Although your dog's paw pads are tougher than the bottoms of your feet, they can still sustain cuts and other injuries. Our team of vets and experts at Grants Pass will outline the steps you should take if your dog experiences a cut paw pad
Your Dog's Paws
Nature designed the pads on your dog's feet to protect the inner workings of its foot. If your dog injures one of its footpads, you must promptly treat the injury. Here are a few actions you can take to assist in healing your dog's foot.
What To Do If My Dog Has a Cut on His Paw Pad
Despite being thick and rubbery, your dog's footpads can sustain painful cuts, tears, burns, or puncture wounds. Here's how you can assist if your dog's paw pad gets injured.
Contact Your Vet
Your pet's daily life relies heavily on the condition of its feet. Ensuring they're in good shape is crucial for your pet's fitness and happiness. If you notice a cut or tear on your dog's paw pad, contact your veterinarian right away. They will assess whether an examination or an immediate trip to the emergency animal hospital is warranted. Additionally, your veterinary team can offer valuable guidance on caring for your dog's foot until you can bring them into the office.
Take a Close Look At the Injured Pad
Examine your dog's pad carefully for signs of anything stuck in your dog's foot, such as a piece of glass or a thorn, as well as any debris, grass, or gravel that may be lodged in the wound. Clean tweezers can be used to remove loosely embedded debris gently.
If your dog has a large piece of glass or other foreign object lodged in their foot, contact your nearest emergency vet immediately for advice on keeping your dog as comfortable as possible while transporting them to the emergency vet.
Clean The Cut
Fill a bowl or bucket with soapy, warm water and immerse your pup's foot, swishing it around to clean the wound and dislodge any remaining debris. Rinse thoroughly with clear water.
Alternatively, gently spray your dog's paw with clean water using a hose to remove debris and sanitize the area. As you rinse, apply a small amount of liquid hand soap or dish soap to help eliminate bacteria.
For cleaning a cut on your dog's pad, rinse the wound with an antiseptic-like diluted chlorhexidine solution.
Control The Bleeding
Apply pressure to the paw pad with a clean piece of cloth or towel once you've removed any foreign objects that could aggravate the cut. A cold compress can help to slow the bleeding by constricting the blood vessels in some cases. Shallow grazes may not bleed at all, but deep cuts may take some time to heal.
Assess The Severity of the Injury
Minor cuts and scrapes on your dog's paw pad can often be managed at home, but for deeper cuts, you should seek veterinary care for your dog. If your dog has a ragged, deep, or debris-lodged cut, take him to your veterinarian or the nearest emergency veterinary hospital. Your veterinarian will clean and dress serious cuts and may prescribe antibiotics to help fight infection.
Bandage
Use non-stick sterile gauze pads to cushion your dog's cut paw pad and absorb any blood, reducing your dog's pain when walking on the foot.
Wrap your pup's entire foot in a self-sticking bandage, such as Vetwrap or Well & Good, to hold the gauze in place securely. You can find these wraps at the most well-stocked pet supply stores, with some brands even coated in bitter flavoring to discourage your dog from chewing on the bandage.
Wrap your dog's feet from toe to ankle to prevent the bandage from slipping down and the toes from swelling. Ensure the bandage is snug enough to stay in place but not too tight; you should be able to fit two fingers between the bandage and your dog's skin.
If bleeding persists despite applying the gauze and bandage, it's essential to seek veterinary care promptly.
Prevent Licking
Many clients ask us if they should let their dog lick his cut paw. While some licking can help to kill bacteria on the injury site, excessive licking can lead to wound reopening and infection. It would be best not to let your dog lick his cut paw. Bandaging can help to prevent licking at the site. Still, some dogs become so preoccupied with licking the wound that an Elizabethan collar or another device may be necessary for your dog as their cut paw pad heals.
Ongoing Care
Ensuring the cleanliness and dryness of your dog's wound as it heals is crucial. Achieving this may pose challenges, but utilizing a waterproof bootie or wrapping a plastic bag around your dog's foot and ankle whenever they venture outdoors can effectively maintain the wound's cleanliness and dryness.
Daily changing your dog's bandage is imperative to prevent infection and facilitate regular examination of the wound's healing progress. Any indications of swelling, excessive redness, discharge, odor, or heightened pain should prompt immediate veterinary attention.
After removing the old bandage, delicately cleanse the foot with warm soapy water and thoroughly dry before applying a fresh bandage.
Prompt veterinary intervention at the initial signs of infection is paramount to prevent exacerbation of the wound's severity and discomfort. Your veterinarian will conduct a comprehensive cleaning of your dog's cut paw pad and may prescribe antibiotics to combat infection and pain relievers to alleviate your dog's discomfort.
Final Word
The above first-aid measures are not a substitute for proper veterinary care. Regarding your pet's health, it is always best to err on the side of caution. If your dog's wound is severe, or if you are unsure whether your dog's injury is severe, take him to the vet. Your veterinarian will be able to treat your dog and advise you on how to care for your dog's wound as it heals.
Note: The advice provided in this post is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice regarding pets. For an accurate diagnosis of your pet's condition, please make an appointment with your vet.
