Webbing Issue

[KickReturn]

Hello All,

 

Hester has what appears to be a sore or some condition on the upper side of his webbing between the first and second toe of a front paw.

 

See photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It appears wet because I have covered it in antibiotic ointment. Note the pit near the top of the webbing and the black areas which are what I believe to be scabs. There was more of the scab material that I removed. The scab material was a bit different than any scab I have handled before. More rubbery and tenacious.

 

I wonder if some foreign material had been imbedded in the skin and the healing process has begun.

 

Tips for care are welcome.

 

And a glamour shot just because.

 

Edited July 21, 2012 by KickReturn

[gryhnd_adoptee]

Gosh he's georgous!

 

It looks like he might have been poked by something while out an about. Mine will occassionally get nicked up by sticks from the Sycamore tree which can be pretty rigid. Something this minor on the foot I soak in a warm epsom salt bath. I fill a deep pot and have them stand in it for as long as they will allow me to keep them there for (I try for 10 to 20 minutes). Belly rubs are a big bonus. While they stand in the mixture, I use an old turkey baster put down into the water to keep it moving between the toes by squeezing the bulb...kind of like creating a mini whirlpool bath. The epsom salts cleans and debrades the wound, and speeds healing.

[gryhndsr4us]

If he will not stand still for soaking I've had good luck using a ziplock bag while the hound was laying down. I just held it on and my boy fell asleep while soaking.

[Guest RooMcClanahan]

Hey, there: Seamus had something similar -- puncture wound between the webbing -- and we tried to spray it with some adhesive stuff, which was only ok -- not sure it did much. Then he'd tear off the bandages, but we did try to distract him from licking it, and it did heal on its own. I know, it looks really painful, but it didn't slow him down at all (he's five).

 

Hester is GORGEOUS, by the way, pokes and all! Good luck.

[Guest Melissa516]

About 2 months ago, Ginger had what we thought were cuts in the top part of the webbing of her back foot. She had three round open wounds that looked a lot like those in the picture. This happened on a Friday afternoon. She came in from outside and her foot was bleeding. So, I assumed she had cut it somehow. We cleaned it up, epsom salt soaks, antibiotic ointment, etc. By Monday afternoon the foot was very swollen and obviously infected. So, we went to the vet that evening. Our vet told us that it was an infection in the leg that drained into the foot and eventually breaks open. He said when the "cuts" are on the top part of the webbing that's an indicator of possible infection, as opposed to on the bottom of the foot, where you would expect a cut. Her lymph node was swollen in the leg as well. She ended up taking antibiotics for about 30 days to clear it up. So, I can't say yours isn't just a cut, but it might be worth a trip to the vet just to be sure. Good luck and keep us posted!

[cleptogrey]

looks like fungus to me- athletic's foot(ha-ha a grey w/ athletic's foot!). no kidding, emily's webbing was raw and red- some black blotches(as your dog has). but she didn't have a pustical (that green thing w/ a white head). i first tried epsom's salts then antibiotic oinment- it got worse. so, i went to the vet(i usually wait a while and try to figure things out).

my vet scraped the black fungus away and i used desitin- for babies, the thick white oinment, to keep it dry. i put it on really thick and used a white sock to keep the house clean(that stuff never washes out). it healed with in a little more than a week. what's strange is my male had fungus on his toe bed as well- athletic's foot cream worked for that. i think both got it at the beach that summer.