My 12yr tricolor aussie mix has been getting irritated paws from the pavement lately.
*you don't need to read this. its just a bit of background*
Call us horrible owners, but we've never taken her out for walks, until around may this year. Reason being, I was too young to walk her by myself when we got her. My parents were also more focused on just house and potty training her. Because of that, she became aggressive towards strangers. She never chewed anything(maybe one of my toys, but thats pretty much it) and only got anxious if we left her alone too long. then a few years ago she got into a habit nearly as bad as chewing-licking. she licked her feet so much she'd lose fur in certain areas. she'd constantly lick the floor, her bed, her chair, the couch, my dad's bed, etc. The only way we stopped this/had her take it down a notch, was walking. We only took her out on night walks, and she did very well. then about two or so weeks ago, we took her out in the day time for the very first time. Not sure why, but she did a lot better than my nephew's dog, who gets lots of exercise and walks. She didn't bark at one person or go after another dog.
but on to the real problem. about a week or two ago, i've noticed that inbetween her toes looked similar to this dog(sorry i can't get photos of her. I will try tomorrow)
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt317/dtcary/0201002008.jpg
but not that much. it was just mostly her back feet.
i dont know if this means anything, but since she was maybe two or three years old, maybe a little older, the bottom of her feet have always been red. Well, the white parts of her fur any way. Not a deep red, light and faint but noticable.
So what I'm asking is, is there anything to recommend? Vet isn't an option, according to my mother. She won't even talk to me about it. I'm also looking for booties. I've seen Ultra Paws, but their booties seem to have mixed reviews. There is one place where I can have her on the leash with lots of grass, but I still feel that it isn't enough for her, you know?
*you don't need to read this. its just a bit of background*
Call us horrible owners, but we've never taken her out for walks, until around may this year. Reason being, I was too young to walk her by myself when we got her. My parents were also more focused on just house and potty training her. Because of that, she became aggressive towards strangers. She never chewed anything(maybe one of my toys, but thats pretty much it) and only got anxious if we left her alone too long. then a few years ago she got into a habit nearly as bad as chewing-licking. she licked her feet so much she'd lose fur in certain areas. she'd constantly lick the floor, her bed, her chair, the couch, my dad's bed, etc. The only way we stopped this/had her take it down a notch, was walking. We only took her out on night walks, and she did very well. then about two or so weeks ago, we took her out in the day time for the very first time. Not sure why, but she did a lot better than my nephew's dog, who gets lots of exercise and walks. She didn't bark at one person or go after another dog.
but on to the real problem. about a week or two ago, i've noticed that inbetween her toes looked similar to this dog(sorry i can't get photos of her. I will try tomorrow)
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt317/dtcary/0201002008.jpg
but not that much. it was just mostly her back feet.
i dont know if this means anything, but since she was maybe two or three years old, maybe a little older, the bottom of her feet have always been red. Well, the white parts of her fur any way. Not a deep red, light and faint but noticable.
So what I'm asking is, is there anything to recommend? Vet isn't an option, according to my mother. She won't even talk to me about it. I'm also looking for booties. I've seen Ultra Paws, but their booties seem to have mixed reviews. There is one place where I can have her on the leash with lots of grass, but I still feel that it isn't enough for her, you know?
