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How to treat a dog's swollen paw and limping when vet finds nothing?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 23 lbs

Hi, our dog ha had a swollen paw on the right frontal leg for about a week now. He started limping first. The vet thought it was a minor sprain, gave him some pain killers. In addition, it appeared he got stuck by insect or thorn in between two toes of the same paw and got some kind of spray. Nothing helped, only pads got even more swollen. We went back to the vet, who then gave him antibiotics without knowing what caused infection. He checked for pus, nothing. Did xrays, nothing.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Susan England-Foster

Veterinarian

Published on September 15th, 2017

I am sorry Butch is not feeling well. It does appear like he has a small abscess or cyst on his foot. These can be hard to heal because of the location. I would recommend warm compress or even using epson salt soaks 2 times a day for 10-15 minutes. Also continue with oral antibiotics and pain medications. If it is still not resolving than possible a culture to determine the exact cause of the infection is needed. Make sure Butch is wearing an e-collar to prevent him from licking the worse and making the infection worse. Hope that helps and he feels better soon

2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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