Help with dogs paw please...

lovesabargain123

Morning,
just after a little advice please.
Our springer spaniel was limping a little last week on and off and kept licking his paw but we couldn't find anything wrong with it and wasn't sensitive to touch. Got home from work yesterday and we found a claw (nail) on the floor so that was obviously bothering him. I phoned the vets who said wrap a bandage round it and put a sock on to stop him licking it.
That worked great last night but the little s*d has chewed through it in the night and is licking away. He won't let me near it but is happy to let DH look , so hes going to re bandage it but is there anything else we should be doing?
We didn't take him on a walk yesterday and I'm guessing not today either, but he is limping a little more today but this could be that the bandage is a bit awkward until DH dresses it.

Any advice please?

ETA I really wish I'd taken him to the vets yesterday even though she said it wasn't necessary as I am a bit of a worrier , plus he's going to the kennels on Thursday as we go away for 2 weeks arghhh

Thanks xx

Nod_Off

The main thing would be to keep it as clean and dry as possible. If he's been licking at it all night, then don't put a bandage on until it's dry as that will just harbour bacteria and end up infected. If you have something like savlon at home, you can apply that to the area once it's dry and before dressing the foot..

If it's still bothering him next week or if the paw starts to smell, then I'd get him to the vet incase he needs antibiotics or a touch of pain relief.

zaksmum

Did he chew the claw out or did it come out on it's own?

When my old dog did that, he'd injured the claw digging in the sand on the beach (hit a hidden rock) and licked it for about a day then chewed the claw out and spat it onto the carpet. Ouch!!

It's probably similar with your dog. Try bathing the injured area with warm water and dettol three times a day for three days, you'll probably find it's much better, and the taste of the dettol should put him off the licking too.

~Chameleon~

You could try smothering it in honey (antibacterial) and wrapping it up to keep clean. Just keep an eye on it for any developing infection. Better to see the vet during surgery today if you're worried than paying emergency OOH fees tomorrow

Jaynne

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

You could try smothering it in honey (antibacterial)

While honey is used in some dressings I'm not convinced its going to solve the dogs licking problem?

Have you tried some bitter spray on the bandage - its designed to be licked so would be non toxic.

Helen2k8

If wrapping the paw doesn't work you could make up one of those "elizabethen" (spelled that wrong!) collars to stop him licking it?

lovesabargain123

Thank you everyone, he's now wrapped up with bitter spray from pets at home sprayed on the bandage and a big huge bone to keep him occupied lol

How long would you keep him off walks?

Sagz_2

I wouldn't stop walks as the boredom will jsut cause more problems.

Either cover the dressing in a couple of plastic bags or wash and re-dress when he comes back from a walk.

Dollardog

I'd second the use of honey on the dressing, then bitter spray on the bandage.
There's nothing that heals wounds quicker than honey and its far better than the chemical antibiotic creams etc.

Bonniew86

Sudocrem is a miracle worker on dogs, and I would suggest buying a cone (you can get them from Pets at Home etc.) for the times when you aren't around to distract the dog from licking.