My dog's paw is swollen and infected. How can I treat it at home?

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that Savie is having a problem. This looks like a pustule or pus filled pimple. It could also be a cyst or other swelling. This could certainly be from an insect sting, spider bite, puncture wound, skin infection, etc. I would advise warm compressing the area 2-3 times daily with a warm cloth to see if you can get the area to come to a head and drain. You could also try placing some warm water and Epsom Salts in a basin and make her stand in the water for 5-10 minutes a few times daily. You may need to get her an E collar to prevent her from licking it and prevent the healing. If this lesion gets worse, spreads, or other signs develop, please have your vet take a look at her. They can get a detailed history and perform a physical exam. Diagnostics probably won't be needed unless the situation changes. Your vet can advise you on a sound treatment approach if needed. Good luck with Savie and I hope this resolves without complication

Unfortunately, we cannot (legally and ethically) advise giving prescription medication for a condition that we can't fully evaluate through this service. It's difficult to know how bad the wound is without seeing it, but I'll give you some general wound care advice: 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the sore skin. 2) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at least twice a day. 3) Bandage the wound (if possible) with gauze and apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream (i.e Neosporin) to the wound. Keeping it covered and keeping Zoe from licking it will be the most difficult part of the treatment. You can help keep the bandage on by placing a good (really sticky) tape above and below the bandage. You can find sprays in the pet store, like bitter apple, that are meant to deter licking. This can be sprayed on the bandage (not the wound) to help keep Zoe from chewing it off. NOTE: Be careful not to bandage too tight around legs, or it can cut-off the circulation. If you notice that the toes/foot starts to swell, then remove the bandage and leave it off until the swelling goes down. It's difficult for me to know how severe this is without evaluating her, but in severe cases it's recommended that she gets professional treatment, or she can have life-threatening complications. I understand that money is an issue, but there are often various options in these cases and I recommend contacting a local animal rescue for advice about affordable veterinary care. If you have further questions or need further clarification, then you may consider having an online consult with one of our vets on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This way, you can send unlimited pictures and have a text conversation with a vet. I hope that helps and Zoe gets better soon.

Oh my. This looks like a pretty serious injury. Your poor fur baby needs to see your local vet to have this wound managed well. The only thing you can do over the counter is to flush the wound with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water and then sterile saline daily. The vet will investigate this area to see if any stitches or staples need to be placed and also get your poor baby on oral antibiotics (ie Clindamycin) and anti-inflammatory medicine (ie Rimadyl). Without proper closure and antibiotics, this wound will likely not heal well. Here is a financial resources website link if you need financial help as well. http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html I hope that she/ he heals up soon. Best wishes and take care.

I am so sorry to hear that Google has an infection on his paw. Thank you for providing a picture. It looks like Google is licking or biting the sore area. It is very red and inflamed which is often a sign of tissue trauma cause by the dog itself. I would advise trying these tactics for the next 48 hours; Place an ecollar on Google so he cannot get to the sore paw and damage further Bathe the area with warm water once daily and leave dry and open Place a cool compress on the sore paw twice daily for a few minutes Some owners find that benadryl can help provide relief from itchiness for their dogs, which may help make Google more comfortable https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/ If the paw does does not improve over the next 48 hours I would advise taking Google back to the veterinarian for a course of anti inflammatory medications and potentially antibiotics. Thank you for using petcoach!

This presentation could be due to a trauma (possibly presence of a small foreign body) 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. . 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.

Poor Teddy! That does look quite sore :( If he's acting normal otherwise, you can try soaking his paw in warm water and Epsom salt for a few minutes, 1-2 times a day - often, this helps to draw out fluid and reduce swelling and irritation from minor sore spots or injuries like this. If he's licking or chewing at his paw, you may also need to place an e-collar (plastic cone) on him to prevent this, so he doesn't continue to make it worse. If there is no improvement in the next 2-3 days, or if the spot seems to be getting larger or Teddy seems excessively painful, it would be best to have this checked by your vet - he may need oral antibiotics and/or anti-inflammatory medication to treat the problem.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Pogo. You can try applying warm compresses such as a warm washcloth to the wound for 3-5 mins up to 3 times per day if he will tolerate it. The swelling may be the result of local tissue damage or it could be from an abscess starting to form under the skin. This is a common side effect with bite wounds. The teeth inoculate bacteria deep under the skin when a dog is bit. The bacteria become trapped as the overlying skin rapidly heals. This will create the abscess. I hope this information helps!