My dog's carpal pads are torn and missing. What should I do?

Question

My dog has torn both carpal pads, half of both pads are missing how can i treat this? Pet's info: Dog | Shar Pei | Female | spayed | 4 years and 3 months old | 46 lbs

Stacey Anstaett, DVM · Accepted Answer

Poor girl! That must be very painful for her. Ideally, take her to the vet so that the damage can be assessed, pain medication prescribed, antibiotics if indicated, and professional wound care performed. If you are entirely unable to get her to the vet, and she is eating, drinking, acting ok, etc, you can clean the wounds with dilute Betadine (povidone iodine) available at any pharmacy. Add a little of the betadine to water so that it looks like tea. Clean the wounds with this antiseptic cleanser. Then you could apply a wound care product such as this: apply a nonstick sterile bandage pad, and gently wrap them (NOT TOO TIGHT) with rolled cotton or rolled gauze, and an outside layer of VetWrap or Coban (again NOT TOO TIGHT). CHANGE THE BANDAGES DAILY and do NOT allow the bandages to get wet. If they do get wet, even briefly, the bandages need to be changed. You can cover them ONLY when outside to walk to go potty, with a plastic bag, but don't use rubber bands to secure the plastic bag as it may be too tight. Keep her inside (except to go potty) until the wounds are healed, and ONLY cover in plastic to go outside. If she is chewing on the bandages, put an E collar (cone of shame) on her. Again, ideally, this should be evaluated by a vet. I can't assure you that this isn't a very serious situation without being able to see the wounds in person, and early, appropriate intervention is the best way to ensure that they heal well and with the least amount of complication. Finally, do not give any over the counter pain medication that is made for humans (no ibuprofen, aleve, Tylenol, etc) as these medications have a high likelihood of causing side effects of GI ulceration, liver damage, or kidney damage. Many safer alternatives designed for dogs are available from your vet. Thank you for asking PetCoach!

My dog's carpal pads are torn and missing. What should I do?

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