Ripped Pad

[alimel]

It looks like Buddy has a rip in the pad of his front paw. I noticed him limping and tried to get a good look at his foot thinking he stepped on something, but he cried when I touched it and he is usually a toughy. There appears to be a small rip in the pad. It has been raining alot here so he may have stepped in something I could not see in a puddle.

I know that you really can't do anything for the pad, don't they mend on their own? Is there something I can put on this to help the healing?

[Aescleah]

do you thnk he steped on some glass or something poor baby i hope gets well soon

Cheers
Ashley

[Hudsons~Mom]

When ever Hudson ripped open his feet, I made sure I soaked them in warm saline solution (warm water and salt disolved)...then I would put polysporin or zinc ointment and wrap the foot for about half an hour to let the stuff sink in....then unwrap it.

Try to keep him from licking his foot though...that will make it worse. And make sure you do keep it clean.

[Hudsons~Mom]

OHHHH and anouther thing...if you have some crazy glue...put some of that to close the wound...it is sterial and wont hurt but will help keep the wound closed until it heals!!

[saluki-sue]

You can try putting Rescue Remedy cream on it for a day or 2. Also try and keep it wraped up as much as you can when he is up and moving around. I use vet wrap, a large baby sock and when the dog has to go outside in the rain I put plastic wrap on the whole lot of it.

I take all of the wraps off at night so the wound can air out and dry up a bit.

Poor kid, hope he's getting around ok.

[weezyNollie]

Just make sure if you do your home version of a bandage keep these things in mind:
1) KEEP DRY! If it's raining and it gets wet. Replace bandage ASAP.
2) Do not make it too tight to cause swelling and cut off circulation
3) Do not leave on for more than 3 days at a time
4) Do not use DUCT tape or other materials that do not breathe well

If it's not bleeding much, you might get away **WITHOUT** a vet visit. But, if it is -- or once you get a good look-- it may need suture.

Let us know how it goes.

[alimel]

Thanks guys, it is not bleeding at all.. I am going to try and wrap it in the morning, he is sleeping right now.

[Hudsons~Mom]

Although I agree with everyone here....If it is not bleeding, and he is not licking...I wouldnt worry too much about wrapping it while he is in the house....BUT with that being said...there is still stuff in the house that he can step on and bother it. So make sure it stays clean....

The baby sock think is a GREAT idea.

[Diamond]

Roxy did a number on one of her pads a few months ago... It was awful!

I kept on it for around 4 days straight, wrapping, airing it out, soaking it, drying it and putting Polysporin on it and it healed up SO quickly. My vet did NOT believe it!

3M vet wrap is awesome for this kind of thing.

- wrapped it with 3M vet wrap if we were going outside and at night time. Each time I wrapped it I put on Polysprorin cream
- made sure to air it out for at least a few hours a day

When it stopped bleeding I just put an old sock over top of it. I found the easiest way to keep the sock on without it buldging together, was to pull it up right over her "hock" (it was a hindleg) and just one ring of tape on the top of the hock. Because the hock get's big, the one ring of tape is smaller than the hock and it won't slide down. I'm sure you could do the same for an elbow if it's in the front.

As weezy said, try your best to keep it clean and dry.

[alimel]

I looked at again this morning, it is strange because there is no cut. It looks like a thin layer was scraped off..hard to describe, but it is not bleeding or red. I cannot figure out how that happened We both have to be at work all day today, so the only thing I can do is apply Polysporin and wrap it until tonight.