URGENT! -dog hurt paw on walk, keeps licking it constantly

[samy23]

I've tried to look but can't see anything in her paw, but she pulls it away if I try to open it too much -like open the toes, and there is no blood visible....but she isn't walking on it fully and keeps on licking it constantly. I've tried bathing it in some water, but that didn't seem to help.

Has this happened to anyone else? She's 3 years old and it's never happened before. Has she just got a cut in there somewhere from stepping on broken glass maybe? Or maybe there could be a thorn that cut it, or is something still inside her foot that I need to try get out somehow??

PLZ HELP!

[lonegirl]

Ok....sounds like perhaps a foreign body to me. Or she may have punctured it with something fine and it is just sore....You can try soaking with Epsom salts to try and draw it out. If it starts swelling or she continues to refuse to use it I would bring her in to the vet. Some foreign bodies can be seen on xray (some not all). Some may also have to be excised. Check her nails too to make sure she hasn't torn one.
Licking excessively can exacerbate the problem too, so keep an eye on that.
Good luck!!

[linchi]

I'd try and clean it with hydrogen peroxide. It'll foam if there's blood and that might help you find a wound if there is one. If she's been off the paw for a while I'd bring her to the vet. to you and your pup!

[SquishyKitty]

I would check her nail, and see if there's anything embedded. If you can't figure it out, and she's still doing the same thing after a couple of hours, I'd take her in because it might be something you can't see, and the feet get infected so fast when there's an open sore/wound.

[SophieAnn]

Agree with the advice above.

To help stop her from licking at it in the meantime you could put a sock on her.

[pacificbliss]

Will she put weight on it? Dogs will lick anything from a small scrape to a deep cut, sprain or break. It's pretty much all they've got. Poke around a bit and see if there is any spot in particular that really makes her want to lick. Our dogs would always be pretty tolerant until we went to check between the toes or whatever that had the injury and then they would depserately want to lick it. Good luck!

[Ola_]

I second the epsom salt soak. It could be something punctured her foot but more likely she has a cut or some scraped skin. I've even had my dogs do what you are describing when they stepped in some tree sap on a walk and they were trying to get it off.

I'd probably spend a little time rubbing her belly and looking at her foot. Just so she's relaxed and you can play with her foot some more. Press on each of her toes (lightly at first, then a bit more firm) and watch her to see the reaction. She'll pull away and also her eyes will get bigger if it hurts. I'd also check the webbing between toes and around the different pads. It could be the foot or even something higher up the leg that hurts potentially.

[samy23]

Thanks! She kept doing it and wouldn't settle down even though she was tired out from her long walk for about half an hour, then she went to sleep finally And since then she has seemed much better!

She hasn't been licking it anymore, and is putting full weight on it again. She still doesn't quite seem herself though, she's looking at me different, and doesn't seem 100% comfortable, but at least she's better than before.

I will try the suggestion of rubbing her belly to get a closer look at her foot, she wouldn't really let me touch it much earlier.

I was totally ready to call the vet for an emergency appointment! Thanks for calming me down I'll update again once I get a closer look at it later on or tomorrow if it's late.

[SquishyKitty]

Just don't wait too long to call the vet if it is needed; we waited only a day (didn't think we had to call on a sunday) and our dog's nail ended up infected, she had to take antibiotics and we had to soak it in a special fluid for 2 weeks.

[samy23]

Well she has been fine since! I did put some antiseptic cream on (human type) her whole paw, and when I looked at it closer there was a little red area, like a small cut im guessing. But she's been fine, thankfully. Maybe it just stung a lot at first like a paper cut does to us?