Yorkie with swollen pad - vet says nothing's wrong?!! Advice please.

[Yorkieluv]

Hi

Our little Yorkie developed a sore pad on her front right paw. She licked it continually and would not let us examine it. By the Monday she seemed okay and it didn't appear to be painful anymore. She allowed us to look at it and we found the one pad swollen, but not painful to the touch. As she seemed fine and wasn't frantically licking it anymore, we left it and watched to see if the swelling went down. It didn't do so. She then began to limp on that leg, so we took her to the vet. The vet said the pad was much bigger than the others on that paw, but she could not feel anything in it. She felt she was probably limping due to a muscle strain. I asked her if she could scan/Xray the paw and see if anything was inside, but she said it wouldn't show up. She has stopped limping, but the pad is still swollen. I said that the pad cannot be swollen for no reason?! The vet replied that she was probably walking slightly differently on that leg for some reason and so the pad thickened?? I am not really happy about leaving this, but don't know what to do now. Am I making a fuss about nothing? I would be grateful for any advice. OOps! I have just realised I have put this question on the cushings thread!!! I'm not sure how to change it?

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your girl!

Since the main discussion of the forum is canine Cushing's I've taken the liberty and moved your thread over to our "Everything Else" forum. ;)

Oh my, I really don't know what could be causing her pad to be swollen, maybe a bite from a spider or insect? Do the claws on that foot look ok?

Hugs, Lori

[Yorkieluv]

Thanks so much for moving my post to the correct forum, Lori. and thanks for the welcome.

Her nails seem absolutely fine. The vet did look at them. I think you have a point there - I didn't think of an insect bite/sting! I wonder how long a bite/sting can take to go down - her pad is three times the size of the pads next to it?

Thanks again , Lori.

[Harley PoMMom]

Since it came up so suddenly it made me think of a spider/insect, and if so, depending on what did bite her I would think it should start going going down within a few days.

Would she let you put a cold compress on it? You also could start her on Benadryl and see if that helps.

[Yorkieluv]

What a good idea! I am going to try the Benadryl. I doubt she would allow me to put a cold compress on her paw for more than a few seconds. She doesn't like her paws fiddled with in any way. She associates it with getting her nails cut at the groomers, I think! Thanks for the suggestion. My vet should have thought of this!!

[lulusmom]

Most dogs don't like their feet being messed with but some of those same dog don't mind if you soak their sore paw in epsom salts. It can work wonders. All you need is a bucket or dish pan. Epsom salts is cheap and you can get it at Walmart or pharmacies. Pour 1/2 cup of epsom salts into the bucket and fill the bucket with 1 gallon of warm water. I've done this many times with my own dogs and foster dogs. I've included a how to link below:

https://www.cuteness.com/article/soak-dogs-feet-epsom-salts

[molly muffin]

Do let us know how he is doing and if the benadryl and epson bath helps. Both great options and since it's So swollen I'd do both.

[Yorkieluv]

Thanks for these helpful replies.

I have tried the benadryl and the epsom salts soak. She put up a fight when I wanted to put her paw in the epsom salts water, so it wasn't in for too long - probably a few minutes altogether. I haven't seen an improvement yet. Perhaps I need to do it again. The benadryl didn't seem to have any effect. I am going to try it for a couple more days.

I contacted the vet and she said she will have another look at the paw on Monday, when she goes for her scan (possible cushings)

I am so grateful for all your help.

[Budsters Mom]

If your vet continues to say that there's nothing wrong with a paw pad that is so much bigger than the others and obviously is hurting your baby, I would question the competency of your vet. She is not walking on it because it hurts. I am not a vet, yet I at least know that much! I would continue the Epson salt soak's and Benadryl at 1 mg per pound three times per day for at least another couple of days. Try sitting with her on your lap and placing the paw in a warm bowl of the mixture while talking to her and stroking her softly.

[Yorkieluv]

If your vet continues to say that there's nothing wrong with a paw pad that is so much bigger than the others and obviously is hurting your baby, I would question the competency of your vet. She is not walking on it because it hurts. I am not a vet, yet I at least know that much! I would continue the Epson salt soak's and Benadryl at 1 mg per pound three times per day for at least another couple of days. Try sitting with her on your lap and placing the paw in a warm bowl of the mixture while talking to her and stroking her softly.

Thanks so much for this advice and I totally agree with you about the vet! I felt that she was far too casual about it. I spoke to her on the phone and asked her to have a GOOD look at it on Monday.

She is not limping much anymore just on occasions. It is not painful to the touch - you can actually press it without her showing pain. I will keep giving her the Benedryl and I will try sitting her on my lap while soaking the paw - this could work. I don't know why I didn't think of it! I had her on a table with the one paw in the bowl. She hated it! What does the epsom salt soak do?

If the vet, once again, says that there is nothing wrong, I will insist on a second opinion.

Thanks again

[Budsters Mom]

Warm salt soaks soften the skin and allow any possible infection/pus to drain. They are often used for people with painful ingrown toenails. This helps reduce swelling and pain.

[labblab]

Just wanted to add that as an alternative to soaking the paw in a bowl, you can try putting the solution in a small baggie with a zipper top. Place the paw in the baggie, and then zip the closing around the paw. This can help contain water from splashing around, and keep the paw better submerged while you hold the top in place. This worked really well with my Lab girl who had frequent paw cysts. She was too big to hold in my lap, of course, but I'd have her sit out on our deck and then just slide her paw into the baggie while she was sitting. I'd keep her attention focused on me by holding/giving her a little piece of a treat every minute or so.

I was soaking her paw in liquid antiseptic and she needed to keep the baggie on for five minutes each time. She would get somewhat restless, but that's where the treats really helped. ;)

Marianne

[molly muffin]

I'm glad to hear that it isn't painful any longer, so maybe it is healing. Pain goes away and then swelling goes down. Rather does sound like either a sting or she stepped on something that caused a small puncture somewhere. (molly use to step on pine needles and would stop and hold her paw up to have them removed) This after she got one broke off in her pad that caused us all kinds of trouble. I couldn't see it, but knew there was an issue and she found it under a magnifying glass.

[Kayla]

Thanks so much for this advice and I totally agree with you about the vet! I felt that she was far too casual about it. I spoke to her on the phone and asked her to have a GOOD look at it on Monday.

She is not limping much anymore just on occasions. It is not painful to the touch - you can actually press it without her showing pain. I will keep giving her the Benedryl and I will try sitting her on my lap while soaking the paw - this could work. I don't know why I didn't think of it! I had her on a table with the one paw in the bowl. She hated it! What does the epsom salt soak do?

If the vet, once again, says that there is nothing wrong, I will insist on a second opinion.

Thanks again

I read the later post where you said your yorkies paw isn't in pain anymore, but I wanted to comment on this. In small towns, if you're in one, you may only have one "good" vet, what I did was found a veterinarian that was outside my town that is exceptional for physical checkups, as I feel they are more competent. In regards to the paw, one of my cats had a problem with his paw, and I gave him Benadryl to help him and wrapped his paw in bandage. Didn't last too long because he's a cat, lol. There are charts like this one: http://www.anydogrescue.org/benadryl-for-dogs/ where it tells you how much Benadryl to give your dog. I am glad that your yorkie is doing better. My sister has 3 yorkies and loves so much, I get to see them every time they come up for holidays, they are so cute!