My dog has a sore on her leg. When should I take her to the vet?

It may be some minor irritation or infection. Monitor for growth or spread or for discomfort associated with the site. If it doesn't begin to resolve in 2-3 days, then have Lexi physically examined by your veterinarian. If she is licking or chewing at the sot, place an e-collar (cone) on her.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend a plastic cone to go around Kali's head to prevent her from licking / chewing at the sore. She will likely need an ointment more effective than neosporin. I would recommend buying a plastic cone at the pet store and using an ointment such as Zymox topica ointment. If the sore worsens I would then schedule an examination with your veterinarian so that the most appropriate treatment recommendations can be made. The vet can prescribe a better ointment than neosporin to help prevent infection and relieve any inflammation. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

From the pictures, the skin appears red and inflamed. It does look like it is infected. While this may not be a true emergency, I would recommend getting in to see your veterinarian very soon. Pookie will need the area shaved and cleaned up. Your vet may prescribe an antibiotic for this as well depending. Until you can get to your vet, you can keep the area clean and dry and use a mild soap and water to clean the wound. If Pookie is licking it, you can put on ECollar on her to prevent licking.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bogart. The only thing at home you can try is having him wear an E-collar. This will prevent any licking causing further damage from self trauma. It may allow the skin to heal. If this is unsuccessful though, he will need to see a veterinarian. The area could be a mass on his leg (benign or cancerous) or he could have what is known as a lick granuloma. I hope this information helps!

Ouch! That does look like a bit of a sore spot. If you have an appointment already scheduled, I would just place an Elizabethan (cone) collar on Bentley to prevent him from continuing to lick the food as licking it can make the spot worse and introduce bacteria/cause an infection in an already inflamed wound. Keeping the sore spot clean and dry with the use of a washcloth is also a good idea until your appointment. If you do see any rapid changes in size, it starts oozing debris badly, or it is painful enough that Bentley can't walk on it, then trying to get in for an appointment sooner is best.

Place an e-collar (cone) on him to prevent further licking or chewing. This may be enough to allow for healing. Keep the area clean and dry. If it doesn't heal or if it grows or spreads, have Barnaby physically examined by your veterinarian. He may need antibiotics or further diagnostics, such as a fine needle aspirate or biopsy, if it is a lump or mass.

The foot will probably need to be bandaged with an antibiotic cream on the wound, if it looks badly infected she will also need a course of oral antibiotics. i would recommend t take Ellie to the vet to get it checked first.