EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I have a Walker X BMC gyp that is showing some promise but she runs her pads off every time we go out. She is almost a year now and I have been hoping she would grow out of it by spending more time in the woods.

Has anyone had pads harden up after a year?

I can’t own a dog with soft feet... I hunt from horseback and routinely cover 10-15 miles on a hunt. I have 5 other pups that are showing well so I’m not really hurting for pups but she is dripping with energy and trying hard so I want to give her every opportunity.

does she have pink pads? pink pads can be an ongoing problem...

Part of them but some all black toes are rubbing off as well.

I know what I would say if someone asked me this question... I’m kinda in denial here…
She lives on cement and 5 other pups 3 months younger aren’t missing a bit after being on the same hunt the same hunt today.

  start using the mushers cream or a product called tuff foot on the pup to harden them up  .

I’ve had a finished dog that I was willing to apply all that pad treatment to on a daily basis because she the best I had (she’s a retired house pet now). But I still couldn’t hunt her every go and if I missed a few days it showed. I’ve never scene any treatments ever “fix” anything they only helped and just barely… lol I have a buddy that runs walker dogs and he swears he has more luck putting duct type on pads than any mineral ointment. 

Halfbreed - will they toughen up enough to not have to use that stuff everyday? It’s an unproven gyp I would just assume find her a short-range hunting kennel or pet home ratter than deal with that for years again.

  the tuff foot is supposed to create a hard calloused pad that shouldn't have to be treated daily . I haven't had that problem in years . don't remember just how long the treatment last  .

Use tuff-foot to heal and toughen the foot then put shingles in her kennel where she will have to walk across them. It may help but then again she may just have weak pads.

 Bad feet, to me, is a major fault and a dog that runs its pads off on every hunt won't ever be of much use. Without a good set of wheels they can't perform at a high level.

I agree...

Bad feet, to me, is a major fault and a dog that runs its pads off on every hunt won't ever be of much use. Without a good set of wheels they can't perform at a high level.

I agree...

x 3

A lot of dogs feet will toughen up with hunting. But some dogs have a ongoing problem with tearing the pads up. To me, it is not worth it & I would never breed to a dog with bad feet.

I agree with all of the above but my question is.


Has anyone had (soft) pads harden up after a year old? (Without pad ointment)

 If the dogs pads are that bad at a year, they may get a little better but IMO they will allways be a problem.

Sore footed-ness is a problem in western areas here as the groundcover is almost all prickles...I run my dogs beside my pushbike 3-4 times per week on a gravel road and that helps but if we hunt 4-5 days all of them are still sorefooted...

Like anything its a form of conditioning....if you do it all the time the foot adjusts over time...its just something that we have to manage around as we don't live in that country....we hunt 2-3 dogs at a time and rest the others as much as we can