[Frida010]

I take my V to the office 3 times a week. I’m on bicycle, she trots next to me. It’s a 20 min run on concrete. Recently I’ve noticed that her footpads are getting thin. She doesn’t show any signs of being uncomfortable. I’ve read that pads toughen up by themselves and most of the paw wax and spray solutions are mostly aimed at cracked paws. I do spray her paws when it’s snowing or when it’s very hot but I’m not sure if anything really protects the pads. Boots are definitely a no, she is VERY sensitive to anything she has to wear and I want her to be able to pay attention to the busy traffic.

Any tips for thin footpads? Should I protect them, or just wait till they thicken up?

 

[Frida010]

Glad I checked in with forum on this thanks! I have ordered some extra wax, will take public transport for a while and I decided to give boots a try.

 

[Frida010]

@Frida010, keep in mind those three times weekly runs have probably become "important" to your v-girl.

I wouldn't totally deprive her of what became normal to her and is beneficial to her, for any more than a week. She wasn't injured and showed no sign of discomfort. Just a little over worn.

I think you're going to find it surprising, how fast her pads regenerate. Get her back out there, next week, for a run to work and back.

I'd also like to point out, from your image above, wear is predominantly on her front two toes. Suggestive to me, the greatest wearing of her pads is occurring during acceleration (when friction would be at its greatest). What are the odds, you do a fair amount of starting and stopping, on the trek to and from work?

I actually thought exactly the same I can’t take public transport every time. She still needs her exercise before checking in to the office. So I bought boots and I’ll try to slowly introduce those to her in the coming weeks. I actually booked daycare one day extra next week, and we can walk one day instead of bike too. I used to do that when she was younger. Just takes me a little longer, but it’s also a good exercise for me.

About the wearing, her back footpads look the same. There is quite a lot of starting and stopping as we live in the city center and we encounter many traffic lights. In the Netherlands we have separate bike lanes so it’s a safe run but very busy. When it’s less busy I sometimes let her run fast. That could also have caused them to wear out faster than just a normal trot.