Injury foot dog

**Cat** · 08-05-2002, 06:52 AM

hi,
my lab has an injury on his paw. one of those pillows under his foot has a cut, about 1 inch. i cleaned it and put a bandage on it. should i get him to the vet or is it just a minor cut that heals by itself?

**K9karen** · 08-05-2002, 09:36 AM

I'm certainly not an expert, but those paw pads certainly do get a lot of cracks in them. I think badaging it was great to keep dirt out. My guess would be that if your lab starts to limp or you see it not closing or swelling, I'd call your vet. I usually treat my dog with Neosophorin (sp) 2 times a day and his cuts clear up. Good luck!

**jackiesdaisy1935** · 08-05-2002, 09:42 AM

Hi Cat and welcome to Pet Talk, I think Karen gave you very good advice, I hope your Lab is doing well today, we just hate to see anybody's pup hurting. Please keep us posted on how he is doing.
Jackie, Miss Daisy and Perry

**manda99** · 08-05-2002, 10:30 AM

I think what you've done is fine - just watch out for more irritation.
Pork Chop cut his pad open last week... He limped slightly for about 3 days but we just kept it clean and medicated and he's fine now.

**ChrisAK** · 08-05-2002, 10:50 AM

If the black leathery part of the pad is torn through to the soft inner part, then yes take them to the vet.

This portion of the pad does not heal by itself just due to the toughness of the skin. It requires a thorough cleaning and suturing. If it doesn't, it can cause your pet to start walking funny, adding strain to other muscels and bones compensating for the injury. You also risk greater infection probabilities due to the improper closure of the wound.

Keep it cleaned and bandaged for now, but get them to the vet as soon as you can Please.

**Cat** · 08-06-2002, 02:33 AM

yeah, the soft part was visible yesterday. i cleaned it with gentle soap and bandaged it. i also put johnson&johnson first aid skin wound prot. on it under the bandages. he doesn't limp and seems to like the bandage. we went for a walk this morning, and there were no problems. the cut is a little more than 1 inch and not only the black pad but also the skin next to it. it was wide open yesterday, but closed today. i think it's going to be fine in a few days.
thanks for all your advise.
cat

**ChrisAK** · 08-07-2002, 07:16 AM

Cat, I say this with all the humor in the world (but sarcastically)

THANKS!!!

I've been jinked. Jazz tore her pad up by her elbow last night. Thank heavens it isn't deep or too bad, just annoying. Have a vet appointment today to have them cut the hanging portion off and get it bandaged correctly. I ran out of dressing sometime back and forgot to restock.......DOH.

**jennifert** · 08-07-2002, 07:43 AM

Duncan cut his pad fairly severely about a month and a half ago and I took him to the vet because he was limping. You could see the inside of his pad through the cut. The vet recommended that I don't bandage it as it will heal quicker open but to put a plastic bag over his foot when we went outside to the bathroom. She wanted him to wear an e-collar to prevent him from licking it but that doesn't work with Duncan! He has it off in 30 seconds flat! So I just kept an eye on him and told him NO when I would see him licking it! He learned fast. He also learned how to hide it from me! It was hysterical....he would face away from me and pretend to be sleeping but I would see his head moving slightly.... Anyway,she said the first sign of healing I would see would be white granules on the cut as it closed up.
Duncan limped on that foot for almost 3 weeks!!! Being the nervous mom that I am, I brought him BACK to the vet but they said he fine! I was concerned about the pain he was in so they told me it would be ok to give him some coated aspirin....

I hope your lab is doing OK now, and Jazz too!