Cut Pad - trip to Vets or not?

_Rach_ · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:09 am Post subject: Cut Pad - trip to Vets or not?

Lillie cut her pad yesterday on a piece of glass - it's a horizontal cut along the top edge of her pad just underneath her claw. It's about 1cm long and looks quite deep.

I cleaned and bandaged it as soon as we got home, then changed the bandage last night and reapplied it this morning. The pad is still bleeding when she puts pressure on it.

Currently she has a lint free dressing on, bandaged on with gauze, then adhesive bandage round that to keep it all in place, a sock over the top held on with micropore and a plastic food bag over the whole thing (again held on with micropore) to keep it dry.

I've booked an appointment at the vets for 10:50, but does she really need to go? What more will they do for her that I can't do myself? Money is incredibly tight as it's the last few days before pay day and I really don't want to waste the £22.50 on the consultation if it is not going to be beneficial.

Thanks,

_Jules_ · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:26 am Post subject:

Cut pads are a pain in the bum. They seem to take an age to heal and if a vet does stitch them, quite often the stitches don't hold as the dog puts weight on it. Because of this I don't usually bother with the stitching route, I just bandage and bathe it in warm salty water a couple of times a day, then once it has stopped bleeding, I leave it open to the air to dry it out. It can take a good couple of weeks to heal up though.

The only thing I would watch out for is any signs of infection (heat, swelling, yellow or green disharge) because then it will need a course of AB's.

Just a tip, when bandaging the whole foot, make sure you don't bandage so tight that the toe joints rub together, as this can make them very sore and keep an eye out for any swelling above the bandage line. Also check regularly that the ends of the toes are warm, as if they are cold it could mean they have a limited blood supply.

MargaretAnne · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:41 am Post subject:

If any my girls get a cut paw we just fixes it were self to or if it is really bad then i take them to the vet . You can do it your self and when you go for a walk you just put it on and when you get in just take it off again to let it heal .

_Rach_ · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:36 pm Post subject:

Thanks both,

Went to Vets anyway, cut is actually looking a lot better now and has started to knit together already. Have got antibiotics for her but vet just said to bathe foot in saline solution twice a day and let nature do it's thing.