What is Wrong With My Dog's Paw?

[HeijoshinCool]

Licking it for 6-8 months, off and on. Got a little raw, here and there, but never like this. Since I returned stateside last month he won't stop licking it. Wrap it and he eventually gets it off.

We've taken him to the vet in NST three times. First time he said, fungus, and we treated for that. Second and third time antibiotics for secondary infection, but no dx.

Just the one pad, on the one paw. X-rays inconclusive. He's a hundred pound boy, 12 years old. Too old to have to suffer this.

Living in Rhek Thum, 15 hours from BKK. Any ideas before we drive all the way to BKK?

I'm wondering if it might be the underlying bone that's bothering him, arthritis?

.

Edited November 21, 2014 by HeijoshinCool

[NeverSure]

I would insist on exploratory surgery. I've seen that when a thistle got into a paw, and I've seen it caused by scabies.

In Thailand I have no idea how many burrowing bugs or thistles there are, but that looks like some similar invasion.

Source - I grew up with about a dozen Australian Shepherd dogs and always a couple of house dogs, and they would get a thistle sticker or what we call foxtail and that's what it looked like. Those are barbed and won't back out by themselves.

It couldn't heal until surgically removed. That really looks as if there is something in there to me.

Good luck.

Edited November 21, 2014 by NeverSure

[HeijoshinCool]

I would insist on exploratory surgery. I've seen that when a thistle got into a paw, and I've seen it caused by scabies.

In Thailand I have no idea how many burrowing bugs or thistles there are, but that looks like some similar invasion.

Source - I grew up with about a dozen Australian Shepherd dogs and always a couple of house dogs, and they would get a thistle sticker or what we call foxtail and that's what it looked like. Those are barbed and won't back out by themselves.

It couldn't heal until surgically removed. That really looks as if there is something in there to me.

Good luck.

..

Thanks.

That had crossed my mind, too. Just worried a/ the anesthetic could kill the old man, and b/ the vet might not be good enough.

And I wonder if it would not be better just to remove that one pad ...

[NeverSure]

They can do it with a tranquilizer and a local anesthetic. If they get in there and find that it's a tumor or something they would remove the pad. It really does look like cases I've known where it was a foreign object either thistle type or bug type (scabies perhaps.)

Surely there is a really good vet somewhere?

[HeijoshinCool]

They can do it with a tranquilizer and a local anesthetic. If they get in there and find that it's a tumor or something they would remove the pad. It really does look like cases I've known where it was a foreign object either thistle type or bug type (scabies perhaps.)

Surely there is a really good vet somewhere?

.

Yeah, a local would be fine. I think this guy has decent training, I just don't like his attitude. He's arrogant, always with a big smile that says I'm stupid. Hard to trust him.

I had a great vet in Rayong: Modern Pet Hospital. They saved the old man's mom with surgery. Just on the wrong side of Thailand.

[wayned]

"They can do it with a tranquilizer and a local anesthetic." Yes they can, but will they? My experience with vets in Thailand is that they want the animal totally out before they will do any minor surgery.

[NeverSure]

Heck, I'd do it myself 555. When I was a kid the family had learned most vet procedures and to this day it's legal to buy most meds for vet work. I can walk into a farm store and buy penicillin and anesthetics, syringes, scalpels,stitching needles and thread etc. over the counter and legally.

We had cattle, a few milk cows, some hogs, more than a dozen dogs (most of them herding dogs) and if we had used a vet for everything he would have needed to live at our house 555.

I remember one time a steer walked into a wooden gate and impaled himself on a board, which broke off. (Our fault for allowing it to be loose.) Here he was walking around with a board impaled in the side of his rump.

We tried to pull it out but it was in muscle which had tightened up and locked it. We led him to where his neck was locked in a metal feed pen, gave him some feed, and shot that wound area full of novocaine to relax the muscle while relieving any pain. Then we were able to pull that board out, feel inside for any splinters, spray the inside with penicillin, give him a big shot of the same, and sew him up. We left a small lower area unsewn in case it needed to drain. It healed right up.

Being an American I should have shot him 555555555 but he was a gentle and valuable steer.

OP, good luck with your dog. I hope it's an easy fix.

[meatboy]

I would insist on exploratory surgery. I've seen that when a thistle got into a paw, and I've seen it caused by scabies.

In Thailand I have no idea how many burrowing bugs or thistles there are, but that looks like some similar invasion.

Source - I grew up with about a dozen Australian Shepherd dogs and always a couple of house dogs, and they would get a thistle sticker or what we call foxtail and that's what it looked like. Those are barbed and won't back out by themselves.

It couldn't heal until surgically removed. That really looks as if there is something in there to me.

Good luck.

ours licks his paws quite a lot but never till they are raw.being an old greyhound man this was quite common that a splinter of some sort would enter the pad so put some pressure on the pad with your fingers,but do the one thats not troubling him first.

