Should I Worry About Overgrowth on Foot Pads?

Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:07:45 +0000

Chessy’s mommy here. I was just trimming
Chessy’s nails (something he loves oooohhhh so
much, NOT) and noticed on one of his paw pads a
growth of some kind.

It is the same color and
texture as his paw, but the shape is almost like
another nail growing out of his paw. It doesn’t
seem to hurt him when I touched it, but it is new.
I know it wasnt there the last time I trimmed his
nails (about a month ago).

He is eating, playing,
acting fine. I had him at the vet a week ago for
his rabies shot and the vet found nothing wrong
with him.

I tried googling it and found some people
mentioning similar things but no one seemed to
know what exactly it was. Is this something
common?

Of course I am freaking out over it.

P
Eagan, MN

Based on your description, I think there is no need to freak out. The types of growths that you describe are very common, and they generally are harmless.

I suspect that your dog has developed an area of overgrowth on his foot pad. These areas are similar to calluses or corns that people develop on their feet. They consist of thick, firm protrusions from the foot pad. Sometimes the growths resemble toe nails growing from the foot pad. In other cases, areas of pad overgrowth may be feathery and softer.

Some cases of foot pad overgrowth occur in response to irritation or trauma to the pad. Other dogs appear to have a hereditary tendency to develop the growths.

Of course, there is a remote chance that something more serious is going on. So, and I’ll bet you saw this coming, I’d recommend that you have your vet take a special look at the area of interest. If foot pad overgrowth is occurring, the vet may be able to trim the excess tissue back to make the pad’s appearance more normal.

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Should I Worry About Overgrowth on Foot Pads?