My dog's paw stitches are infected or ripped. What should I do?

This wound requires an immediate check up and possibly a stitch up as it seems infected and it is unlikely that will heal without immediate intervention. Proper disinfection and antibiotic treatment is required. 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. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

This could be due to an infection and possibly a foreign body reaction. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. 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!

It looks like there is infection. Astro should be evaluated by a vet as soon as possible. He likely needs oral antibiotics since infection stalls the healing process. The vet will also clean the area to assess the health of the skin. Sometimes the stitches need to be removed and the wound can be healed "open," meaning that the stitches are not replaced and scar tissue fills in the defect. On a foot, this is often accomplished by bandaging with frequent bandage changes, and possibly topical medications, as well.

Poor Rain! That's a very tough spot for the body to heal itself because it doesn't have great blood supply and it's easy for pets to get to and lick, which is really bad for healing. It's a little hard to see how moist or dry the wound is from the pictures. It looks like it was very wet last night, and is a bit drier today. It actually looks pretty good to me, especially if this only happened a few days ago. So, I would be comfortable waiting until tomorrow, UNLESS you're seeing increased discharge or if Rain is lethargic/not eating/seems very painful. I'd recommend she have a soft sided cone on if possible to try to prevent licking, along with close supervision because cats are great at getting around the cones - pet stores often sell these. A hard sided one might work better, but could also be used to rub against the wound, so I would definitely use that if your vet gave you one or recommends it, but wouldn't advise it without seeing her in person to see how she's moving around and how comfortable she is. I hope that helps. Feel free to post again (even just as a regular free question) to see if another vet has a different opinion because I think this is a bit up for debate. I hope she continues healing well. Good luck!

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/scratching (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!

Swelling, pain/discomfort and itch, redness, discharge of the area involved are all possible signs. From what you described it may be possible that the nail bed is infected or there may even be a comminute fracture of the last phalanx. A check up is unfortunately needed to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. 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. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

Hello, and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Ouch, poor Riley! It's difficult to tell for sure from the picture, but it looks like that's still pretty healthy tissue at his declaw site. I'm glad to see a good blood supply, and that looks like his body is trying to close the site with granulation tissue. I'd absolutely recommend continuing to try to reach your vet and have that rechecked ASAP, as it will likely be best to re-sedate Riley and place new sutures to close that wound. The most important things in the meantime are to keep that area clean, and keep Riley from causing further trauma. If Riley will let you, you can GENTLY wipe or rinse the area clean with lukewarm soapy water - use a mild dish soap such as Dawn. You should have a cone or recovery collar from your vet. Put that securely on Riley - many styles include a loop to weave his collar through so it stays on. If you don't have one (or if Riley destroyed his previous one) you can purchase them over the counter at many pet stores, such as PetCo. Another option if you don't have a cone is to put a clean sock on Riley's front feet and tape the top so they stay in place. I hope you're able to reach your vet soon to have Riley rechecked in person! In the meantime, hopefully this helps!