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My dog has a swollen, bleeding wound between her paw pads. Help!

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | English Springer Spaniel | Female | spayed | 1 year and 1 month old | 40 lbs

My dog has a volcano looking wound inbetween her paw, it is bleeding but not heavily. It is defiantly swollen but is not infected. What should we do? it is very hard to take a picture

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lauren Barry, BVSc, MRCVS, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 13th, 2017

Poor Koa! I understand how concerned you must be for her. I know what you're describing by saying it's a "volcano" like wound. It could be from a thorn or grass seed that's penetrated her foot and then has swollen and burst out. I also sometimes see this with interdigital cysts which are more common in bull breeds beagles and spaniels. They can form from a reaction to basically any ingrown hair. Sometimes they are associated with skin allergies. I have also seen wounds on paws from insect bites or stings (spiders, or bees). For tonight I recommend trying to soak her foot in a bowl of warm water with either table salt or even epsom salts added (1-2 tablespoons in a cereal bowl sized container). Also, if you can fit an e collar / cone on her to prevent licking. If you don't have one you could try taping a sock over her foot. Take her to the vet in the morning so they can determine what care she needs. ***If she seems very painful, or the wound is actively bleeding you should take Koa to the emergency vet tonight***

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Other Answers

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    This is probably a hot spot, this usually happens either because of an allergy or a foreign body in the paw. you will have to take Koa to the vet in order to get it checked and treated, if a foreign body is suspected it will need to be removed under deep sedation.

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