# Can you poultice a dogs paw?



## Dusty M Yeti (16 May 2018)

Peggy was totally normal on her evening walk but has just limped into the kitchen on 3 legs! Front left paw in the air, had a good look, no obvious wounds, pads look normal, claws fine, checked in between toes thought maybe muscular? No objection to being fiddled with. She'll rest for the evening and if no better then vet tomorrow but........20 minutes later I find her chewing the paw, really knawing in at two middle pads and in between them so am now thinking a foreign body.

If she was equine I'd poultice or human I'd stick a plaster on.....is there anything I can do to encourage a foreign body out? Warm water paw bath?

I'll consult vet if no better tomorrow but I don't like to see her obviously agitated by something, she's not normally a chewer or a particularly wimpy character!


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## Umbongo (16 May 2018)

I would be very wary about bandaging a dog or cats paw. I have seen too many animals come in to the vets with swelling and blood supply issues after a well meaning owner has placed one too tight. Having bandaged both horses and cats/dogs, horses are easier to get right.

If it is a foreign body you would normally see a small entrance wound or swelling. If it is a grass seed, the way they are shaped with the barbs mean they will only keep going further in, and usually only come out through forcible removal. Sometimes cats and dogs will also chew if they are in pain from a muscle/joint problem rather than a foreign body as such. You could bathe the area with a dilute hibi or salt water bath and see if thats helps. If she keeps chewing it until you can get to the vets then a buster collar, sock etc may help. But if no improvement then I would see a vet tomorrow.


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## Dusty M Yeti (16 May 2018)

Thanks umbongo, that's really useful advice  

I honestly can't see anything in there at all but the way she's chewing it is quite targeted to the two toes and pads. I hadn't thought about a sock, I'll try that as a barrier and vet tomorrow if no improvement. 

Quite alarming when they're fine on a walk then hobbling when you next see them. she tends to take herself off to the front room window to sleep after walks!


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## Umbongo (16 May 2018)

No worries. Yep it can be alarming! Quite a lot of the time they can be acutely lame, and then fine a couple if hours later. If she is lame then lots of rest and no more walking, just out for toilet purposes! 

Don't use a sock if she is a dog of the sock eating variety though


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## tda (16 May 2018)

One of our terrier is devil for this, I usually wash it with salt water,  slap a load of sudocrem on it and loosely bandage (not quite a poultice)
 It's usually okay the next day


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## dappyness (16 May 2018)

Could it be stinging nettles?


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## chaps89 (18 May 2018)

How is she doing now - ok I hope? Always a worry when they're not quite right for no obvious reason.


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## Dusty M Yeti (19 May 2018)

Sorry, should have updated this (I hate it when threads are left hanging, and then I go and do it myself )

She did settle in the end on Weds night and by Thursday morning she was a little better, still lame but using the leg in walk, only lifting it when in sitting position! So left her with my parents for the day whilst I was at work, with strict instructions of no walking just toilet breaks by the time I got home Thursday evening she seemed 100% okay. 

Friday morning she proved she was absolutely fine by escaping through the front door and spending 10 minutes evading capture, pretending she was totally deaf and having a whale of a time exploring the hedgerows and ditches and hunting for rabbits (she is a terrier), going flat out and doing the perfected move of running straight towards me at top speed and then dodging round me at the last minute and thinking it was all a great game  you know those moments when you just want to scream in frustration but you have to make yourself the most exciting happy person for them to come back to  and she never actually disappears, just stays out of reach!! Her day off from exercise had obviously given her extra energy to do this 

So the conclusion is I'm still not sure what she had done  whether it was muscular or a bite/sting, I think those are the most likely things, but she is absolutely fine now


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## Clodagh (19 May 2018)

Good news.  Terriers, that look they give you while they consider your request...


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