My puppy has a paw injury. How do I treat it and prevent infection?

Question

My puppy has a paw injury! When we came home 3 days ago he was missing a small chuck from his paw and 2 nails. There was blood around the backyard. We're not sure how it happened. I'm mostly worried it will get infected. Are there other pressing concerns I needn't to deal with? How can we treat it? I don't have any photos. Pet's info: Dog | Toy Poodle | Male | 13 years and 5 months old

Jeffrey Milner · Accepted Answer

Aw, I bet that stings for sure! If the nails were pulled completely and cleanly, they aren't likely to become heavily infected. If there are remnants left behind, they rest needs to be dealt with by a veterinarian so they can grown back in properly. As for the chunk of tissue missing, this has a much higher likelihood for complications from infection. Since I can not see it, I can't say whether or not it needs to be assessed, closed, sutured, stapled etc. You may want to have someone take a look at it. If not, make sure to flush the area with some chlorhexidine solution, keep it clean as possible, make sure that Teddy can't lick the area (use an e-collar), and possibly apply topical antimicrobial ointment. Teddy would likely benefit from some pain medication and antibiotics, but a vet visit would definitely be required to obtain those. Hope this is helpful!

My puppy has a paw injury. How do I treat it and prevent infection?

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