[bina]

hard to see but if its one pad then more likely foreign object in one area; if in both pads (redness etc) could really be a fungus/candida and then also behavioral (they become addicted to the licking, stereotype behavior); if it is fungus, then dipping in cider vinegar or even white 5% vinegar (1:1 ratio is suggested) seems to help clear up the candida, much better then the anti fungus shit that u would be given.. as that needs to be applied, kept on, and gone on for a few weeks even.

if it is a foreign object then a mild tranquilizer and local anesthetic would be the ideal for opening and searching; then an inflatable head collar (Not those stupid elizabethan collars, ther eare much nicer more comfortable alternatives nowasdays in the internet), and some good vet wrap that allow the area to breathe...

it might possibly be all three thinsg as it is a chicken/egg situation with paw licking. also, at least hear, the heads of wild oats that work their way in to pads also work their way out again from other areas that become infected, pussy then open with the tail end of the grain sticking out.

[jacko45k]

Has he been shot? I often hear the line, I am looking for the man who shot my paw!

[shaurene]

Probably been bitten or stung by something and something in there so small X-Ray not pick it up. Just go to your nearest City and find a good vet.

[NeverSure]

Has he been shot? I often hear the line, I am looking for the man who shot my paw!

Actually, that was the three legged dog who had walked into a bar. Nice pun.

Also,

Three fonts walked into a bar and the bartender said "Get out. We don't want your type in here."

Or,

A sandwich walked into a bar and the bartender said "Sorry, we don't serve food in here."

[Ming Mueng]

Thonglor Pet Hospital in Bangkok should do fine. 24 hour service. www.thonglorpet.com

[atyclb]

If you take the time to come to BKK a reasonable place to go is kasetsart university veterinary medicine hospital / university. Not far from Central Mall Lad Prao.

it is an impressive place with a good reputation. i know it cause i eat at a thai / international restaurant on premises run by a guy that lived/studied in usa. people in his family studied there.

http://vet.ku.ac.th/vetenglish/

that pic shows what may be an abscess. could also be a cysyic lesion but if theres pain much on walking cyst less likely.

Edited November 24, 2014 by atyclb

[Refresh]

Hi

I have had a few dogs and each from time to time gets red between the pads on the paw - sometimes as in this case the dog needs help as it becomes itchy and sore. The cure a vet gave me was a simple one and I have done it to a lot of dogs.

Take a bowl of water (body temperature) and disolve so bicarbonate of soda (a baking product also called sodium bicarbonate or sold in the form of baking powder where it is the main ingredient) approx 1 teaspoon per litre/quart. Have the dog stand his paw in the bowl/bucket and gently wash the paw for 3 or 4 min. Do this morning and evening (more if you want). The redness should lessen after the first day and be gone within a about a week. If it comes back then 1-2 days of the treatment will usually clear it up.

Give it a go

[mls]

Definitely looks like something's not right there. Get him to a decent vet and get it checked out properly.

As Refresh says you could try the bi-carb dip, but Epsom salts would be better (Magnesium Sulphate powder). You can buy it here though you might need to get a Thai person to find it for you. Use that as a soak for his paw two or three times a day. It not only cleans the wound (as saline solution or iodine solution) but it will help to draw out anything in his pad.

Used it for my dog back in the UK when he got a grass seed stuck and it eventually popped out along with the pus! It healed up beautifully after by keeping on using the dip. I could get him to keep his paw in the bowl by feeding him chocolate drops (dog sort).

I would do this until you can get to a good vet as it could be something else that needs to be removed surgically.

Good luck and hope you sort the poor guy out.

[kevin2852]

I agree with most of what has been said, I think that this looks like a foreign intrusion. It is definitely not a parasite, but I will bet on a thorn or a tiny piece of plastic which has become bedded in the tendon mesh between the toes. Oddly, Plastic splinters are a lot more common than people think and they always affect the feet of dogs. I think that a 15 minute exploratory surgical procedure would be the way to go with a local anaesthetic and 2 or so stitches. It should not cost too much, and will not be too painful

[Si Thea01]

They can do it with a tranquilizer and a local anesthetic. If they get in there and find that it's a tumor or something they would remove the pad. It really does look like cases I've known where it was a foreign object either thistle type or bug type (scabies perhaps.)

Surely there is a really good vet somewhere?

.

Yeah, a local would be fine. I think this guy has decent training, I just don't like his attitude. He's arrogant, always with a big smile that says I'm stupid. Hard to trust him.

I had a great vet in Rayong: Modern Pet Hospital. They saved the old man's mom with surgery. Just on the wrong side of Thailand.

I cannot give you any advise as to what the problem is but it looks ulcerated. I would definitely get a second opinion especially if you not happy with the current vet. How you feel about him might be coming across during the visits and he is being nonchalant in the way he is treating your best friend because he has picked up on this.

[ALFREDO]

=15 hours from BKK=

That has to be outside of Thailand, or you drive slowly.

