Hi everyone! My sweet Bentley( a lab) has been licking his paw all day. I just went in for a closer look and it looks like someone took a potato peeler to part of his pad. There is a tab of skin hanging off. The wound under looks OK, it’s not bleeding or oozing. He’s not limping which I think is a good sign. Of course it is a weekend so I can’t call my normal vet. I’ve cleaned the wound with antibacterial soap and water. I don’t know what to do now. Should I put some Neosporin and a bandage or leave it alone? Should I cut off the tag of skin or leave it? I tried to take a picture of it but it is not easy!!
I’ve looked it up online and am more confused than ever!
Any and all suggestions would be very appreciative!
I am not a vet … but I do have 2 dogs. I would suggest you let it alone and see what happens. I would wager a guess that he will pull a bandage off and if the pad still has sensation I wouldn’t want to cut it. As I understand it dog’s saliva has healing agents in it so I would forgo the Neosporin and let him lick it.
One of our babies recently dislocated a couple of toes and they filled with blood and got really swollen and icky - she even had purple toe nails. After about a week of walking as a tripod she began chewing on the toenails and drawing all the blood off the toes. I know it sounds horrible and I tried to deter her as much as I could, but the toes are all better now.
This happened to my puppy when I took him roller blading and he just didn’t have enough callous on his pads for them not to be skinned and sore afterward. It will heel. Don’t worry about it not being clean just because he is licking it, this is actually a way for them to keep it clean when they get an ouchy. He probably has tender pads. Just keep an eye on it. Don’t be alarmed if he gets on pavement and doesn’t want to walk on that pad though.
Thanks both of you! He removed the flap while I was preparing dinner and has stopped licking it. My biggest fear was it becoming a hot spot. Since he has stopped licking I guess the flap was what was really bothering him. I just took him out for a potty break and he wanted to go on my neighbor’s yard across the street.(He and their dog are in a serious territory battle when one pees the other pees immediately on top of the same spot. We both use it to our advantage and take our dogs across the street for the quickest potty breaks!:teehee:) I was reluctant to let him but he crossed the street just fine. I love when these thing just work themselves out.