Hairy feet
Reilly is not an NK, but I am running this by you guys as my beloved dog community of smart people 
She will turn ten years old next month, and she's a mixed breed dog- we figure greyhound-something (GSD, lab, something mastiffy? we'll never know..). She has a mid length coat- (say labrador hair length but not labrador coat density)- and very little if any undercoat, she has no furnishings of long fanciness anywhere. Her tail has a little bit of fringe. She doesnt shed much, she doesnt flake, her coat is soft and in good condition, she eats a variety of good eats from high protein kibbles to raw. I have her on high protein food because when i have her on lower protein food she seems to look gaunt and thin. She get supplements of various types, sometimes fish oil, sometimes missing link...sometimes nothing.
She suffered allergies when she was much much younger and I was a new dog owner- so I fed her no corn or wheat (no cheap crap dog food). These allergies manifested in her ears (yeasty) and in between her foot pads, which would get hot and red and she'd lick and chew them. The ear infections went away forever on the food change but she still had bothersome feet from time to time, seasonally but sometimes even in winter. She hasnt now in a while, but not longer than I think she's gone before...but this winter for the first time ever, she is growing long white hair in between her pads. I can imagine its because her feet are not bothering her anymore and she isnt chewing and licking them so much- but its really LONG! Im thinking I should trim it?
She gets the same exercise as the kai kens, long hikes in the woods- at the moment on snow and ice, but she is not getting snowballs in this fur- so its not her lack of foot travel. She has always been well exercised. We have lived here for three years and nothing in the environment has changed. We have no pavement here, but if its simply the lack of pavement then i woudl think her fur woudl grow in last winter too. I change her food up a lot but all winter she has been eating Innova- maybe it really suits her and her fur can finally grow like crazy (though the rest of her coat is unaffected, so maybe not.)
it could be-
-she's old and old dogs grow lots of long hair in their feet?
-her diet really suits her right now and her feet allergy presentation is so low that she can finally grow the foot fur she would have been growing all along?
- suddenly growing long off color fur in new places is a sign of some systemic malfunction?
Anyone ever see such a strong change in feet? If I trim it, what's the best way to do that? scissors? and shoudl I just cut it level with her pads so shes just not stepping on it?
She will turn ten years old next month, and she's a mixed breed dog- we figure greyhound-something (GSD, lab, something mastiffy? we'll never know..). She has a mid length coat- (say labrador hair length but not labrador coat density)- and very little if any undercoat, she has no furnishings of long fanciness anywhere. Her tail has a little bit of fringe. She doesnt shed much, she doesnt flake, her coat is soft and in good condition, she eats a variety of good eats from high protein kibbles to raw. I have her on high protein food because when i have her on lower protein food she seems to look gaunt and thin. She get supplements of various types, sometimes fish oil, sometimes missing link...sometimes nothing.
She suffered allergies when she was much much younger and I was a new dog owner- so I fed her no corn or wheat (no cheap crap dog food). These allergies manifested in her ears (yeasty) and in between her foot pads, which would get hot and red and she'd lick and chew them. The ear infections went away forever on the food change but she still had bothersome feet from time to time, seasonally but sometimes even in winter. She hasnt now in a while, but not longer than I think she's gone before...but this winter for the first time ever, she is growing long white hair in between her pads. I can imagine its because her feet are not bothering her anymore and she isnt chewing and licking them so much- but its really LONG! Im thinking I should trim it?
She gets the same exercise as the kai kens, long hikes in the woods- at the moment on snow and ice, but she is not getting snowballs in this fur- so its not her lack of foot travel. She has always been well exercised. We have lived here for three years and nothing in the environment has changed. We have no pavement here, but if its simply the lack of pavement then i woudl think her fur woudl grow in last winter too. I change her food up a lot but all winter she has been eating Innova- maybe it really suits her and her fur can finally grow like crazy (though the rest of her coat is unaffected, so maybe not.)
it could be-
-she's old and old dogs grow lots of long hair in their feet?
-her diet really suits her right now and her feet allergy presentation is so low that she can finally grow the foot fur she would have been growing all along?
- suddenly growing long off color fur in new places is a sign of some systemic malfunction?
Anyone ever see such a strong change in feet? If I trim it, what's the best way to do that? scissors? and shoudl I just cut it level with her pads so shes just not stepping on it?
Comments
I'd trim it (I normally do with the nail trimmers when I'm cutting London's nails) to prevent slippage or any future discomfort, but I don't think it's a sign of anything bad. At least... that's been my experience.
I never trimmed it, but since you are planning to you may also want to grab a comb. The comb can work as a safety barrier to help prevent accidentally cutting pad or skin. Just basically put the comb through the hairs and keep it between the flesh and scissors.