# Paw pad wound... will it ever heal?



## MrsJohnnyG (Jan 31, 2009)

Two weeks ago, the boys were playing outside like they always do, and when they came in, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until I noticed spots of blood all over the floor. I checked Dabney... he was fine... I went over to Jackson and was HORRIFIED to that his "thumb" paw pad had been sliced open. I scooped him up and drove him immediately to the vet (didn't even call first -- I called on the way over -- I wanted to get him there ASAP)... vet performed emergency stitches, bandaged him up, and sent us home with antibiotics. Vet said the bandage could come off after 24 hours.

We kept a close eye on it, but a few days later, the stitches were starting to come out. I took him back in, and the vet who had done the stitches actually removed all the stitches and re-bandaged him, telling me to keep him bandaged this time.

Within a few days, it was obvious that was NOT going to work... his paw pad was healing over with that big gash in it! 

I took him back to the vet a THIRD time last week and asked them to re-stitch him, which they did (and his usual vet was available this time), and the area looked much better already (I think the previous vet had botched it).

Once again, I've been keeping an eye on it, re-bandaging every day... all was well, until last night when the boys were wrestling... I was horrified to see blood gushing from underneath his bandage.  Through tears and with my husband's help, we carefully cleaned him up and rebandaged. The stitches are still in but obviously he tore open a little part of the wound.

I feel so sick and sad about this wound. Is it EVER going to heal??! I would take him to the vet a fourth time if I thought there was anything else they could do. The vet said if this last set of stitches didn't work they would remove the entire paw pad.


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## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

Talk to your vet about this med:
http://www.derma-gel.com/
I have a friend who's horse had a deep, deep rundown injury. It would simply not heal. I read an article in horse journal about this product. She ordered it though her vet and to make a long story short the wound healed!


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

I had a dog that ripped a pad really bad and it took forever to heal. I finally ended up going back to my vet and they used a laser to close it up. I was sort of shocked they hadn't done that right away. My dog was in pain for several weeks before they came up with that option. Once done, it was like he was never injured in the first place. 

Give Jackson a kiss for us. We are hoping that he can heal up quickly.  Enough is enough.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

With really active dogs and lots of lure coursing, I think we've had just about every type and severity of pad injuries from punctures to sheers to torn to shredded to sliced. First, I would have told you that stitches are a waste of time, money and effort. Paw pads really heal best when left to heal on their own. Their foot tissue actually grows fairly quickly, so you really need to keep the dog quiet and leash walks only on grass. I'd keep the foot wrapped when the dog goes outside but really try to keep it open to the air as much as possible the rest of the time. 

You can apply topicals, etc...I use bag balm b/c it does a good job of keeping the pad tissue moist. But the most important thing is keeping the dog calm and keeping them from running, jumping, bounding, etc...the dog's body weight during those activities will keep breaking that wound open.


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## MrsJohnnyG (Jan 31, 2009)

I just have to apologize that this is a duplicate post. Firefox did it, and I have no idea why -- mods, feel free to merge!

Wow, thank you for that product link, collie mom -- I hadn't heard of that and will DEFINITELY look into getting that!! (I saw a "liquid bandage" spray at the pet store yesterday that I wanted to get, but the hubs didn't like that it seemed to be nothing but chemicals... but I'd rather him have a few chemicals on him than not heal up.)

And Inga, geez, I didn't even know they could do that!! You're right, WHY didn't they do that in the first place??! I'm calling now to see if they can do that!



> But the most important thing is keeping the dog calm and keeping them from running, jumping, bounding, etc...the dog's body weight during those activities will keep breaking that wound open.


I wish I knew how to do that... I guess I crate him for most of the day (but he is so high energy, he will make up for it on his potty breaks)... definitely keeping him as calm as humanly possible but that's not easy with such an energetic puppy.

I'm giving Jackson plenty of hugs and kisses and will pass along some from you!  Thanks so much for your replies.


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## poodlemom (Nov 27, 2007)

I'm so sorry you and your pup are going through this. I will second Collie Mom's recommendation for Derma Gel. It really facilitated healing on one of my girls' cut pad. You can buy it over the internet, without going through your vet. 

I also keep EMT Gel on hand as part of my first aid supplies. It is excellent for stopping the bleeding from one of these pad injuries. (My girl also reopened her wound more than once.) Good luck to you.


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## LeRoymydog (Feb 25, 2007)

When China got hit by a car this year, the bottom pad had peeled off and it scraped her outside of the pad off to where we could see bone. She did that in 2 spots. The vet sutured her, kept her over night to make sure she didn't hurt else lung and abd wise. I had to keep it bandaged for a week. She had to wear a collar (which helped cuz she couldn't act wild in it). This day, you can't even see a scar. My vet did an excellant job with the sutures. But if you crate him, he'll heal faster than not.

Good luck...


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