Wednesday 22 May 2013

gravel rash on Penny's front paws

I've discovered that two other dogs who were with us on our long walk at Marysville also have sore front paws.

In one way, it's a relief to know, because now I can rule out other possibilities about Penny's sore feet. I've looked on the internet to see what other people do for these types of injuries and there's lots of information.

One site mentions treating the sore places with Neosporin. I don't know that medication, but discovered it's an antibiotic cream available in the US. An article at Wikipedia - which I don't completely trust - says it might be better not to used antibiotics like this, because there's no evidence they speed healing, and they may promote the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The article suggests using simple petroleum jelly (which we have at home and which a more experienced dog-owner already told me should do the job). On the other hand, I'm not fond of medications that are by-products of the oil industy.  Here's a little snippet about Vaseline brand of petroleum jelly:

Chesebrough originally promoted Vaseline primarily as an ointment for scrapes, burns, and cuts, but studies have shown that Vaseline has no medicinal effect nor any effect on the blistering process, nor is it absorbed by the skin.
Vaseline brand First Aid Petroleum Jelly, or carbolated petroleum jelly containing phenol to give the jelly additional antibacterial effect, has been discontinued. During World War II, a variety of petroleum jelly called red veterinary petrolatum, or Red Vet Pet for short, was often included in life raft survival kits. Acting as a sunscreen, it provides protection againstultraviolet rays.[4]Petroleum jelly's effectiveness in accelerating wound healing stems from its sealing effect on cuts and burns, which inhibits germs from getting into the wound and keeps the injured area supple by preventing the skin's moisture from evaporating.


If Penny's not very much better tomorrow I might try the petroleum jelly. Of course, if she's really sore, we'll go to the vet. But I don't think that's necessary, because already it's healing well.

I might put some aloe vera gel on it. (We have the plant growing in our garden.)

Here's a little bit about aloe vera:

There are a few homeopathic remedies for minor soreness and injuries. A soak of diluted salt water can help with soreness and small cuts or abrasions. The salt has antiseptic properties.
Aloe Vera and tea tree oil are other good homeopathic options. Aloe Vera is safe for dogs to lick and may be applied directly to the paw. It soothes and heals, and contains anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-septic properties. If using a store bought gel, make sure the gel contains 100% Aloe Vera. If it does not, the gel may contain additives that are not safe for the dog to ingest.   
Note this quote doesn't say tea tree oil is safe for dogs to lick!! As far as I know it is dangerous.  


The other possibility is to put manuka honey on it, but the thought of stopping Penny licking it off daunts me.

Another site I found useful is this short video by a vet on care of dogs' paw pads.



4 comments:

Molly the Airedale said...

Mom sometimes uses Bag Balm on ours. We hope your feet feel better soon, Penny!

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

parlance said...

I'll go and check it out right now, Mitch and Molly. Thanks!

Johann The Dog said...

Aloe is a great choice!!! I used to get paw burn when running agility in a certain indoor soccer stadium. Mum would put a homeopathic cream - Traumeel - on my paws before and after and it worked great! We use Neo very, very sparingly, like with Gracie's bad split nail. But use Traumeel very frequently for little ouchs, it's awesome and Mum doesn't have to worry about us licking it a little. We're going to post an update on Gracie's nail so you'll see how we use it.

parlance said...

Johann, thanks for that comment! I do recall reading something about Traumeel on your blog in the past, so I'll go and search back on your blog to see what you said. If I can get my hands on some Traumeel I'll put it on Penny's paws before we go on any long walks in the future.
The other good thing about you comment is that it gives me another search term for the internet - "paw burn". I had been searching under "gravel rash" and didn't get very good results.