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Paw pad wound... will it ever heal?

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  MrsJohnnyG 
#1 ·
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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#2 ·
Oh how annoying!
I think one last vet visit is in order, get their last opinion and then no more playtime(or less of it if possible)
It seemed to be doing ok until he started wrestling.
 
#3 ·
It took about six weeks for a deep ice gouge to heal in one of my dogs. That was one of the longest six weeks ever. Even keeping the dog confined I had to replace the bandage and wrap every day. It seeped blood for almost two weeks and healed over the gash. I had called my vet when it happened, and after some email close-ups we decided against stitches. Just make sure that thing is clean. I'm not a vet but I would clean it daily with a saline flush and antibiotic ointment. Hang in there, it's going to take some time.
 
#4 ·
Thank you for your replies (and yikes, somehow this automatically posted again when I re-opened Firefox) -- I will see how it's doing this morning and consider taking him to a vet, possibly a different one altogether, since his regular vet said the whole pad has to come off if this isn't working. I don't want to do that to my baby, plus I don't see how that would heal any better than the stitched-up gash.

I have NO idea how to keep an active, busy 9-month-old puppy from playing... I'm doing my best but that is a toughie!
 
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