08/31/2026
A worthwhile read.
FEET FIRST – TODAY OUR BREED EXPERT Carol Price looks at how important healthy feet are to dogs
It’s incredible how often we take our dogs’ feet for granted – including paw pads and claws – when they are such vital parts of their anatomy. The famous 18th century proverb ‘no foot no horse’ emphasised the link between hoof health and wider equine wellbeing, and it is much the same for dogs. Especially working ones or those involved in canine competition. If their feet aren’t working well, then nor are they.
Good feet in Border collies, like most dogs, tend to result from a combination of good basic genetic design and optimum owner care of them. Some feet are just not that well designed. They may be too big, or more gappy toed, or there is not enough basic arching or ‘spring’ in the foot bones and toes. And all these things may affect how a dog moves or how prone they may be to injuries or later arthritis. Which is why people who breed Border collies for more active purposes take good feet in a dog so seriously, as I also do myself.
GOOD CARE
Even if your dog does not have more perfectly designed feet, there is still much you can do to keep them in best condition. This begins with ensuring their nails – including dew claws – are always kept short and smoothly rounded off at the ends. If a dog’s nails are too long it can begin to affect the whole way they walk, or spread weight more evenly throughout their feet. And dews claws may start growing inwards, and then digging into the leg – a particular problem in older dogs.
Claws that are not kept shorter and smoother can also be more likely to crack or split open, which can be very painful for dogs.
Every day it is worth just checking over all your dog’s nails to see there are no cracks or breaks in them. It can also be an idea to keep a silver nitrate pencil or stick in your first aid cabinet (available from many suppliers online) to cauterise any cracks or splits you see to stop them bleeding or becoming infected.
Also check all the gaps or ‘webbing’ between a dog’s toes and paw pads to see there are no stones, splinters, thorns, seeds, bits of grit or hardened mud (or ice, in winter), any or all of which can be painful for your dog to walk on. Sharper foreign bodies, like grass seeds or thorns, if not promptly removed, can also lead on to more serious infections if they pierce deeper into the skin.
PAW PADS
A dog’s paw pads are basically their first line of defence, when meeting the external environment, and moving their bodies across all manner of different terrains and in all manner of different weather conditions. Which is why they have to be so tough – but they can still be harmed. Especially by sharper objects. Sometimes I have seen dogs allowed to run over rocks at the beach come back with their feet bleeding and shredded to ribbons. Not even due to the rocks themselves, but the incredibly sharp mussel shells stuck tightly to their surfaces.
Hotter tarmac and pavements can burn dogs’ feet in higher temperatures, and in winter their feet may get damaged by colder temperatures or different chemicals and grit put on pavements and roads. So in more extreme conditions like these your dog may need some form of protective boot to protect their feet.
MORE VULNERABLE AREAS
Due to their mixed pigmentation as dogs, collies may often have paw pads that are partly pink and partly black, just as they may have white and black claws. And just as whiter claws will always be more vulnerable to breaking, the pinker parts of the paw pad will always be more sensitive and vulnerable to damage. If a dog has done a lot of running and skidding about, sometimes they can even blister or look like the skin has been worn off the surface. So all these things should be checked regularly to prevent even greater damage – or infection – occurring.
If your dog has particularly dry paw pads, it may be worth putting some kind of paw balm or wax on them (again available online).
CHEWING OR LICKING PAWS
More constantly licking a foot can often be the first outward sign that it is causing your dog a degree of discomfort or pain and needs further investigation. In older dogs, the cause of this behaviour may simply be arthritis.
If you notice a lot of pink or red-brownish staining on your dog’s feet or between the paw pads, this is generally a sign that they have been licking them a lot, even if you have not seen them doing it. The pink, or red-brownish colouring occurs when dog saliva oxidises, after making contact with their fur - and the same can happen with tear stains.
OTHER REASONS COLLIES LICK THEIR FEET
Injury or ailments like arthritis apart, there are a number of other reasons why collies may start licking their paws and feet, including some sort of allergy or irritant - like sand or grass seeds or harvest mites (commoner around late summer/autumn). So it is worth always checking your dog's feet for these things after walks and removing them or washing them out, or treating the harvest mites with a suitable medication if you see them - they look like small orange dots and typically lodge between a dog's toes.
If a dog's feet stay damp or wet for any length of time this can also encourage some sort of yeast or fungal infection to develop - again, typically between the toes or pads - which will also require suitable treatment. Also ensure to always dry your dog's feet out thoroughly if they get wet and are prone to these types of infection.
STRESS LICKING
Sometimes paw licking develops more into a stress or boredom reliever, as the action of licking releases the feelgood Dopamine hormone into the dog's brain - and this is what can also make the habit become ever more compulsive.
Many dogs can also become 'secret lickers' - i.e. only licking their paws when an owner is not around, as they know they will probably try to stop them doing it. Sometimes this licking can become so obsessive or compulsive that the dog begins to do themselves seriously injury. At which point you may need to put a basket-type muzzle on them, if only to break the cycle of behaviour. Which it usually does, eventually. It is not ideal, but nor is seeing a dog gnaw their skin down to the bone.
Another reason for wanting to avoid any type of foot or paw injury in your dog is because they can often take a long time to heal or can be prone to other complications, like infection, if not kept scrupulously clean. Collies can also be pretty bad at keeping any kind of bandage on their feet for any length of time. Having a paw injury means, additionally, that they might not be able to go out or do much exercise for a while, and we all know how much fun that can be to live with.
All text © Carol Price 2026
Pic: Len Komanac's Juno
