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My dog is limping with a swollen, licked paw. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Dachshund | Female | unspayed | 18 lbs

When I got home around 6 hours ago my dashund was limping so I looked at her paw and around her middle finger is swollen. We have her some baby aspirin and put a little neosporin on it but she keeps licking it off. I went to bed and I woke up to her licking it and painting. So I took her to get some water and she is still licking it. She feels warmer now and I'm scared that she has a fever. I put some cool water on her neck and head to cool her down. Around her nail is more exposed now

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 8th, 2017

This looks like a rather bad infection of the nail bed. It could definitely cause an elevated temperature and is quite painful (hence the constant licking). This will likely need antibiotics in order for it to get better, so it's best if you schedule an appointment with your vet as soon as possible. They will be able to have a good look at it and determine what the best course of treatment is. For now, I recommend to not give anymore aspirin. Dogs can be quite sensitive to this medication and the vet will want to get her on a safer medication, which can negatively interact with aspirin if it's still in her system. Cooling her head and neck is not good for the fever and may actually make it worse. What's better would be to cool the paw. You can soak the paw in cold water for 15 minutes at a time to help give some relief. If you notice Minnie start to vomit, or get very lethargic, then it will be best to take her to the emergency vet for treatment. Otherwise, she should be OK to wait until normal business hours to go to the vet. I hope that helps and Minnie gets better soon.

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