My dog's paw pad is torn. What are the protruding pieces? Vet or home?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This wound appears to be superficial so your initial decontamination with the warm water and soaking it in epsom salt should be enough. I would recommend keeping a close eye on this and making sure the foot does not become swollen and that there is no pus coming from the wound. You can soak the foot in epsom salt solution twice daily until this is healed. If Duke is going to be going outside in the dirt I would recommend putting a booty over his foot or a sock to prevent dirt from getting inside the wound. If there are any changes that indicate infection, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Duke so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! These lesions tend to heal rather quickly. As long as there is no actual deep cut (which I cannot appreciate in the picture), you may be able to treat him at home. To speed up the healing process, you may proceed with diluted epsom salt soaks every 8 hours for 3 days. If not improving or worsening, have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Make sure to dry up his pads well after soaks. Good luck and have a great day!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about your dog. Thank you also for providing the pictures, they are very helpful. That has really peeled back, and likely will need to be removed. I would not try to remove it yourself, it could hurt him and he may bite in pain. I'd take him into a vet now to get this part of his pad removed, to get pain medication, and to get antibiotics. I hope this helps!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It depends on the location and severity of the cut as to how it would best be treated. Sometimes they can be closed, other times bandaging may be best. Ideally wounds should be addressed as quickly as possible to allow for optimal healing. Waiting another day may make closing the wound impossible if it's an option. Make sure that Moose cannot lick the wound, this may require an e-collar (lampshade cone of shame). If it is painful or continuing to bleed he should be seen tonight.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Charlie, and thanks for providing a picture. It's very helpful! That could be her pad has torn, and that would be my best guess from the picture given it's the exact same color as the rest of the bad. It may be she injured herself, and that is a flap of the pad sticking up. It won't be life threatening, but it should get checked out by a vet. Tonight, put a cone on her to keep her from licking the area. You can make one at home or buy one at a pet store. I hope this helps!

Poor guy. If the areas are relatively superficial, then you can clean them with Betadine/Iodine diluted 50:50 with warm water OR Chlorhexidine solution (2-4% diluted until a robin's egg blue consistency). This will remove any bacteria on the surface. However, since this part of the pet is always touching the ground and getting debris in them, you should consider placing booties (purchased at the local Petco or on Amazon) on Lincoln for 4-7 days until the skin starts to heal back. You may not need to keep these on Lincoln while he is inside the house, but definitely when he goes outside to potty. Alternatively, you can try placing socks or some kind of stocking material on his paws and then wiping them down with the solution when he comes back in. I would not recommend placing anything else over the counter on these areas. The paw pads are normally very forgiving when they just have abrasions on them and not an actual laceration (cut) of the pad, and heal up well in many cases. If the paws are wore down to the point of bleeding or show any signs of infection, then it is best to take him to your veterinarian for additional medication and treatment. I hope that this helps. Best of luck with Lincoln and I hope that his paws heal up well soon! Take care.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This should be fine to monitor at home for now. I would just make sure to keep the area clean while it heals. It should not require any antibiotics or topical creams. If the paw pad begins to swell or there is drainage at the area of the injury, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Royce so that the most appropriate treatment can be administered. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!