My puppy hurt her paws. How do I clean them and check for infection?

Question

My puppy hurt her back two paws a few days ago! Not exactly sure when or how as she never let up they hurt. Believe it may have been at Search and rescue training. Wondering what I need to watch out for as in infections? Then ways to properly clean and how they look right now? Pet's info: Dog | Australian Shepherd | Female | spayed | 10 months and 21 days old | 46 lbs

Stacey Anstaett, DVM · Accepted Answer

What a brave girl! Pads sometimes do get abrasions or blisters from running on rocky, hot, or uneven surfaces. It looks like they are doing ok right now, but you do need to keep an eye on them. Put an Collar (cone of shame) on her so that she cannot lick them, and If she becomes more bothered by them, if she's favoring them heavily ("walking on eggshells), or if she starts to seem lethargic or isn't eating, get her in. All of those could be signs of infection. In the meantime, clean them daily with dilute betadine (available at any pharmacy) -- use a small bowl (1-2 cups or so) of water, and add enough betadine so that it looks like tea. If she will tolerate keeping her foot in that for a minute or so, great. If not, just use a gauze pad or cotton ball to clean the wound off with the butadiene solution. Leave them UNBANDAGED at this time, so that you can monitor them closely, and so that moisture doesn't get trapped which could increase the likelihood of infection developing. While I do think they should not be bandaged, DO use booties if you are going to be going for a long walk, etc--ideally, though, avoid exercise on rough, rocky, uneven surfaces until its healed. Take the booties off when she comes inside. (something like this I hope thats helpful for you! Thanks for asking PetCoach!

My puppy hurt her paws. How do I clean them and check for infection?

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