Cut Pad On Paw....what To Do?

[charliehotel]

We were out with the dogs tonight in the park having a grand time when suddenly Minna pulls up limping. She ran off again and seemed okay, but when we got to the footpath I could see blood on her footprints. I had a good look and she's got a cut on the main pad on her front paw. It's a straight cut (no jagged edges, nothing in the wound, probably a cut from some bastard's broken glass :D ) and after a good clean it's stopped bleeding. She can put her weight on it and is not limping anymore.

So, do we need to go to the vet to get it checked out, or do we leave it to heal on it's own? I know this might sound like a dumb question but my usual vet (my brother in law) is away overseas and last time I went to a different vet we got quite significantly over serviced (unnecessary antibiotics, etc) so I'm a bit hesitant. Do clean cuts to paw pads heal on their own or do they pretty much always need stitches to hold the would together because of the weight on the paw?

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks!!

[Pockets]

If it isnt too deep and she isnt in any pain and you have cleaned it, generally it should heal itself, get some paw paw ointment and put that on, its great for cuts and abrasions and it doesnt matter if the dog licks it :D

[Cavalier]

I would definitely give a tetanus vaccine and an anti-toxin, you can get them at stockfeeders or equine vets OTC. They are just given sucutaneously.

[Kirislin]

I'd be inclined to bandage it to keep dirt out of it. From my own experience with dogs cutting paw pads I wouldn't bother with stitching again, but that's me. When Penny did hers I put manuka honey on it and kept it bandaged with a dressing change every couple of days.

[charliehotel]

thanks everyone. We've bandaged it and used some pawpaw ointment, and so far Minna is walking on it without limping. When I bandaged it I could see that the cut is actually deeper than I first thought, but after going through the whole cut paw/stitching caper with my other dog on a previous occasion I'd rather try to see if we can manage it ourselves.

[piper]

I haven't tried it as I haven't needed to but I have heard of people using the liquid bandaid stuff on clean, stright cuts that aren't too deep.

[marckymarc]

The same thing happened with Ruby at the dog park - I took the advice of the great people here and it healed brilliantly!

You need to fill a large tub with salt water and gently move your dogs paw through the water - it will get rid of any dirt that is deep in the cut. I was amazed at how much dirt came out doing this.

Then you need to bathe the cut with betadine to ensure it doesnt get infected. I wrapped rubys paw in a bandage later this but didnt last on her very long!

Bathe it with the betadine a few times a day whole the cut is open to keep it clean and help it heal. When the wound started healing and wasnt as deep then I started using paw paw between betadine treatments to help.

Rubys was pretty deep but within 2 weeks was completely better. Hope this helps!

[charliehotel]

thanks everyone for your advice, it seems to be going okay so far with home treatment so fingers crossed we won't need to go to the vet.