Hurt puppy

Question
I have a 9 month old female Siberian husky, Alaskan malamute, with a dash of wolf. I have a hard time walking her and walking her enough, so I have begun to run her on the dirt roads, until today, for only short sprints. Today I took her for a 20 minute run at about 12 km. I noticed her really slowing down and when I seen her paws there was blood. Now each paw was bleeding from different spots but each place was on her pads. On her one back paw, the biggest pad has a piece about to fall off. The piece is like the tip of our finger. On another paw It seems the blood was between the back of her nail and pad. The other front paw also has a pad that is cut open. I don't understand why she was so injured. I know many people who run their dogs on dirt roads. On the one paw I described where the blood was between her nail and pad I do think that because her nails were so long maybe it injured her in the run, now her nails have been worn down.
I appreciate your help.

Answer
Hi Andria,

Perhaps being a puppy, her pads didn't have enough callus built up to protect her pads.
The footpads contain a great number of blood vessels, so even a superficial paw cut can result in what seems like a serious amount of bleeding. The bleeding should stop relatively soon, if it doesn't, then contact your vet.

This web page will tell you how to clean your dog's injured paws:

http://dog-care.suite101.com/article.cfm/healing_your_dogs_paw_pad_injury

If you can't get a bandage to stay on, try using clean white cotton socks on your dog. You can tape the top of the socks (around the sock, not on your dog's leg) so it will be hard for her to pull off (but not too tight that it cuts off circulation!)
Change the bandages daily. Try to keep the dog off his feet as much as possible. Paw sores can be quite painful and are prone to infection.

You will want to prevent your dog from licking and chewing at the bandage/socks. A good way to do this is to put an Elizabethan collar. Here are directions for making an "E-collar":
http://lowchensaustralia.com/health/elizabethan.htm

With deep paw lacerations, I'd recommend you take your dog to your vet for treatment. She may need antibiotics and possibly pain killers. If the wounds aren't deep, they should heel within a few days; if they don't show signs of improving, or if you are unsure how to carry on treating the wounds, contact your vet.

In the future, dog booties are helpful if you take your dog on rough terrain frequently or engage in high levels of activity.

Best of luck,
Patti