Dog's paw swollen from pine needle. Should I take him to vet?

If there is green pus coming from the paw this is an indication of infection that requires antibiotic therapy. I would stop using hydrogen peroxide as it isn't recommended for regular wound cleaning (can actually delay healing if used repeatedly). Clean the area with mild soap and dry well to avoid moisture, apply a topical antibiotic ointment, place an e-collar on your dog to prevent him licking the foot and make an appointment for your dog to see the vet. He likely will need oral antibiotic treatment and the vet will want to check his paw to be sure there isn't a foreign body like a splinter stuck there.

That looks like a nail bed infection (either bacterial or fungal or both). Was the medication given an oral skin antibiotic? Diesel may also benefit from a topical ointment with similar ingredients to otomax for ear infections, a medicated shampoo/mousse to use daily and an e-collar to prevent licking. Definitely let your vet the swelling is still there! Best wishes!

These type of injuries are often due to a puncture between the toes. Sometimes the thing that punctures the toes stays under the skin. This commonly happens with thorns and grass awns. In both cases, an infection develops under the skin and will not heal until the source of infection is removed. Lioh's injury does appear to be infected from what I can see in the photos and it will be best to take him to the vet for treatment. For now, you can try doing a twice daily foot bath with Epsom salts to help decrease the swelling and help treat the infection. Just make sure that he doesn't drink the Epsom salt water, or it will make him sick. I hope that helps and Lioh gets better soon.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I’m sorry to hear about Sugar. This could be a number of things including snake bite, bee sting, broken toe/foot, or abscess. I’d recommend seeing your vet as soon as possible for a better diagnosis and the proper treatment. Tonight is ideal. If the swelling continues up the leg or Sugar becomes lethargic, has tremors, or any other worrisome signs, please see an emergency vet immediately. Otherwise, I recommend the following until you can get in tomorrow. Ice- apply an ice pack or frozen veggie bag wrappped in a paper towel or thin cloth. Apply for 5-10 mins every 2-4 hours. This does wonders for both pain and swelling. Epsom salt soak- mix 4 tbsp Epsom salts in 1 cup warm water. Soak his paw in this tonight. This helps with pain, swelling, and if there is something stuck (stinger, thorn, etc). I absolutely do NOT recommend any human pain medications as they are neither safe, nor very effective in animals. They may also interfere with the pain medications that your vet will want to prescribe. Best of luck to you and Sugar!

The area is quite swollen and the skin looks angry and irritated. It also looks like Jax has been licking this area. This likely is not caused by waking on gravel since it is on the top part of the paw, so trauma from the dog fight is more likely. If a bite occurred here then this may be an abscess. If the area is warm to the touch and if your pet is bothered by this area and painful when it is touched, then it needs to be seen by your vet for oral antibiotics and likely an anti-inflammatory medication. Benadryl may or may not help her, but can be tried. Hydrocortisone cream is likely not to work either, unless this is an allergic skin reaction. Neosporin can be applied in a very small thin layer and as long as it is not licked off by Jax. However this will only buy you some time to get Jax in to the vet at a later date. I hope Jax gets this resolved soon.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Based on the pictures that you sent, what you are seeing appears to be what we call pododermatitis. Oftentimes we will see these swollen areas in between the toes on Bulldogs especially. Many times a topical ointment, anti-inflammatory and oral antibiotics are needed to treat this. I would suggest having a veterinarian examine this to see if it needs any antibiotics or not. If you are unable to get to your vet right away, I would suggest using zymox topical ointment and malacetic conditioning spray, both of which can be found online. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available by phone or text based consultation if needed.

Vets are still seeing pets for serious issues or medical emergencies, so it is a good idea to contact yours to see if you can get Gabber in for care and started on some antibiotics as needed. Until you can, keeping the wounds clean and dry and trimming back the fur and using an antiseptic such as a chlorhexidine or antiseptic cleaner can help reduce debris in the wound. You will also want to put an Elizabethan (cone) collar on Gabber to keep him from licking his paws to help reduce irritation and inflammation.