My dog's paw is swollen from matted hair. Should I see a vet?

This sounds like an infected interdigital cyst. These are common in dog’s paws. They usually need oral antibiotics to heal these infections, so I would take her in to your veterinarian for an exam and treatment. In the meantime you can soak the paw in an antibacterial solution, and use a cone to prevent her from licking the paw. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Toffee.

Continue massaging the foot. It may take some time for swelling to decrease. I would try warm compressing it. Depending how long it was tangled she could potentially slough skin or tissue off her foot. Get her to the vet as soon as you can if there are areas of cold or ulcerated skin, she stops using it or is painful or not using her leg.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! From the photos, it appears that there is matted fur on the paws. I recommend having your dog professionally groomed to trim the mats off as they may be somewhat painful as they pull on the skin. I hope this helps!

This could be an abscess, a deep cyst, or even a tumor. I'd recommend you monitor it for an increase in size, change, redness or discharge. If you notice those signs or it does not go away within the next 12 to 24 hours I recommend your dog be examined by their veterinarian. I would not give any human pain medication as it can be very toxic to dogs.

If the paw is swollen, I recommend to have her seen by her veterinarian. Swelling in the feet is not normal and may not be related to the previous paw pad issue. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

I would take Luna into the vet. It could be that she has developed an infection from chewing her paws raw, or it could be that the sock was too tight and causing the swelling. She is showing you it's painful because she's having trouble putting weight on it. Have this checked out by a vet today. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! A veterinarian will need to see this swelling but I wouldn’t consider it emergent- just when you can get him in. Without seeing the swelling it’s hard to say what it is. A vet will likely put a needle in the swelling to get cells to look at under the microscope. This is called a fine needle aspirate. Knowing what the mass is will help decide the next course of treatment. It could be an abscess (a pocket of puss) and just need drainage and antibiotics, a cyst that could just need to be monitored or something more serious, like cancer, that needs to be surgically removed. The vet that looks at it will be able to discuss your options once the diagnosis is made. Good luck and kisses to Jake!