Paw pad care Options

[bella_bc_husky]

Does anyone have experience with tried-and-true topical foot medicine? Bella has had one foot that is so dry and cracked that she keeps cleaning it, and in the meantime she is pulling her fur out here and there to try to get to the wound. It's not quite in between her toes, it's more on the outside toe, but her fur is stained from it being so cracked and bleeding. I've tried applying neosporin and wrapping it up at night, although she doesn't deal too well with the gauze and will chew it off by morning most times. I've also used another first aid ointment (meant for dogs), but I can't remember the name of it right now , and she pulled the gauze off again. I've tried vet wrap too; no luck there. I've left it alone for the past week or so, hoping she will let it heal, but no luck. She's had it for 2-3 weeks. How can I get her to stop licking it, and what can I use to speed the healing process? I just don't want to spend $20 on a small tub of something that isn't going to help one bit!

[bcnewe2]

Not sure what type medicine to recommend but Mick had to wear a bandage for over 4 weeks on his paw last summer. I'd use vet wrap then a sock then again I'd use vet wrap and tape at the top of the sock to hold the sock on. I had to watch it didn't get to tight cause I'd have to go over his "wrist" to keep the sock on. But if I used enough vetwrap before the sock even if he licked a little bit the wet wasn't hitting the wound. I didin't use tight socks so sometimes it would get a bit floppy but with the tape it stayed on. It did a great job of keeping it clean too. I'd change when ever I saw it getting to floopy.

What is the wound caused from? The dry and cracked pads? I've bought tuff pad and other things like that but I've found if I keep the hair/nails trimmed, their feet pretty much take care of themselves. And most owies heal quickly on their own. Are you sure there's not more of an underlying cause...some sort of hot spot that has gotten away with her licking it? or a splinter or something inbedded between her toes?
Also if some of my white pawed dogs lick a bit to much it ends up staining the white fur a sorta pink color but it's not licked blood, just the color of licked fur/dirt I suppose. I'd def. cut the hair around the wound so she can't pull it out and it doesn't get stuck in the wound.

Hope that helps a tiny bit

[Journey]

Try Gold Bond Medicated Powder and leave it alone otherwise. Sprinkle it on throughout the day and whenever you think about it. The powder will act as a drying agent and it should begin to heal up. Hope she feels better soon!

[BCjetta]

My aussie always gets cuts etc on his feet and he won't leave them alone unless we put a cone on his head. Once the cone is on, it doesn't take too long to heal.

[IPSY]

The stained hair on the paw is from the saliva . When dogs lick their paws alot , the saliva turns the hair a rusty color.
He may have an allergy. Have you ever given him Benedryl ? If he stops licking , the antihistamines are helping him.
You can also try putting a little corn starch on the area . One lick and the dog usually leaves it alone.
Im afraid any type of medicated powder or ointment will irritate it more and cause alot more licking.
Have you looked into Paw wax or Mushers secret ? Since he has had this problem , I would put the wax on the other 3 paws everyday as a maintainance to prevent it from happening again.
There is a new Anti-lick strip available for post surgical sites , hot spots , minor wounds and abrasions , It prevents licking , chewing, biting .
How , im not sure , I havent looked into it , but it supposed to be all natural. Check out www.NurturedPets.com for more info .
Its said to be a alternative to the e-collar.

Good lick , I mean luck

[urge to herd]

You could try Bag Balm, if you don't see results in a few days, I'd spend the bucks and have her to the vet. There might be something in there, she might have an infection that's not going to heal without meds.

And, keep her away from it - the Cone of Shame is available at PetsMart, or you can cover it a little more thoroughly, like Kristen describes.

Good luck!

Ruth

[IPSY]

Oh yes , BagBalm ! The best thing you can keep in your med. cabinet ! I completely forgot about that stuff ! And yes , if she keeps at it , there is something in her pad that needs a vets attention.
Urge to herd is right , dont wait too long , infection can set in and make things 10x worse .
Poor Bella.

[bcnewe2]

I love Gold Bond anything! Bag Balm is good but GB is the best.

[bella_bc_husky]

I do think that the ointments are just making her want to get at it more to clean it, so you're right, a powder or other dry substance would be a good investment. I'm glad that the coloring on her fur isn't from blood... I wouldn't say it's really blood-red, but as IPSY said, it's a rusty color. We had a similar problem with one of her back paw pads last winter too; one of her toes was split open (not sure if that was an injury or cold) and all I did was put a glob of neosporin on at night and it took care of itself. This one, however, seems to be a little more stubborn.

I don't really think there's anything lodged in there, because I can see where it is chapped and dry.. almost like your hands can get in the winter if you don't moisturize. I don't think I mentioned this in my earlier post, but in the first few days I noticed the injury, I soaked her feet in an epsom salt water bath just in case something was stuck in her pad.

I actually do have bag balm on my shopping list, although I haven't been able to find it... I was originally thinking walmart, but I didn't see it there. Next stop will be a pharmacy, I'm assuming they have it there, I just don't know what area. I was going to try that but figured I'd post on here to see if there was anything else I'm missing out on. Good to know I was heading in the right general direction.

