Poorly Paw

[TigerJoy]

One of my dogs has got a sore spot on his paw. I noticed that the last couple of days small spots of blood were appearing on the bedsheets (he sleeps on the bed with me) and I finally found the cause this morning - he has a little raw patch on one paw which is a bit crusty with scab next to it. I assume it's just a small injury - he's walking fine, although he has always been dainty of paw - any ideas on how best to treat it at home? I have some steroid cream from when the other dog got an infected spot on her side. Would that be ok?

He's licking it a lot and I'm not sure it's helping - it has been bleeding now for a couple of days. It's clearly sore, he wouldn't let me look yesterday at all, and I can't get a good photo as he doesn't like touching that paw at all, poor little mite.

Thanks in advance - I'm happy to take him to the vet, but he hates it, and hates the bus journey there, so if I can treat him at home I think it would be his preference!

[Floralnomad]

Are you in an Alabama rot area I would definitely get it checked and I wouldn’t use steroid cream if the dog is likely to just lick it off . Can you use a sock to stop him licking it .

[BiteyShark]

BiteyDog has had a few pawpad injuries.

One required a vet visit as it needed gluing, then stapling as the glue didn't work and that was three weeks of no walks and not getting his dressings wet.

The others have been relatively minor compared to the first but have still required us to put a cone on him to stop him licking it and keeping it clean and dry so no walks etc for a couple of weeks to allow it to heal.

We never put anything on it when we treated ourselves but made sure it was clean and dry and checked it for infections etc daily.

[TigerJoy]

Thanks so much - I'd never heard of alabama rot.

Poor pooch, I've ordered some dog socks. I've cleaned it a couple of times today, will see how it goes the next few days. Poor thing, no walks for a bit!

[adaline]

If it was Alabama rot your dog would be seriously ill by now!

[TigerJoy]

He's alright, looks a bit sorry for himself but otherwise fine.

Vet said to wash in saline once a day and keep it dry, wear a sock not a bandage. Sock arriving from Amazon today. I'll have to try and wrestle a plastic bag over the top every time before he goes out to pee....

Thanks for all the advice

[Floralnomad]

Alabama rot :
Skin lesions are the most obvious symptom to look out for, often with swelling or a patch of red skin that can open and become an ulcer

Your dog might lose some hair around the area or start licking the wound, which will be sore. These patches of inflamed skin are commonly found on

Paws
Lower legs
Face
Mouth
Tongue
Lower body
Not all dogs will go on to suffer kidney failure, but those that do will take an average of three days from developing skin lesions to presenting symptoms. However, kidney failure can occur anything from one to 10 days after skin lesions develop
It’s perfectly possible that with a lesion that was only a couple of days old that it could still be Alabama rot and it’s worth checking out any odd lesions if you cannot identify the cause .

[TigerJoy]

I think original lesion was appeared around Tuesday - I spotted a bit of blood but assumed it was a broken claw, as he often catches one on walks. It got much worse after Thursday and a wet walk. I think he's ok and I've not spotted any other lesions. Is there any treatment?

[Floralnomad]

I wasn’t trying to worry you OP , I highly doubt your dog has it , my last post was in response to adalines post.

[TigerJoy]

Ah I see, thanks!