Edited November 24, 2014 by ALFREDO

[bina]

and?

btw the soda bicarbonate is similar to the acetic acid vineagar wash....this is for fungal /candida

tea bags in teh water also help draw out infection

salts reduce inflatmation and help draw out the infection....

[HeijoshinCool]

Thanks, guys-

Nakhon Si Thammarat is twelve hours if you drive. With my dog in the back and breaks, about 15 hours.

The vet here will not do the exploratory surgery without a general, he refuses to use a sedative and a local. Dooley is a hundred pounds and almost 13. That's old, and I won't do a general. Oddly, the vet agrees a general might kill him.

I used to go to Thonglor, but some things there were off. I'd go to the vet school. Still a long way from NST. So maybe I'll try a few things first, as suggested above. It has dried up a bit the last three days, so I'll keep my paws crossed.

Dooley as a little boy; Dooley as a young neighborhood stud; Dooley the old man:

[HeijoshinCool]

Forgive me if I reminisce and share a Dooley story:

When he was a young stud, he was kidnapped. Taken out of our fenced yard by a young couple, as witnessed by a neighbor. My mom was living with me and she was heartbroken. Next day, she looks out the window and sees someone running away from the side of the garage, jump in a car, and tear off down the street. She calls the cops.

Cop comes out, draws sidearm, and throws open the garage door. Dooley jumps on his chest and knocks him down and stands on his chest. My mom said the cop was as white as a sheet. Which is pretty white, 'cause he was Mexican.

We figured Dooley had been "borrowed" for stud service. However, he was a bit a a pistol back then, so maybe he ate their couch.

[meatboy]

Forgive me if I reminisce and share a Dooley story:

When he was a young stud, he was kidnapped. Taken out of our fenced yard by a young couple, as witnessed by a neighbor. My mom was living with me and she was heartbroken. Next day, she looks out the window and sees someone running away from the side of the garage, jump in a car, and tear off down the street. She calls the cops.

Cop comes out, draws sidearm, and throws open the garage door. Dooley jumps on his chest and knocks him down and stands on his chest. My mom said the cop was as white as a sheet. Which is pretty white, 'cause he was Mexican.

We figured Dooley had been "borrowed" for stud service. However, he was a bit a a pistol back then, so maybe he ate their couch.

nice story hc.what was your stud duties when a young hound.

myself i gave my services free.

remembering when i had the greyhounds i used to soak their feet in a betardine solution.

[kevin2852]

Hi, yes I agree that there will most likely be respiratory problems after a general, but a general is simply not necessary, although, it will be necessary to sedate the patient ( Doxazepam ) and a standard xylocaine local and then he will need to be strapped up to avoid the risk of bites due to panic but, the op will be just a trivial foreign body removal, the swelling is the body's attempt to cover the object with a layer of fluid to alleviate the discomfort, much of this will drain away very quickly but removing the intrusion will simply mean a couple of minutes work with a pair of sharp tweezers, all best done under a local. I think that your vet just does not want to risk being bitten. So, tape up the dog's muzzle if so worried and work quickly

[kevin2852]

By the way, before I forget, some of the best Australian vets in Thailand work at the Paws clinic in Phuket and that might not be too far for you to travel. This is their phone 089 588 4050 or 081 360 8620

[Beetlejuice]

I know exactly what that is.

My dog had exactly the same problem just below his behind, but these can develop anywhere on the dog.

It`s a cyst or otherwise known as a tumour. Extremely difficult to detect until they grow large. Usually start the size of a small pimple then over a period of time they grow larger, much larger and keep growing. These can be caused by a multitude of reasons but the main cause being hormone inbalancies, especially in male dogs.

After a while as my dog did, the dog bites the cyst and in extreme cases can cause severe blood loss and infection. Some of these tumours can be cancerous, others are benign. The softer the tumour the less chance of it being cancerous.

Take the dog to a vet pronto and have it removed, plus a cancer check and hopefully the tumour is benign. Make sure it`s a reputable vet that has the facilities and know how to deal with large dogs, don`t waste your time with small local vets, they are less than useless in these cases, couldn`t diagnose a jam on a rice pudding.

Also have the dog checked out for microscopic mites (walking dandruff) and fungus infection that can also add to the cause of intense itching. All these problems are easy to cure, but can be fatal if left any longer. But it has to be removed.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Beetlejuice

[bina]

again, soaking in warm saline water several times a day and drying the area afterword;

betadine solution once it opens but only a few times as the betadine povidine types prevent cell regenration i.e. they prevent healing, only act as disinfectant.

if there is fungus or candida then a 1:1 solution of white or cider vinegar and water dip will do wonders.

its not so easy working on a large dog that is objecting to have his hurting foot handles. trust me, dealing with my lhasa bitch and the foxtail grass seed that goes in to dogs' feet causing same thing was not fun. by third time i do it myself, but she is small.

lavendar pharmaceutical strenght oil can be used as disinfectant on open wound and non toxic to dogs

[HeijoshinCool]

Thanks, guys.

(Outta likes.)