My dog's paw is cracked and she keeps licking it. Bandage or medicate?

Question

A few days ago now my dog hurt her paw playing and it bled for a short time but I realized that she’s been constantly licking it and picking at her nail and I realized that the bottom is slightly cracked. She’s not limping on it and can walk fine and she doesn’t yelp if I touch it, but does lick it a lot. Should I put some medication on it ? or do something like bandage it to prevent her from licking it while it heals. Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female | spayed | 2 years and 10 months old | 10 lbs

Jeffrey Milner · Accepted Answer

If she is licking at the paw, it most likely is painful. Dogs tend to lick areas in order to sooth the pain. They also do this in an attempt to reduce inflammation, but ultimately it results in the exact opposite. Unfortunately from the picture, I can't get a perfect idea of what's going on and I don't know exactly how / what type of injury occurred. Thus, I don't whether or not you should be seeking medical attention for Coco. Assuming the injury isn't serious, the most important thing you can do is prevent further self-inflicted harm while still allowing the area that is affect to be open and clean. In order to do this, Coco will need to wear a cone. You can obtain one at some pet stores, online, or at a vet office without an appointment. Healing might go faster if you went to the vet to obtain some anti-inflammatory medication, and so he can assess the need to potentially add antibiotics. Be sure to keep the area covered with a plastic bag or sock when Coco is going outside to walk in areas that are dirty. Any open areas on the foot exposed to dirty areas are likely to result in a worsened or delayed healing. Hope this makes sense.

My dog's paw is cracked and she keeps licking it. Bandage or medicate?

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