The Katzke Dog Diary

We were settling in for an afternoon in front of the computer when I heard a familiar “schlurp, schlurp, gnaw gnaw gnaw gnaw” from the corner that Henry was laying in. Sure enough, he was gnawing on one of his paws. And sure enough, when I sat down next to him and looked at it, he had a hot spot on one of his toes.

Here's what a foot that hurts looks like.

Zoomed in, see how pink it is

For comparison's sakes, here's what a healthy foot looks like.

Before I get into this post, let me say this in really really really big letters: I’m not a veterinarian, I have no veterinary training and I take my dogs to a vet if I’m at all concerned or if they’re bleeding. Don’t take this advice as gospel, and if you have ANY worries, call or see your vet as soon as possible.

That being said, Henry and Eo get hot spots between their toes (either on the bottom of their foot between the pads or on top of their foot between the claws) all the time. I think it has something to do with the sandy soil or some of the sharper natural grasses that grow in the backyard where we didn’t sod. They usually won’t leave it alone and gnaw and lick at it constantly, which of course makes it worse and won’t allow it to heal.

First, gather your materials. You’ll need a paw glove, some tape (I like the CVS gentle tape, pictured below) a square of gauze (to keep the infection from getting on the inside of the glove), neosporin or whatever your preferred antibiotic is, and something to clean out the inside of the hot spot with — an alcohol pad or cotton swab with alcohol.

CVS gentle tape -- it has no adhesive and only sticks to itself.

The first step is to clean/flush out the wound. You want to make sure that there isn’t anything left in there like a splinter or some sand that will continue to cause irritation. The second step is to goober it up with Neosporin. I use a liberal amount.

Goober! Goober!

After it’s all goobered up, I wrap it in a piece of gauze that will keep the gooberage and any residual liquids or slime from getting onto the paw glove. The paw gloves are re-useable, the gauze is not.

Wrap it in gauze

Then I secure the gauze with some of the CVS gentle tape. Since it only sticks to itself, it’s perfect for use on our furry friends.

Secure the gauze with the gentle tape.

Since Henry absolutely hates having the paw gloves on, I secure it with tape too.

The paw gloves are Paw Tectors Paw Protectors. Eo’s hooves need the large, Henry would do better with the medium. The supplied velcro really only works if the dog wants it to stay on, so I usually supplement with tape if it’s for medicinal purposes.

I usually leave it on for about 36 hours, and then take it off and bathe the foot. If the pink is gone and the dog stops licking at it, I don’t worry about it any more.

Again, I’m not a vet. It could be that this is totally wrong … please speak up in the comments if this is true. But it’s worked for both the dogs for a few years.