What is this dark bare spot on my dog's paw and how can I treat it?

Question

We have a female mixed breed dog that we adopted from a shelter in 2013. She is 20lbs and approximately 8 years old. About 6 months ago, we noticed a bare spot that developed on her upper paw. It is a dark color with a little bit of pink in the middle. She occasionally licks the area, but shows no signs of being in any pain. The area does not appear to be getting any larger. Any idea of what this might be and how we can treat it? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | spayed | 20 lbs

Makenzie Kurth, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using PetCoach! If the area is flat and has looked like this the whole time, a scar is very possible. Could be that she had some initial injury (poke with a stick, etc) and it has since healed but the skin still bothers her. It could also be a place that bothers her occasionally due to pain (if she has arthritis right there or some other injury that flares up occasionally). Finally, infection and other things are possible. As a first step, try a spray like this: It has a numbing agent for pain as well as anti-bacterial properties. This will not help if it is a scar. If it is raised/lump like, its time to head straight to the vet to make sure it doesn't look suspicious for something more serious. This also holds if the area gets bigger or if more areas like this show up elsewhere. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Lucy!

What is this dark bare spot on my dog's paw and how can I treat it?

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