gravel rash on Penny's front paws

I've discovered that two other dogs who were with us on our long walk at Marysville also have sore front paws.

In one way, it's a relief to know, because now I can rule out other possibilities about Penny's sore feet. I've looked on the internet to see what other people do for these types of injuries and there's lots of information.

One site mentions treating the sore places with Neosporin. I don't know that medication, but discovered it's an antibiotic cream available in the US. An article at Wikipedia - which I don't completely trust - says it might be better not to used antibiotics like this, because there's no evidence they speed healing, and they may promote the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The article suggests using simple petroleum jelly (which we have at home and which a more experienced dog-owner already told me should do the job). On the other hand, I'm not fond of medications that are by-products of the oil industy.  Here's a little snippet about Vaseline brand of petroleum jelly:

Chesebrough originally promoted Vaseline primarily as an ointment for scrapes, burns, and cuts, but studies have shown that Vaseline has no medicinal effect nor any effect on the blistering process, nor is it absorbed by the skin.
Vaseline brand First Aid Petroleum Jelly, or carbolated petroleum jelly containing phenol to give the jelly additional antibacterial effect, has been discontinued. During World War II, a variety of petroleum jelly called red veterinary petrolatum, or Red Vet Pet for short, was often included in life raft survival kits. Acting as a sunscreen, it provides protection againstultraviolet rays.^[4]Petroleum jelly's effectiveness in accelerating wound healing stems from its sealing effect on cuts and burns, which inhibits germs from getting into the wound and keeps the injured area supple by preventing the skin's moisture from evaporating.

If Penny's not very much better tomorrow I might try the petroleum jelly. Of course, if she's really sore, we'll go to the vet. But I don't think that's necessary, because already it's healing well.

I might put some aloe vera gel on it. (We have the plant growing in our garden.)

Here's a little bit about aloe vera:

There are a few homeopathic remedies for minor soreness and injuries. A soak of diluted salt water can help with soreness and small cuts or abrasions. The salt has antiseptic properties.
Aloe Vera and tea tree oil are other good homeopathic options. Aloe Vera is safe for dogs to lick and may be applied directly to the paw. It soothes and heals, and contains anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-septic properties. If using a store bought gel, make sure the gel contains 100% Aloe Vera. If it does not, the gel may contain additives that are not safe for the dog to ingest.   

Note this quote doesn't say tea tree oil is safe for dogs to lick!! As far as I know it is dangerous.  


The other possibility is to put manuka honey on it, but the thought of stopping Penny licking it off daunts me.

Another site I found useful is this short video by a vet on care of dogs' paw pads.

Penny's sore paws

The day after our big walk at Marysville, Penny refused to go for a walk along the Yarra at Warburton, one of  her favorite places, so I popped her back into the car and went home to investigate.

To my dismay I realised that both her front paws were raw and weeping on the pads. What could have happened? I'm still mystified. I wonder if she might have rubbed them raw on the new gravel path to Steavenson Falls? Or perhaps she skinned them on the grid she walked over.

But if that were the case, surely the other dogs would also have sore paws, and I haven't heard that they do.

Perhaps her feet were hurting and Penny licked them raw. We have noticed her licking her feet recently (before that walk).

I bandaged the paws

and settled down near Penny with a good novel - a great read, actually. It was The Devil You Know, by Mike Carey. In that way I could sit watching her and constantly check she was not licking the bandages and making them wet. What a great excuse to do nothing but read!

Of course it was raining. It always seems to be raining when Penny has problems with her paws. Hmm...is this a clue? So she had to put up with plastic bags taped over her bandaged paws when she went out for a wee before sleep that night.

Two  days later she seems to be recovering. I've bathed the paws in Epsom salts twice daily for about five minutes. I'd take a photo now to show how the skin in healing over, but I don't want to draw her attention to her feet, because she would then start licking once agin.

I looked at many sites before using the Epsom salts, and thought this one had a good overview:

Epsom salt baths can help in several ways. Not only has salt and salt water been used as an extremely effective anti-bacterial agent for thousands of years, as evidenced by salted foods, many breeds, such as Labrador retrievers were bred to spend their days standing in salt water, helping to bring in fishing nets. Epsom salts contain not only sodium chloride, but potassium and nitrates that can aid in restoring the natural balance of bacteria on a dog’s skin. Salt can also raise the pH level of your dog’s skin, which may help regulate normal bacterial ratios. Regardless of the reason, a warm saltwater bath soothes the itch, helps disinfect the area and is a fun experience for dog and owner alike. Don’t rinse your dog’s feet after her bath. Let her lick the salt off or gently pat dry her paws. And don’t get any in her eyes.

