My dog's paw is bloody and red from chewing. What should I do?

Related Answers from Veterinarians

• Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

  Veterinarian

  She could have a bacterial skin infection, ringworm, or mites. If it is bloddy and red than she should be examined by a vet to determine the cause and best treatment. Your vet can do a skin scrape and/or culture to help diagnose and then treat with the appropriate medication.

  

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• Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

  Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

  Published on January 5th, 2018

  Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This warrants a visit to your veterinarian for further cleaning of the wounds. The one thing you can do at home though is using an e-collar to prevent further self-trauma. This may be due to her allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided.
  
  There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies.
  
  Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market).
  
  If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests.
  
  Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!
  

  

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