Fur on bottom of Paws

[forkin14]

So this may seem a little stupid but I always wondered if the fur on the underside of a dog's paws is supposed to be trimmed? Cadence's is not long, but the fur is between each "toe" and extends just a little bit past her "toe" pads (are there specific names for those? lol).

[emmabeth]

You can trim it if it poses a problem. Some dogs have it and some dont, usually those who are breeds from snowy/icey countries have it.. it provides more grip than pad does alone.

However in other places such as those with wet claggy snow (like the UK) rather than the very dry super cold snow, or muddy places... it can cause horrid painful little balls and mats of mud or snow between the pads.

Errol has extremely hairy feet which is typical of his breed, unfortunately on many surfaces (ie most all surfaces except grass and dry hard packed snow/ice) he has very little grip because of it, on my hard floors, his feet slither out from under him when he sits.

I wait for him to be sleeping on his back with his legs in the air, and then trim the fluffy feet fuzz flat level with his pads and this tends to stop him getting mats and gives him more traction on the floor.

If your dogs fluffy feet fuzz doesnt seem to be causing a problem you can leave it alone, if you want to remove it... try doing just the front feet and see if everything remains fine, as you might find that actually it IS performing some useful function (might be keeping dirt out from between teh pads).

[Blappy1215]

I have a shih tzu that I have to trim the fur on his feet because it will just grow over his pads and he can't get traction on any surface.

[Gemsbok]

In long-haired breeds like shih-tzu's, foot fur can also be a problem as it can wrap around the toes/claws and be very painful and even obstruct circulation. I always trim it down, but then my dogs are very fuzzy shih-tzu's

[Chance1214]

yea my dogs a wheaten terrier and his gets long as well and here in CT our snow has been so ridiculous this winter as my dog loves it i havent love cleaning him off hah but ya know necessary ive been clipping the hair on his pads as well it gets long and the snow i still have to clean out from between his paw pads but it doesnt hang off his paws atleast just to ease his uncomfort a bit when hes out there!!
plus his paws get quite itchy and he pulls on it -- allergies

[Blappy1215]

In long-haired breeds like shih-tzu's, foot fur can also be a problem as it can wrap around the toes/claws and be very painful and even obstruct circulation. I always trim it down, but then my dogs are very fuzzy shih-tzu's

yeah I have hard wood floors poor cooper just slides everywhere when he is playing, the joys of being a shih-tzu I did not realize that it could obstruct his circulation I always trim it anyway but it is good know that.

[KirstyLouise]

It depends on the breed of dog, in certain breeds it is a must for the fur between the pads to be trimmed and also to be washed and massaged with shampoo. I am currently training as a dog groomer and see alot of dogs with a build up of dirt in the pads of there feet, if not washed and massaged with shampoo they can develop knots and it becomes very hard to cut out and is very uncomfortable for your dog. I advise you to ask your dog groomer or research your dog breed to find out

[Eider]

yup, you cut it off, our golden also has there and we have to cut, if not he'd slide everywhere. dogs with short hair don't have that problem