Dog cut his Foot Pads :(
So my poor black lab cut his two front foot pads over the weekend while my boyfriend had him out in the field training for pheasant season. The cuts aren't deep, and they didn't bleed much (all bleeding has stopped now) thank goodness, but I can tell they're sore and they hurt him when he walks. Our vet said they can't do anything for him other than give him some antibacterial ointment and bandage, but they're too superficial to suture and pad sutures have a tendancy to rip anyway. I've cleaned the cuts well, soaked his pads, put the ointment on, but then he licks it right off! I bandaged his paws to try to stop his licking, but he just bites off the bandages and keeps licking.
What else can I do? We're going camping in two days for a long trip and I don't want him to be hurting on our trip.We're taking it real easy on him.. no walks except in the soft grass in the backyard, keeping him off his feet when in the house as much as possible, and cleaning/putting ointment on 2x's a day.
I found at a petstore nearby this stuff called Petcare liquid bandage - its an antibacterial ointment that also provides a waterproof barrier on the cut (like NewSkin for people) and doesn't sting when applied. Supposedly it protects for up to 24 hours and is pretty resistant to constant licking. Anyone else ever try this stuff? Or have any good ideas for what else to do for Duke?
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
You will probably laugh but maybe if you have young kids you could clean his pads and apply the ointment and then put a pair of socks on him to stop him from licking at it and getting dirty feet lol =D It might take him long enough to get them off so that the ointment can soak in.
I don't have kids, but I would get some small socks (or even use my socks - he's got ginormous feet) to try and maybe tape them on so he can't easily slip them off? Although I know he'll probably chew them right off too, just like the bandages!
I just feel so bad for him, he gimps around because they hurt, but he can't go anywhere unless he's on his feet so they probably hurt even more.
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
yeah that sounds like it would work, maybe you could even use elastic bands or hairbands to hold them on, as long as they arnt too tight.
Well I took him to the vet anyway, and he actually has muscle strain in his legs from pushing too hard when running along with the cut pads. They cleaned his pads well, and told me to keep doing what I'm doing with the antibacterial ointment and liquid bandanges, and now he's on pain meds too for a week to see if that helps him. Who knew they gave Tramadol to dogs?? My mother takes that for her back problems!
Anyway... hopefully he will get better. Running is out of the question for the next 5 days so he gets to be a lazyyyyyy pup on our camping trip! Good, then I have an excuse to lay around too! (Sorry hun, can't go hiking.. I'm just going to lay in the sun in this easy chair with my brewski and keep Duke company. You go and have a great time)
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I was going to say dog boots! We had to buy them for hiking in snow with one of our dogs. After a bit, he didn't mind them. But laziness works just as well, lol. If you can get your dog to be lazy, ours wouldn't at the time.
Friendship Prayer
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of the person who screws up your day and may their arms be too short to scratch.
Amen
Whoever said anything was possible obviously never tried slamming a revolving door.
Haha Duke is usually the polar opposite of lazy too - you can't keep his energy contained, but it is amazing what pain killers do to a pooch who's never had them before! Talk about snooze-fest... he's been napping and laying around a LOT more now.
I'm not super fond of him being doped up like that, but the doctor gave strict instructions that he not run,chase,swim, or do anything that he usually wants to do.. so this is about the only way to get him to stay still so he can heal!
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
He's doing MUCH better! Almost entirely healed up... for anyone that has this problem with their dog - get the liquid bandage (Specifically meant for animal pads - not people). It really helps ease the discomfort for them, it has a waterproof barrier so nothing icky can get into the cuts and cause infection, and it lasts for 24-48 hrs depending on how active the dog is. Duke didn't mind it a bit, it doesn't sting at all and it really helped him to walk easier on his sore feet.
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nice to hear hes getting better!
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