So, no big walks for a while. Penny seems to be happy to lie around at the moment. She even takes some convincing to go down the back steps to have a wee.

Walking from Marysville to Steavenson Falls

Penny and her doggie friends had a long walk from Marysville on Sunday. After the awful destruction of the Black Saturday fires, the community is slowly recovering, and the tracks around the town have been remade.



It's good to see that dogs are allowed to walk on the new paths, all the way to Steavenson Falls.

The new growth is green and lovely, and we saw a baby kangaroo apple plant, with its leaves that look like a kangaroo footprint,

Penny appeared to be having lots of fun and walked jauntily along with her 'pack', although she wasn't too happy to walk across this grid. But she bravely made it across.

In the township we saw some lovely autumn foliage, presumably on the few trees that weren't incinerated in the fires in 2009. (But maybe this tree is only four years old and was planted after the fire.)

On the drive across the mountains to the Upper Yarra Valley, it was disturbing to drive for kilometre after kilometre through burnt-out forests. I knew the fires were extensive, but to travel for an hour through blackened, dead trees is a strange and disturbing experience, even if the new, green growth points to a brighter future.

alfie dog publishing is named after a real dog

Finally I have discovered how Alfie Dog publishing got its name.

The website says it is named after their

patron, writer and family pet, Alfie Dog, who has written his diary as a highly successful blog since 2006. The smiling dog logo is in honour of this happy animal.

That's a year longer than Penny has been blogging! I'll have to keep an eye on Alfie's adventures. 

gallant dogs in war

I recently read in The Age newspaper about the painting by Peter Wegner that won this year's Gallipoli Art Prize. It portrays a dog wearing a gas mask. The report says:

Wegner's Dog With Gas Mask recalls the era when dogs were fitted with specially fitted gas masks and sent to search for wounded soldiers on the battlefields of World War I.

The article mentioned a dog called Judy who was held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese after she helped rescue the crew of HMS Grasshopper, sunk in World War II.

That seemed like an amazing story, so I looked around for more information. Amazing sure is the word for the exploits of Judy the pure-bred liver-and-white English pointer.

I was fascinated to find a copy of a magazine from 1975 with an article about Judy. I loved this magazine when I was young! It was called Look and Learn.

Judy is buried in Tanganyika.

Birds in Warringal Parklands are used to dogs

After scaring myself that Penny might nibble some rabbit droppings along The Plenty River Trail yesterday, I moved her walk to our old favorite, Warringal Parklands. We had our usual fun, with lots of walking and swimming, but the difference on this walk was the number of birds we saw.

Do you know that feeling that someone is watching you?

Well, in this park they are!

(Sometimes from behind a blade of grass.) 

A big flock of ducks was munching on grass, and disobligingly flew off when I crept closer to take a photo of them, but when we came back from Penny's swim in the Yarra, they were back in the same place. 

I left them in peace this time, because I knew I couldn't get a photo in focus with my little point-and-shoot camera. Here's the one of them leaving previously:

The various birds that live in the parklands don't seem to care about dogs. They simply fly into the air, circle and land in the same place a couple of minutes after we pass by. 

Here: 

Gone: 

Back again: 

Penny found the birds quite boring. She would rather eat some grass.

who is Alfie the dog?

I've just added a new blog to my list of must-reads. It's called Alfie Dog and it seems to be a great place to download single short stories.

I wonder why it's called after a dog?

While I was rummaging through the site, trying to find the answer to that question (which I didn't find), I discovered there is an offer of a free download of seven stories. I'll go over there and get the stories after I finish writing this post.

And as to why I'm sort of off-topic for Penny's blog... it's  because I'm expecting one of my short stories to be published there soon! Of course there's a dog in my story - but it's not Penny.

I'll have to try to think of a story featuring Penny. But it wouldn't be a whole book, as Hsin-Yi is doing about Honey the Great Dane.