Pedal skin disease in dogs Part 1: Common problems

Abstract

Skin diseases affecting the feet are a common reason for veterinary attention and in many cases physical insults to the pads, nails and interdigital skin can be readily identified as the cause. Non-traumatic disease, the focus of these articles, is common and often can be explained or is complicated by the foot’s intimate contact with the environment, the presence of specialised structures and the intertriginous nature of the interdigital spaces. Part 1 of this article describes the more common causes of disease including infectious, parasitic and allergic causes (see Table 1). In the second part the less common congenital/hereditary, auto-immune and neoplastic causes of disease are described.