My dog has a boo boo!!

[Barbel]

So I noticed that for the passed couple of days my dog has been licking the bottom of one paw quite a bit. Then today after I fed them, I noticed that he had a very slight limp. I looked at the bottom of his paw and noticed this:

All the pads on all his feet are solid black.
I have know idea when or how it happened. I am with them all the time and never saw or heard anything happen. Do I need to do anything about it or will it just heal by itself?
He is acting completely normal, still eating, drinking, playing.

 

[GeckoGal]

Hello, I train guide Dogs for the blind and I just reccently had a dog with this problem too. I would keep him indoors to aviod infections, and it should heal on it's own. But if it doesn't start to get better in a week or starts to get an infection take him to the vet.
Many thing could have caused this, walking on hot surfaces, blisters, etc. But he should be just fine

 

[catvettech]

Clip, clean, apply silvadene cream, wrap. If kept clean daily, oral ABs may not be needed.

 

[Barbel]

Clip, clean, apply silvadene cream, wrap.

What is silvadene cream and where do you get it? Can I use neosporian instead?

 

[JordanAng420]

Neosporin should be fine. Just keep it really clean. Shave the hair in between his toes. It's a lick granuloma. He did it to himself. Most likely, a tiny piece of that pad had been scuffed a little from being outside at one point (it happens here in FL on the HOT pavement to almost every dog that walks through my clinics doors), it bothered him, and he made himself a mess.

If he doesn't stop licking, you might need to place an Elizabethan Collar or a basket on his head.

I don't see any point in wrapping it. He'll rip the bandage right off if he's been licking his toes for days. You want it to breathe, but stay clean at the same time. You just need to make sure he doesn't CONTINUE to lick.

Don't use any sprays such as bitter apple, bitter 3 or anything like that. Those products are not for open sores and the only thing it does is sting like crazy.

 

[catvettech]

What is silvadene cream and where do you get it? Can I use neosporian instead?

You may be able to purchase this cream on-line or the vet would have it. I would say to wrap the foot up with the cream on it for a couple of days and then take the wrap off for air circulation.

 

[Barbel]

Thanks for the responses! I trimmed the fur and cleaned it up, then put some neosporian on it. I covered it for an hour or so just so he wouldn't lick off or get the neosporian everywhere. I may have to get the cone collar though, because he has tried to lick at it a couple times.
How long do you think it will take for it to heal?

 

[JordanAng420]

How long do you think it will take for it to heal?

That all depends on how good you are at keeping a barrier in between your dogs mouth and his foot. It's a lot harder than it sounds, trust me. :main_laugh:

Sounds like you're gonna need the cone collar. Make sure the collar extends to at least 1-1/2 inches past the longest point of his nose. Otherwise he's gonne figure out that his tongue is long enough to reach past the collar and can conveniently reach the boo boo on his foot pad if he bends the right way. They ALL do it. :main_rolleyes:

IF you are sucessful at making sure it gets cleaned daily, and your dog has NO WAY of licking his foot, whatsoever...it SHOULD take about 10-14 days to heal give or take a few. If he continues to lick however, it will be an ongoing process...kinda like putting air into a tire with holes.

 

[Barbel]

IF you are sucessful at making sure it gets cleaned daily, and your dog has NO WAY of licking his foot, whatsoever...it SHOULD take about 10-14 days to heal give or take a few. If he continues to lick however, it will be an ongoing process...kinda like putting air into a tire with holes.

Sheesh! That's a long time! I guess I will have to get a cone collar. I don't think I can keep tabs on him all day, everyday for two weeks and I am sure he goes after it at night.
What is the best thing to clean it with to aid in a speedy recovery? Is the pad going to grow back normally?
Is there anything I should do to prevent this from happening again?
It's 114 out today, but the dogs only go out once or twice a day for less than five minutes to use the bathroom in the dirt (they don't like the heat either!). I can comfortably stand barefoot on the shaded porch when it's that hot. We won't start going for walks again until probably September when it's cooled down some, so they don't really come in contact with hot surfaces very often, if at all.
I checked the rest of his feet and my other dog's feet and they look normal.

 

[gitrdone0420]

Definetely get the Ecollar. We require all of our clients at our clinic to leave with a collar when something like this happens. That way, there is no way the dog can get to it even if your not around. Unfortunately your dog is going to lick at it, no ifs ands or buts. lol. So, that is just a way to reassure that he wont. I would also wrap his foot only when he does outside. They make these cool little doggie boots that you can put on the foot when he goes outside and then remove it, because you do want to it breathe. When you wrap it, you just allow the bacteria to incubate and get worse. Anyways, after its a healed, and two weeks isnt too terribly long, it should grow back normally. Good luck!