My dog has a dark red blood blister on her paw. What should I do?

Ouch! That should likely be checked out by your vet in person. Tumors on the toes can aggressively appear and spread like this, and other issues such as burns, blisters, cysts, sores, infections, etc should be treated by your vet. They can take a sample of the affected tissue to look for the cause behind it, and provide treatment options such as removal, antibiotics, medicate shampoos, and more. Until you can get to your vet, it's best to keep the area clean and dry and to keep Bossy from licking at it with an Elizabethan (cone) collar. This can help reduce irritation.

Even though a picture would help to understand better the underlying cause, this presentation could be due to a trauma (presence of foreign bodies) or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). Allergic reactions can cause them as well in rare cases. A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. If the problem is related to the presence of foreign bodies then a quick surgical procedure (sometimes even under local anesthetic) is needed to remove them. Disinfection can eventually be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Poor Gizmo! That looks really sore. The lesion in the picture could be an abscess, a very large interdigital cyst or a tumor. I would recommend that you have Gizmo seen by your veterinarian. They may recommend a fine needle aspirate of the lesion to get a better idea of what is causing the swelling. Surgery may be required to lance and drain the abscess or remove a mass if present.

This looks like a possible hot spot, bruise or can even be a mass (if it’s a raise bump). Have the hair shaved so you can get a better view of it. If it is a hot spot, then you can try spraying “hot spot” spray on the area to see if this resolves it. You can find this at your local pet store. If it doesn’t get better within 2-3 days then it’s best to have it treated by your vet. If it is a bruise then it will likely resolve on its own. And if it is a raised mass, then definitely have it tested and/or removed by your vet because the color makes it suspicous for a mast cell tumor. I hope this helps and I hope everything works out well for your pet. Best of luck to you and take care.

Dogs don’t generally get blood blisters like a human does. These lesions are often related to an infection or certain types of skin cancer. Thor should wear and elizabethan collar at all times to protect the area from licking. I recommend to have call his lesion examined by his veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

This sounds like an abscess or pocket of infection. She may have something in the paw that caused this or it may be from an injury. I recommend a veterinary exam and she will probably need antibiotics. They will check it to see if they can find the cause so it doesn’t happen again. As she’s young I would have this checked right away. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Luna.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking(if any). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!