Poorly paw

[Wolfiefan]

I could cry. No actually I have already.

Noticed big dog had scraped the side of a back paw. Assumed it was skinned when she was playing with another dog.

12 days of stopping her licking it and keeping it clean. No worse but no better.

Went to the vet who didn't think it looked right. Debrided and cleaned and bandaged. And antibiotics.

Check up 3 days later. Much better. Decided on one more lot of dressings. Just in case. They came off today. Whilst we were eating dinner she's bloody gnawed it again.

So back to vet? Worth trying any treatment at home? Is there a chance she didn't just skin it in the first place?

Any advice welcome.

The vet was concerned on first examination.
It appeared to be healing well by the second examination.
Now we are about three weeks in and it's as bad as ever.
Yes I'm anxious. Diagnosed as such. Doesn't mean I'm wrong to worry in this instance though.

The worry with paw lesions at first is always of course Alabama Rot , so they are initially worthy of worry .

That's definitely been ruled out. It didn't get worse in the 12 days before she saw the vet. Once bandaged it was markedly better after three days.
But yes. My mind did go there for a moment!

That’s the first thing our vet said when we took ours but dog wasn’t ill , no other signs and the steroid cream seemed to do it , although I never saw him lick or chew and he sleeps with ds so we would know if he was gnawing overnight .

No other signs of illness at all. She was bouncing round the garden tonight like a bloody loon. Eating and drinking and yep pooping fine too!
We weren't given cream and it wasn't recommended. I have seen her lick it but not obsessively. She certainly isn't chewing and mauling it.
Hoping it doesn't look too bad by the morning. I took the sock off for fear she would get it off and eat it!

The two times he's had a sore on his paw pad (he skids along playing and one time did it on gravel which we now avoid) I try and keep it uncovered and dry. The only reason for using the diluted hibiscrub is to clean it especially after being outside. My vets suggested the hibiscrub when he first did it and I use it now for cleaning any minor scratches so might be worth having in the dog medicine pack.

Maybe now the dressings are off it might start to dry out? But if it really isn't healing after this many weeks then I would be asking vet for advice on what else to do as ours healed within about 2-3 days enough to not care about it anymore.

Oh I get the stress of it all. I don't suffer from anxiety but my stress levels have been through the roof lately and sometimes you just want a break from worrying and then another bloody thing comes along.

I'm back at the vets for a check up today and really hoping that will be the last time until his boosters in the new year.

Let's hope! I'm going to call and see if the vet we saw last time is in today. It has been 19 days so far. It looked fine on Sunday when I took the dressing off. I would just like a couple of weeks without incident or illness!

I don’t suffer with stress or anxiety at all unless the dog is involved , it’s much more difficult with them because they can’t tell you what the matter is . I’ve been very seriously ill this year and diagnosed with a lifelong disease that requires daily medication to stay alive and the only real stress here has been about the dogs bloody ear , and bloody is the appropriate word .

Floral I am sorry you're not well.
Pup is wearing a sock at the mo.
I have vet wrap and bought hibiscrub but it has no advice on dilution, foot looks clean enough for now and she's fed up of me bothering her so it can wait.
Magical wound cream on order.
I'm going to hold off on vet for a couple of days!

Floralnomad sorry to hear you have been ill and I agree it's so hard as they just look at you with sad eyes and you have to try and guess what's wrong and why.

Wolfie did the vet add to the millions of suggested solutions?

Ah cross post. I used to do 1 part solution to 10 parts water but now I just make it ever so slightly pink so it is hugely watered down and make sure he doesn't lick it until it is dry.

However, if her paw is dry and clean I wouldn't wet it as I find that's the best solution for healing.

She's currently wearing a frozen slipper sock!

Thanks but I’m fine now as long as I take all the pills .

It really is a good idea to be able to do basic first aid on your dog. Learn to bandage and keep some stock in the house. I find the easiest thing to do is cream (several have been mentioned), baby sock, vet wrap and then tape over the top. 12 hours on, 12 hours off. Get dog used to cone. It is tough that they don't like it. It's for their own good.

If the dog is hard to handle in these situations, practice when they are feeling well so they get used to it. Cleaning and bandaging a foot is really simple. Us people with horses can even bandage a horse on our own. It takes determination and practice!!

I can and do deal with horses!
I'm trying to avoid a cone. She's huge so the cone is massive. It will also cause her to panic and then she risks more damage.
I have some vet wrap. She's wearing a sock at the moment. I'm capable of bandaging but don't want to end up sealing in bacteria. Inept first aid can be worse than no treatment!

Our dog had an infected front paw which he wouldn't leave alone during the Summer, he needed two courses of antibiotics (one week initially and then a stronger one for two weeks) and our vet also sold us antibacterial CLX Wipes to use alongside the second course which kept it clean.
Hard as it was, I didn't walk him until it had healed to minimise the risk of further infection and damage. We usually walk for miles every day too.

There's no infection. It was looking great until she got at it again!

I was wondering how Wolfiepup was after her previous problem.
Glad she seems better from the tummy issues, even if she's in the wars again!.
I was going to suggest Sudocreme and a lampshade but that's already been done.
I hope she soon heals. Try not to worry too much (this is from one who worries if either dog appears at all off colour)................

We have dog that eats his feet which get infected so I was constantley at the vets as im a anxious mom and was told to use the hibiscrub thats it. I thought shes having a laugh and it worked great but i had to use the cone aswell thats what stops the licking as its an on going circle. I tried socks bandadges tights but nothing worked other than the cone. That maybe your only answer even if its 5 mins at a time so your dog gets used to it is worth trying.