Hurt Paw

[segatacolink]

I came home today to find my dog Sega licking his front right paw more than normal. He has always had issues with obsessive licking of his feet, and is very sensitive about them being touch, but I noticed he was mush more persistent about the licking. So I tried to get a look, which wasn't easy, and I looked in between his toes and saw there was a cut. I got a warm wet washcloth and wiped the inside of his paw, and noticed some blood, not much, was on the cloth. It didn't seem too serious his he had stopped the licking and wasn't limping or anything. I left to go to dinner, and when we got back I noticed he had started licking it agian, so I put some rubbing alcohol on a damp cloth, and wiped the inside of his foot agian, this time he was much more upset about me doing it, and then put an old sock on his foot to keep him from licking it too much, and keep dirt out. My fiance let him outside and the sock got dirty, so I took it off, and tried to look at the foot agian, thats when I noticed there was also a gash in his paw pad on one of his toes. It seemed wet so I wiped it and noticed there was some blood. I cleaned it agian with watered down peroxide, and put a little Aquaphor ointment on the cut in the paw pad, and put two socks on his foot. It was very difficult to do all of this since he is so sensitive about his feet, so I don't even know if he licked the ointment off before I got the socks on. The cuts do not seem too deep, but it worried me that they were still bleeding, I am not sure what time the injury happened, or even how it happened b/c I am gone most of the day, at lunchtime there was no injury. I think he may have gotten it by putting his front feet up on the top of our chainlink fence, not sure though. Should I take him into the vet, or can this type of thing be treated at home. He is fully able to walk on it, and I feel it should heal as long as its keep clean. Any advice, or more effective ways of taking care of it???

[xpalaboyx]

Your veterinarian will be the only one to fully determine what is going on with your dog's feet, but here are some things your veterinarian will want to know and will be looking for on examination. Here are some questions that your vet might ask.

1. Are the feet red, swollen, or crusty/flaky?
2. Is licking present in the absence of any noticeable pathology of the feet or toes?
3. Are there any irregular lumps or bumps deep between the toes or foot pads?

If your dog is just licking without any visible signs of something wrong on his foot then his foot licking can be simply a habit behavior as well like when he is is relaxing, stressed, or bored.

[segatacolink]

The paw is not swollen or red. He is not limping or anything, but he does lick it. There is a cut inside between his toes, and another cut on his pad of one of his toes. I have been trying to keep a sock on his foot to keep dirt out, and to keep him from licking it. But when the sock is off, he is licking it ALOT. When I wipe it, it is still bleeding a little, which worries me. I may go buy some liquid bandage, but wanted to see if there was anything else that would work better to keep it wrapped and protected. My mom told me, she has heard of people using sugar on a wound to stop the bleeding, but that seems a little weird to me. Is there anything else I should do to help it heal? I may wash his foot later tonight by dunking it in to some warm water, if he will let me.

[SsarahH]

What breed of dog are we talking about here?


My mom told me, she has heard of people using sugar on a wound to stop the bleeding, but that seems a little weird to me.

I've never heard of using sugar...however, I have heard of people using flour. You may also try to make a trip to a local pet store...they may have a product called 'Quik Stop' which is what we use on toenails, and sometimes small cuts to help stop the bleeding. The Quik Stop tends to sting a little bit.

Is there anything else I should do to help it heal?

I would personally schedule an appointment to have him checked out by a veterinarian. They will probably have more people to help restrain, and will be able to examine the toes more closely and make sure that there is no splinter or other foreign object in there. The may also want him to be on an oral or topical antibiotic, depending on how the wound is looking. Until then, if you could try to keep the wound clean (I wouldn't use alocohol...that's gonna burn :eek: ) and try to keep him from irritating it that would be ideal. To help hold the sock on you can purchase some porous athletic tape and tape the sock to the fur, make sure you don't wrap it around too tight though.

There is also a spray called 'Bitter Apple' that may help keep him from bothering the bandage. Most dogs absolutely hate it, but you will run into the few who seem to like the taste :confused: This is a fairly cheap product and may help deter him from licking.

Hopefully this helps, and keep us posted on how he is doing.

[segatacolink]

He is a lab/german shepherd mix, he's a big boy around 90 lbs, and has big paws, they are the size of my hand. Thanks for the idea of using the tape, I was going to buy a bandage or gauze to put on it, but I figured he would just tear it off, at least with the sock, I can see when its been pulled down, and I can just pull it up, I have been using a velcro strap to help hold it up, but he has figured how to get it off. I am going to wash his foot now, and try putting some ointment on it.

[Julia423]

Poor guy...get him checked. I'd imagine that the pressure on a paw as he walks could be re-opening a wound, thus the continued bleeding. Let us know how he is.