Can My Dog Burn Its Paw Pads in Summer?

With the arrival of summer, our dogs face the risk of burning their paws from contact with concrete or asphalt on the ground, exposed for hours to intense sun.

It's important to prevent our dog from burning its paw pads, since it will cause a lot of pain and leave it limping, unable to walk properly. What's more, its burns will take time to heal and can easily become infected. Let's look at how to prevent it.

How to Prevent My Dog From Burning Its Paws

The first thing we should use is common sense — we should avoid walking our dog during the hottest hours of the day.

The asphalt or concrete on sidewalks and paths heats up very easily, reaching temperatures capable of burning our dog's paw pads within just a few minutes.

On top of the danger we'd expose our dog to, since excess heat can cause heatstroke, which is often fatal. To prevent our dog from suffering the consequences of excess heat in summer, we can follow these simple tips:

• Always keep your dog hydrated, with fresh, clean water available (in summer you need to change the water very often so it's always cool, not warm or at room temperature).
• Avoid walks during the hottest hours of the day, usually between 12:00 pm and 7:00 pm. It's much better to go for a good walk early in the morning, before the sun starts to burn, or in the evening, once it cools down.
• Do the hand test — place the palm of your hand flat on the ground where the sun is or has been shining directly. If you can hold it there for more than 5 or 10 seconds without it burning, your dog won't get burned either. If it burns the palm of your hand, don't take your dog out.
• Moisturize its pads — there are special moisturizing creams (sold at vet clinics) to moisturize your dog's paw pads and make them more resistant to burns.

How to Spot Burned Paw Pads

If we notice our dog whining while walking, limping, or licking its paw pads, it has most likely suffered a burn caused by the heat. We can carefully lift its little paw and examine the pad.

If it's red or reddened, worn, or looks scraped (like raw flesh), it has suffered burns that need to be cared for. This type of burn needs veterinary care, since it can easily become infected.

Some dogs have black pads and others flesh-colored ones, but none of them are naturally red. If your dog shows any of these signs, don't doubt it — it has suffered burns from walking on ground that was too hot.

What to Do in Case of a Burn

The main thing is to get home or somewhere the ground isn't hot. If it's already uncomfortable and harmful for our dog to walk on ground that's burning, imagine how much it must hurt if its paw pads are already burned (the skin left red and raw).

We should wash its paw pads with cool water and soap to clean them — we can even use water from the fridge, which will be much cooler than tap water. Once the paws are clean, we should apply a fifty-fifty solution of water and iodine to them (iodine is sold at pharmacies).

We'll apply this solution a couple of times a day, for as many days as needed until its paws heal. Needless to say, in the meantime it's completely inadvisable to go for walks when the ground is hot, limiting walks to early morning and/or nighttime.

If the burns don't heal, are too severe, and/or we notice infection, it will be absolutely necessary to see a vet to start specific treatment with antibiotics.