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Torn Webbing Between Toes


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Hi all, I'm hoping someone with this experience can chime in here with some advice. Yesterday, my boy Charlie managed to somehow tear the webbing between his toes on his back left foot while out in the yard. He's not limping or yelping and showing no signs of discomfort. After I cleaned up the huge amount of blood and finally realized what he had done, I cleaned it well and bandaged him up. Does something like this merit a vet visit usually? Would they even be able to stitch something like this? I should add that the webbing between these particular 2 toes has always been more prominent (meaning it extended closer to the tip of the toes) than all his other toes, the tear is about an inch or so long. I've since changed the bandage 3 times and there is still a very small amount of blood but it does look quite raw. Do you think it will heal on it's own or should I be heading to the vet this weekend? I don't even know if I should be wrapping it up with the toes stuck together or apart, will it heal back together or will it heal and the toes will be apart now? Any experience and advice is welcome and I thank you in advance.

 

 

Shelley :-)

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Guest sorenkkg

I hate to say it, but I would take him to the vet-- it's the 1 inch that got me... if it was a little nick, I"m confident at home. Now, it's been a while since he did it so they may not be able to help at this point, but I'd want a vet to look at it.

 

I learned from experience (our Haka is foot-injury-prone rolleyes.gif ) that if you are going to bandage it, put some gauze between all the toes so that the nails don't rub and cause sores, which lead to infection. Then wrap the whole foot in some gauze, then some vet wrap, then a sock with some tape around the leg (not too tight or his foot will BLOW UP like a balloon... you don't want to know how I know...).

 

The spray the whole thing with ''bitter apple" no lick stuff.

 

We also have some "mutt luk" booties that we put over the sock just for going out on a walk, not for in the house (gotta let the air get through the bandages as much as possible). When it gets better a bit, we do away with bandages and go with just the sock taped over the paw--- Haka's got an infected toe and that's where we're at right now with him.

 

But really, if you think you should go to the vet, you probably should. Also, get some polysporin xtra strength-- the vet might have something better, so ask if it helps or retards healing.

 

Good luck and report back-- whatever you do, don't let Charlie lick his paw-- we've learned the hard way that mother nature did a sh-t job when she taught dogs to lick their wounds, it doesn't do them any good and really messes things up.

 

So you might need an e-collar (cone) from the vet as well.

 

The good news? Greyhounds tend to heal really fast.

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My girl did this. I chose not to have it stitched. It healed well, without infection. I will stress that it took a LONG time to heal. Think weeks of on-leash walking only. No running, no jumping, no acting the fool. It was a PITA but she had never had another problem with her.

 

As for whether you need to head to the vet or not, I will lean to the side of caution and say that you should. However, we did at home only care for my girl. Am quick to cart mine to the vet for many things but this time I felt confident.

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Mayhem did something similar just yesterday sometime. I came home and noticed he has a cut on his back foot (the right one in his case) between the middle toes. Now it doesn't sound as large as yours and I don't think it bled very much either. What I've done so far is soak it in a solution of warm epsom salts to clean any dirty that might be in there (it's his feet after all!) and I put a small dab of neosporin on it. I know that epsom salt soaks can help prevent infection as they've been recommended to us by a vet for wound care before, so I may be repeating this depending on how the foot looks.

 

I've left the foot unwrapped so far because letting air circulate will help it heal faster. I'll be keeping a close eye on it for signs of problems, redness, swelling, or anything like that. I'm not really one to go to the vet for everything though, so your comfort level may vary. If the toes are completely sliced apart, hmm, I'd probably want to see what the vet would say in terms of what options you have.

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Guest DebSzal

Everyone has really good advise. I would just like to stress that these do take a LONG time to heal. Gracie kept opening her wound up and I got very good at the bandage and bootie part. The vet may also give you some antibiotic to stop any infection which could cause complications. I keep some Neo-Predef powder in my first aide kit now. It's a topical treatment that promotes healing. The vet gave it to me. Be patient and things will heal fine.

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I've done it both ways - vet and stitches, and letting it heal on its own - with no significant difference either way. The important thing is to keep it clean and dry, though I also second the epsom salts soaks twice a day if possible. Let it air dry *completely,* then wrap up with some padding between the toes to help the air circulate.

 

Baby socks are great for in the house, and a heavy duty ziplock for outside (cut a couple slits through the top, thread some gauze through for a tie, and use it to tie around the leg) to help keep it dry.

 

A lot of this depends on how comfortable you are treating wounds, and how comfortable your grey is letting you fuss with his feet. If there's any question, take him in to the vet.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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Arlie did this recently, here's what we did, twice per day before feeding time - theory being, by the time she finished eating, she'd forget about all we'd done to the paw.

 

- clipped the fur away (we have groomer's scissors with rounded ends especially for this)

- flushed it liberally with saline (over a folded towel)

- dabbed it with a gauze sponge to mostly dry it

- applied antibiotic cream (polysporin) with a slathered q-tip - the q-tip helps you really get in there

- sprayed it with Dermicare (makes bitter apple seem yummy)

 

Immediately after it happened, in between the saline and the polysporin I applied peroxide, but on a one-time basis only

 

Whenever we went out until it was healed, she wore a Pawz (those plastic balloon looking things you get from the vet) - size M, the blue ones.

 

It took some time to heal (about 2 weeks) but it all went smoothly.

 

ETA - The first step. clipping away the fur between her pads, we did only once, at the start.

Edited by Rickiesmom
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Forgot to add that though it healed well, without complications, it did not heal back together. It healed looking like those toes had never been "webbed" together.

 

Ditto on the epsom salts soaks, thorough drying, & baby socks. Also, protecting this injury is how I found out about PAWZ. They are so easy & effective. When possible I left her foot uncovered in the house but when we were not there I taped a sock onto it.

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  • 2 months later...

This is serendipity. Aaron Hicks figured out how to heal torn webbing in two days. Here's how. I posted this literally 2 minutes ago on Greyhound Articles! I found this thread when I went looking for a photo to go with his tip. Well, back to looking for one unless anyone here has a pic we can use. Even a pic of a foot-soaking would be good.:)

 

I'd be happy to add some of your suggestions too if you give me permissions. B)

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Clean area with hydrogen peroxide then apply bag-balm , do not wrap , leash walk for a few weeks.

 

Peroxide will burn the skin cells, causing more damage. It also hurts like h**l. More info on that. Peroxide is pretty good at removing blood stains on some carpets though.;)

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