I have also checked Petsmart and Petco for Pet Wax - all I could find was a Petco brand for $22 or something like that for a really small tub. Wanted to get opinions before spending so much on that, plus I've heard it's not good to overuse that because it can make their feet TOO soft and more prone to injuries.

Also to add to the list, Gold Bond! I doubt she'll like licking powder. I'm going to have to use the e-collar as a last resort...... when we had her spayed, the vet put one on her, and she tore the thing to shreds - I have no idea how!


Thank you all for your tips, they are extremely helpful. I think the key is to do something minimal that she won't focus all of her attention on... or get some more gauze and some bitter spray. I will go shopping this week and pick up some various items to try to heal this stubborn wound, in hopes that I can cure it without a vet!

[bella_bc_husky]

So I didn't get a chance to get to the pet store today with everything going on, but I noticed a new thing on Bella which may lead to a vet appointment sooner than expected. Granted, I haven't kept up with wrapping up her foot lately (due to lack of knowing what to put on it), and it appears that she's been chewing on it more lately. While I was looking at how raw her foot seems, I also noticed that she has a patch the size of a half dollar on her inner thigh of missing fur on the same leg. It doesn't appear to be an injury, maybe just a really bad itch that she's pulled the fur out on. I just sprayed it with anti-itch spray and bandaged her foot up with neosporin again (until I pick powder and bag balm up at the store). It seems that the skin in the patch is dry and itchy looking like her foot. I also don't see any sign of fleas or mites, and she has had a dose of frontguard fairly recently. Is this a so-called "hot spot"? There's no broken skin, but she's obviously been grooming that one area more than she needs to.

She's at least gotten to be SO tolerant now with me bandaging her foot - she kind of sighed and rolled her eyes at me as I struggled with the cheap pair of scissors that came in my first aid kit when they broke in half. Poor girl!

[urge to herd]

Your best bet for the Bag Balm is a feed/supply/farm and ranch type store. Bag Balm will be in the cattle area - it's called Bag Balm because it was used on cow udders. It's relatively economical.

Good luck with her poor paw . . .

Ruth

[bella_bc_husky]

Ok, I haven't had much luck with healing Bella's foot or leg, so we're making a trip to the vet today. She is going to LOVE me! I'm really starting to think that this will be a repeated winter theme... but we'll see what the vet says. I'm hoping I can get some prescription for her. I think she is mostly done bothering with the spot on her leg, but since dog fur grows in spurts, it's hard to tell if she's still picking at it or not. Here goes nothing!

[bella_bc_husky]

Turns out after a skin scrape (and a big vet bill!), they found out that it isn't mites and it isn't a build-up of yeast. Apparently she just has an extra amount of bacteria. The vet put her on Cefpodoxime and wants her to wear a cone (ha! she ate the last one) but I told her that would be an absolute last resort. She's not too happy with me right now after the skin scraping and people poking at her.

[juliepoudrier]

Well at least you have a diagnosis and can now work toward getting her properly healed!

If a cone won't work, you might want to consider something like a greyhound muzzle--they allow a dog to pant and drink, but I don't think she'd necessarily be able to lick at the paw.

J.

[bella_bc_husky]

Good thinking... I'll keep that in mind if she continues to lick. The vet seemed to be more concerned about her licking at her leg, since the paw can be easily wrapped up. The spot on her leg is in such a spot that can't really be covered or taped up. I gave her the first dose of medicine a few hours ago, and so far she hasn't really touched either of the spots.

Then again, she's also really knocked out from her big adventure... she's been extra mellow tonight! It's like having a completely different dog

[diane allen]

Another option besides the cone of shame is one of several things like a bite-not collar. It's more like a cervical collar for humans - straight, so they can go thru doors, crates, etc. without banging into them. SOME very flexible dogs might be able to get to a front foot to lick, but nigh imossible to reach a back one. The collars come in many sizes, and it is important to get the right size - otherwise it might slip off over her head, or not keep her from licking. But if you can find one - they're worth their weight in Bag Balm! LOL!

Best of luck.

diane

[bella_bc_husky]

Another option besides the cone of shame is one of several things like a bite-not collar. It's more like a cervical collar for humans - straight, so they can go thru doors, crates, etc. without banging into them. SOME very flexible dogs might be able to get to a front foot to lick, but nigh imossible to reach a back one. The collars come in many sizes, and it is important to get the right size - otherwise it might slip off over her head, or not keep her from licking. But if you can find one - they're worth their weight in Bag Balm! LOL!

Best of luck.

diane

I've never actually seen one of those, but it's good to know in case I ever do! Knowing her, I will probably need something at some point! She seems to be doing a lot less licking and nibbling since she's taken the medicine, and she's had 3 doses. I haven't recently gotten the 'evil eye' from seeing her nibbling on the spots and telling her to "leave it"... haha

[juliepoudrier]

As Diane notes, getting the size absolutely right on a bite-not is critical. I had one for a dog that was chewing a wound site in her groin area and it was about an inch short and didn't prevent the chewing in the least. It's unfortunate that pet stores don't carry them because it would be a lot easier to fit them properly if you could actually try them on your dog first.

J.