Well were still down at my gramma's house because ours is still getting fixed. Everything's going pretty good, Rex is respectful of his boundaries and most the day he just spends in the room where we sleep at night. Here is the problem, a couple days ago he somehow unclipped his rope and got away. I found him of course in the same spot he always is behind our house digging in the snow for mice. Now normally this wouldn't be a concern seeing as snow is softer then mud but not this snow it was like ice. When we coaxed him back down the hill into my gramma's house I noticed him limping, he only did it for about a sec but I noticed. Then he started licking his paw like crazy. So I got down and took a look at his paw. It wasn't to bad at least not as bad as I though, yeah it was red but like I said not to bad. That was 4 days ago now his paw is only getting worse, the hair looks like it is pulling away from the pad, and there was a little bit of blood coming out of it and you can tell it hurts him if you touch it because he will begin to whine. Its not to bad yet to have to take him to the vet but I know that if I don't get on top of this it will get worse and may even become infected. What can I do to protect his pads while he is outside. I do have the wax/gel/cream stuff but it isn't enough. What should I do??? And is there something I can clean it with to prevent it from getting infected???
Thanx

KeepItSimpleStupid

I think it's time for the Vet. The paw should not be getting worse over time. My fear is that he got something in it.

I'd do what you would do with a human. Bandage the paw.

I'd also carefully inspect it for anything that could have been embedded in the skin.

For a human, I'd suggest bathing his paw in cool water with some epson salts and then bandaging it.

tickle

I agree with KISS (!?!) dont wait longer it should not be getting worse, but you could pore some 3% peroxide on the paw (no it wont sting), this will at least clean it. Dogs are very fussy about their paw quite naturally. If you wrap, he will only rip it off. Keep it clean, soak it, etc. But yes, get to the vet before something happens. It sounds like he has picked up a big sliver of wood.

binx44

my dog once he is out in the snow for a certain amount of time will limp alternating paws. he does this because he is a warm to hot weather dog and cant handle the coldness of snow on his pads. I freaked out when it first happened and took him to the vet.
Sadly for your case i think you should take him to the vet right away. it does sound like he got something stuck in it. it might not even be a wood sliver it could be worse like a finishing nail or anything (you would be suprised where nails can pop up around the yard)

rex123

Well, I know there isn't anything in it. His paw has been like this before, if it does get worse I will take him to the vet but right now I will keep checking it. He's been licking it and my mom even thinks it looks better then this morning. It looks very clean. I know it is just from the snow, ice and salt. But I think I'm going to buy some more boots for his paws.

binx44

boots are a good idea. there is a cream you can buy too that dog racers in the ididarod race use too

linnealand

i'm wondering how rex is doing. has he seen a vet?

i just came upon this question, but i would have been telling you that it was definitely a case in which to have him checked out. i know how much you love this dog, and i know that you would never forgive yourself if this wound was more serious than you thought and never healed properly. after all, many times not even an experienced vet can tell just by looking what kind of damage there is beneath the skin, so they need to take an x-ray.

i'm also concerned about the fact that it was getting worse. anything minor that can heal on its own will not get worse with time. that's a red flag. it's also possible that if you wait, you will wind up spending more in the long run to fix a more serious situation, plus he will have suffered more. it's always better to be safe than sorry.

also, i would be concerned about putting anything on his pads, as some creams should not be used on wounds. as frustrating as it might be to him, he might be better off staying off of his feet as much as possible until his paw has healed.

everyone here knows how much you're crazy about rex. i really hope things have been getting better. please let us know how he is!

tickle

I think it would be near impossible to keep a husky 'off his feet' linnealand. Working dogs are an entirely different breed, used to treating their own wounds. I know how rex's mom feels about Rex, so I am sure she would have been on here letting us know if anything bad happened. We would all like to know, too.

linnealand

that's an interesting approach, tickle, if not a little unexpected.

rex is a working breed, but he's not in a situation where he has to haul 50 babies in a sled over the course of 20 miles because he and the babies are stuck in the middle of nowhere and he has to get them home no matter what.

if he's injured, resting his injury is better for him than not resting it would be. that is a fact that applies to all living creatures. in this case, to be determined by the people who actually care for him, keeping him off of his feet would mean, for example, skipping a twice daily 5 mile run for a couple of days. don't know how to do that? you keep him in the house and take him outside on a leash, and only to do his business. so much for "near impossible."

as the actual extent of the injury had not been diagnosed, and in order to prevent the injury from getting worse, avoiding excess exercise could be both medically helpful and, yes, physically possible.

as i pointed out in my last post, i know how much rex loves her husky. i only wish that other pet owners had a fraction of the love and the dedication she has for her dog. this world would be a very different place! that's also why i decided to respond to this thread. i am sure that any input that could be helpful would be appreciated, whether she decides that it's relevant to rex's situation or not. i have tremendous trust in her love for rex. that said, i also know that she might not have the same options as some other people might, perhaps related to her age or finances or location or access to a nearby vet. i'll bet that if there were a free vet in front of her house, she would leap at the opportunity to get him looked at. i'll also bet that if it was necessary, she would carry rex on her back and walk 100 miles to get him checked out. that's the kind of friend she is to him. no one is putting that in doubt, and everyone here has rex's best interests in mind.

i do hope that it was nothing serious and that he's doing better! my thoughts go out to both of you.

tickle

Hi, Linny, I think girl and dog are pretty well matched ! Of course, agree with all you say.