Why Your Dog's Paws Need Extra Love in Summer

We spend a lot of time thinking about keeping our dogs cool in summer. Water on hot days, early morning walks, shade in the garden. All of that is important. But there is one part of your dog that is in direct contact with the summer ground every single time they go outside, and it tends to get overlooked: their paws.

A dog's paw pads are remarkable things. They are thick, tough, and designed to handle a huge variety of surfaces. But summer brings together a set of hazards that can overwhelm even the most well-conditioned pads. Tarmac that has been absorbing heat all day. Salt water that dries the skin after a beach visit. Sand that works like fine sandpaper between the toes. Nettles, thistles, and grass seeds hidden in the long summer grass on country walks.

The good news is that paw care does not have to be complicated. Here is what to look out for and what to do about it.

This is the one most people have heard of, but it still catches owners out every summer.

Tarmac and paving stones absorb heat throughout the day and continue radiating it for hours after the sun has moved on. On a day when the air temperature is 25°C, a dark tarmac surface can reach 50°C or higher. That is hot enough to cause burns within a few minutes of contact.

The problem is that dogs do not always show pain in the way you might expect. Many dogs will keep walking on hot pavement without obviously limping, either because they are too excited about the walk to register the discomfort, or because the damage is happening gradually.

How to check: Place the back of your hand flat on the pavement and hold it there for five to seven seconds. If you cannot hold it there comfortably, it is too hot for your dog's paws.

Signs of burned pads:

• Limping or favouring a paw during or after a walk

• Excessive licking of the paws when back home
  

• Pads that look darker than usual, red, or blistered

• Pads that feel rough or that have patches of skin lifting away

• Whimpering or reluctance to put weight on a paw

If you suspect burns, bring your dog inside, cool the pads gently with room temperature water (not ice cold), and contact your vet. Do not let them walk on hot surfaces again until the pads have healed fully.

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Prevention:

• Walk in the early morning before the ground has heated up, or in the evening once it has cooled down

• Stick to grass, earth, or shaded paths where possible during the hottest parts of the day

• Build up pad toughness gradually over the summer rather than jumping straight into long warm walks

• Consider paw wax products, which create a protective layer on the pad surface, for unavoidable pavement walks

A beach trip is brilliant for most dogs, but the coastal environment is surprisingly hard on paw pads over the course of a full day.

Salt water draws moisture out of the skin. After hours of paddling in and out of the sea, paw pads can become dry, tight, and more prone to cracking. The salt residue that dries on the pads between swims compounds this, continuing to dry the skin even after your dog has come out of the water. Dogs that lick their paws to remove the salty taste are also repeatedly exposing the skin to salt from the inside, which worsens the dryness.

Sand is essentially a fine abrasive. Between the toes, where the skin is softer and more sensitive, sand acts like sandpaper as the dog walks and runs. On a busy beach day with lots of fetching and sprinting, this friction can cause soreness and rawness in the webbing between the toes. Long grass near the shore brings the added risk of grass seeds, covered in more detail in our guide to summer grass seed hazards.

What to do after a beach visit:

• Rinse all four paws thoroughly with clean fresh water before heading home

• Pay particular attention to between the toes, where salt and sand collect and irritate

• Pat dry rather than rubbing, which can aggravate already-sensitive skin

• Check between each toe carefully for any embedded sand, grass seeds, or small cuts

Trail walking in summer is wonderful, but long summer grass hides a few things worth knowing about.

Stinging nettles tend to cluster along path edges, at field boundaries, and in hedgerows, exactly the places dogs like to explore. A dog stung by a nettle on the paw will often yelp suddenly, hold the paw up, or begin licking it intensely. The sting is painful but usually short-lived.

Cool fresh water applied to the paw helps soothe the sting. Avoid rubbing the area or pressing dock leaves directly onto broken skin. Most nettle stings resolve within 20 to 30 minutes, but if swelling persists or your dog is in significant distress, contact your vet.

Thistles and thorns can puncture the pad or embed in the soft skin between the toes. A thorn that goes in far enough can work its way deeper if left, similar to the grass seed problem. Always check paws after a walk through rough vegetation and look for any small entry points, swelling, or areas your dog is focused on licking.

Rough ground and dry earth can cause more wear on pads than owners expect. In summer, footpaths that are soft and forgiving in spring become baked hard and occasionally cracked. This uneven, hard surface increases the mechanical stress on pads over a long walk. If your dog is doing significantly more walking than usual this summer, watch for signs of pad soreness in the days that follow.

Rinsing your dog's paws after every summer walk is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do for their paw health. It takes about 60 seconds and removes salt, sand, pollen, dust, fertilisers, herbicides from treated paths, and any other residue that has accumulated on the pad surface and between the toes.

This matters for two reasons. First, residues left on the paws are often ingested when the dog grooms themselves, and some, particularly chemical treatments on grass and pavements, are worth removing promptly. Second, many of the things that dry and irritate the pads do their damage after the walk, sitting on the skin and continuing to work while your dog rests. Rinsing breaks that cycle.

How to build the habit:

• Keep a shallow tub, a watering can with a gentle rose head, or a dedicated paw cleaning cup next to the door

• Use cool to lukewarm water, never cold or hot

• Work between each toe as well as over the pad itself

• Pat dry with a towel before letting your dog come inside

• If your dog is resistant to having their paws handled, build positive associations with treats during the rinse, the more relaxed they are about it, the quicker it becomes

After rinsing, take a moment to check the pads and between the toes. You are looking for any redness, swelling, cracks, embedded debris, or areas your dog reacts to when touched. The rinse routine gives you a daily window to catch problems early, before they become harder to manage.

Paw pads are skin, and like all skin, their condition is influenced by what your dog is eating. Two fatty acids in particular, omega-3 and omega-6, play a direct role in keeping skin supple, maintaining moisture retention, and supporting the repair of small cracks and abrasions.

When these fatty acids are well represented in the diet, the skin barrier is more resilient. Pads stay more flexible and are less likely to crack under the mechanical stress of summer walking. When they do get dry or slightly damaged, a well-nourished skin barrier also recovers faster.

Most minor paw pad issues respond well to rest, rinsing, and nutritional support. But some situations need professional attention:

• A pad that is blistered, bleeding, or has a large area of skin lifted away

• Swelling between the toes that does not reduce within 24 hours

• Your dog is consistently lame or refusing to put weight on a paw

• An entry wound that looks infected, is warm, or is producing discharge

• A foreign body (thorn, seed, or splinter) that you cannot clearly see and remove safely

• Nettle sting swelling that does not reduce after 30 to 40 minutes, or any sign of allergic reaction

If in doubt, always call your vet rather than waiting to see if it resolves.