Treatment for torn paw pad

My dog tore the pad on his paw. It's not torn down to the flesh, it's very much a surface level rip but it's bothering him none the less. Every once in awhile he steps down on it on a wrong angle and he'll immediately lift his leg up. At first I thought he had a mild sprain but it's just the pad on his paw.

Any thoughts on treatment? I have a paw balm for dry pads that I can treat him with but he just licks it off.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

MyDogBitz said:

My dog tore the pad on his paw. It's not torn down to the flesh, it's very much a surface level rip but it's bothering him none the less. Every once in awhile he steps down on it on a wrong angle and he'll immediately lift his leg up. At first I thought he had a mild sprain but it's just the pad on his paw.

Any thoughts on treatment? I have a paw balm for dry pads that I can treat him with but he just licks it off.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

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Oof, sorry to hear about your boy’s paw! Hopefully, it heals up quickly. When I worked at a boarding facility, we saw dogs run their paws raw on the turf pretty often. We usually put a protective boot on them and applied either vaseline or a little triple antibiotic ointment if it looked bad. But as a heads up if you use triple antibiotic make sure he can't get the boot off since licking it can upset their stomachs. If it's not to bad I would say just vaseline or some other moisturizer would be better

Had success rinsing paw with saline water 1-2x a day and wrapping it up with gauze. Also, avoided hard, rough surfaces like ice, salt or gravel. Usually heals pretty quickly.

I hope Bomber's pad feels better soon.

Andre said:

Had success rinsing paw with saline water 1-2x a day and wrapping it up with gauze. Also, avoided hard, rough surfaces like ice, salt or gravel. Usually heals pretty quickly.

I hope Bomber's pad feels better soon.

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I think he'll be fine relatively quickly. It's really not bothering him all that much. Every once in awhile when he's on concrete I'll notice it bugging him but otherwise he seems totally fine with it. Thanks for the tips.

Is the pad torn and hanging off. You may need to remove the flap. Keep its clean as possible . Be extra cautious if you wrap the foot / paw , if you do not do it correctly you can cutoff circulation to the toes . You actually need to wrap the whole foot ( toes included) but I would not advise unless you are familiar with correctly wrapping a foot / correct pressure . A lot of people just wrap the injured area and it causes the toes to swell. Vet wrap for horses is a great product to bandage with . I also would suggest using Destin ( zinc oxide ) on the exposed pad , it heals thing up nicely ( I was a gymnast and we used it for torn palms from rips on bars ) , you may need a cone if you are not familiar with bandaging feet as they will of course lick it off . They usually heal on their own but if there is a flap it will need to be cut . If you take him to the vet and they bandage the foot watch how they do it . I wish I could explain it more but if it’s not done correctly it can cause more problems. Also , if you need to cut the flap you may want to muzzle your dog , the most common way to get bit is messing with their feet. Best wishes for a speedy recovery

So, it's a very minor wound. I've been cleaning it with water and hydrogen peroxide. Afterwards, I dry it well and then treat it with a medicated balm that's safe for dogs. I'll continue to keep an eye on it and keep it clean. I'm sure he's going to heal up just fine.

I appreciate all of the detailed advice! This place rocks.