more puppies will become infected with parvo in 2008! Breeding dogs should be vaccinated two to four weeks before being bred to ensure high levels of antibody in their colostrum. However, if you have a kennel, it is NOT recommended that you only vaccinate one dog. If you are vaccinating one dog, you must vaccinate them all. Parvo virus in the vaccine is eliminated through the stool and can cause unvaccinated dogs to pick up this disease. Parvo can transmit itself to other dogs whose immunity has not been built up, therefore causing parvo to occur in any aged dog. Some vets claim this virus is airborne and some vets and sites claim it is not, however, there is no actual…factual information available whether it is or it isn’t. Puppies are the most affected by this disease and it is not always caused by the pup coming into contact with other sick pups, dogs or infected feces. Parvo can infect a dog or puppy from many various sources and ways. Symptoms are listlessness, vomiting, severe drooling, pale gums, high fever and acute abdominal pain. Parvo causes severe gastric damage and will cause internal bleeding if your puppy is left untreated, rapidly. The virus is shed in large amounts in the stools of acutely infected dogs as well as those who have been recently vaccinated. It can be transmitted by air current, oral contact with infected feces, carried by your clothing, shoes, hair and any other object. Parvo can last as long as 7 years in the ground….but sometimes can be killed with the first heavy snow fall. Parvo effects dogs of all ages but mostly young puppies from 6-20 weeks of age.

Unless more breeders become vigilante about incorporating a strict policy to put a stop to those who “breeder hop” handling multiple puppies in a single day and place their puppies and dog in a vaccination program, more and more puppies will become infected with parvo. Each and every year new strains of parvo occur. It is up to the breeders and owners to keep their pets safe from this dreadful disease.

Author/Breeder: Dee Gerrish@2007 Goldendoodle World

About the Author

Dee Gerrish has been a private, professional breeder since 1996. She founded Goldendoodle World in 1999 and has written about Goldendoodles extensively. Her Goldendoodle World website is very educational, extensive and shows a comprehensive look at the Goldendoodle hybrid. Dee Gerrish is the first breeder to register the Goldendoodle hybrid with a kennel club in the United States. Dee is also one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog in the southern region of the United States.