Help please, it's our first dog. I guess my dog scraped his upper (?) paw pad on something and it looks a little raw. I only noticed it because he kept licking the spot after we came home from a walk and didn't even want his treat right away. It's located on a pad that's kind of higher up on one of his front leg, like where our wrist would be. It's not in the same area as the other four pads that touches the ground if it makes sense. I cleaned it w/ some hydrogen peroxide and wrapped some gauze around the area and taped it with some dauze tape for now. It not bleeding or anything, just looks raw like a rug burn for human so I don't think I need to take him to an emergency vet, right? Any opinion would be appreciated. Thanks in advance guys.

We have some dog trainers who will hopefully read this soon and help you, until then---you can use Google and look for "paw pad injuries" or other word combinations that will help you with this injury. Even "pet injuries or first aid". It sounds like your first actions were good!

As long as it's not bleeding I wouldn't worry. You've cleaned it, and hopefully removed any foreign matter. I suppose it is better to keep him form licking it, though that may not be particularly harmful.

paulj

Hi, thanks guys for the quick replies. Yeah, for some reason I figured that he would introduce bacteria in the raw spot by him keep on licking it. He was trying to undo his bandage at first but I guess he's too tired to keep trying and fell asleep. Do you guys know if it's okay to use neosporin on a dog? And if he tries to gnaw on the bandage again tomorrow, can I use that liquid bandage stuff they sell at the drug store? Thank you.

I don't know--you might want to check with a vet before you put any medications on. You just never know---I'm always amazed when the vet says to go ahead and use something I have in my medicine cabinet, and then I learn ONIONS are a NO NO for dogs!! So----you never know:shock:

I just looked at a little dog first aid book, and it said paw abrasions heal within a week or two, with or without treatment.

My dog has had a number of skin tears that have healed without problem. None have penetrated the inner skin, so only bleed a bit and then scab over. None have required topical antibiotics or bandaging.

paulj

ps. the problem with onions is that they cause anemia - so occasional small amounts shouldn't be harmful. Chocolate is more of a problem.

I don't know--you might want to check with a vet before you put any medications on. You just never know---I'm always amazed when the vet says to go ahead and use something I have in my medicine cabinet, and then I learn ONIONS are a NO NO for dogs!! So----you never know:shock:
pugmom: You have onions in your medicine cabinet? Cool!

hardguy: Re: the dog's wound. I think you are referring to the dew claw pad. This claw is used in braking. Some people remove the claw because it is always getting caught on stuff, but to do so leaves your dog with a competitive disadvantage. Dogs are closer to wild than people. Generally they heal quite quickly. Deep wounds sometimes heal over "too fast" and have to be opened to drain. In this case the advice above is good: clean and observe. Doing much to this would will merely serve to draw the dog's attention to it. Licking the wound is a dogs natural first aid.

There is a lot of complete crap folklore about dogs. The chocolate thing, for example: People say you shouldn't give dogs chocolate - it is supposed to be poisonous. But when you actually study up the toxicology of the situation you find that a Golden retriever would have to eat more than 10lbs (!!!) to get very sick. At the same dose to bodyweight ratio it would be toxic to you! I never had a dog that didn't enjoy a bite of chocolate and I've had dogs for 50 years and every one of them lived to a ripe old age for the breed.

Right now I am into cats (http://sundog.ca/kittens/) - at least until we find an appropriate dog.

Do not use neosporin or liquid bandage, the dog will lick it off. Open to the air is best, if the dog is not outside. It it does'nt look better by Monday...take the dog to the vet. Better to be safe than sorry.:D
Keep us posted...thanks

Next time you see your vet, tell him about this episode and ask what he or she recommends in a First Aid Kit. I have a kit in my car for Gidget. Can't remember where I got it. Just did a quick search of Drs Foster and Smith online catalogue and they have several items under First Aid, including an "EMT" gel for injuries such as your pup's paw pad.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?Nao=11&N=2001+22762

There are a number of human drugs that vets "prescribe." My first Samoyed started taking Ascriptin at age 10 for arthritis. Gidget, my 4 year old, takes over-the-counter Pepcid AC for acid reflex. It's also recommended that you keep on hand for dogs prone to bloat (many bigger breeds are so prone), Pepcid or other anti-gas med in case it looks like bloat is starting.

DARK Chocolate is extremely dangerous to dogs! Baking chocolate can be lethal in very small amounts. Milk chocolate is not as dangerous but I sure wouldn't be feeding any. It's the theobromine in chocolate that's the danger.

Toxic Levels

The good news is that it takes, on average, a fairly large amount of theobromine 100-150 mg/kg to cause a toxic reaction. Although there are variables to consider like the individual sensitivity, animal size and chocolate concentration.

On average,
Milk chocolate contains 44 mg of theobromine per oz.
Semisweet chocolate contains 150mg/oz.
Baker's chocolate 390mg/oz.

Using a dose of 100 mg/kg as the toxic dose it comes out roughly as:

1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate
1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate
1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight for Baker's chocolate.

So, for example, 2 oz. of Baker's chocolate can cause great risk to an 15 lb. dog. Yet, 2 oz. of Milk chocolate usually will only cause digestive problems.

While we're on the subject of no-no's -- also keep grapes & raisins away from your dog. Kidney damage danger with quantities of those.

Look at all the good info that came out of your question, HardGuy! Thanks for posting everybody!!

(Mutt: NO, you silly, I don't have onions in my medicine cabinet, obviously, I must have written a run on sentence causing confusion!:twisted: :lol: )

What a bummer about grapes--:mad:

Weighing in late here... but if it's a scrape or cut to the pad, there's little to do for it. We've had several DEEP cuts on paw pads over the years, and they do heal rather quickly and effortlessly. The pad doesn't seem to be super sensitive either, which is nice to know, because those cuts & scrapes look terrible!

The licking isn't great, as it can slow the healing. Personally, I just find the licking to be ANNOYING. I've solved the problem in the past by putting an old sock up my dog's leg & rubber banding it at the top (don't worry - not tight!) to keep it on when he walked, but only did this while I was able to observe him. The last thing you want is for your dog to swallow a sock. Then you'll have BIG problems.

So just wait it out, PugMom. Pads heal quickly, and if it's his/her dew pad, you can feel good knowing they aren't walking on it all day.

Thank you everybody for your inputs and advice. I woke up this morning with the bandage/gauze a few feet next to me. I guess it's kind of his way of telling me he doesn't need or like it around his leg. I was expecting him to get it off sooner than that since he hates wearing the little booties that my girlfriend tried to put on him in the winter time, ha ha. Anyway, he has licked the spot several times today but I guess from reading all of the replies from you guys that there's really no harm in it. I guess I'll just keep an eye on the raw spot and clean it a few times a day so it won't get infected. Thank you guys again.

What a bummer about grapes--:mad:
My old lab used to love grapes. You couldn't bring 'em in the house without him noticing. Would 'rattle' one around in his mouth for an age, throw and catch it and eventually eat it and never just one..... And, gee whiz, he never got sick.... At least not from grapes. He did inhale a pound of butter once right out of the freezer that upset him in a way that gives one a new vision of the term 'greased lightening'........ Was sick a bit from that....

YMMV...