bleeding dogs pads

Question
I have an 8 year old German Shorthair female.  We just got back from two days of hard hunting and her pads are worn and bleeding occasionally.  What can I do to help her heal and possibly toughen her pads?  I would like to continue to hunt with her.  thanks.

Answer
Toughening her pads will come from normal wear, although you may want to cut back the amount of time of your hunts once she heals until her pads do become tougher.  Taking her for walks on different terrain when you are not hunting can help keep them tough.  For right now keep them clean, and you can put a triple antibiotic ointment on them to help them heal.  Definitely do not take her our again until the pads heal completely or else you will be dealing with this all over again.  Give her some time and I'm sure you guys will have many more hunting trips ahead.

Amanda