wounded foot?

my 75lb golden retriever/chow chow has been licking his feet for days, i thought he was just tending to some mud after recent rain but after he started limping i took a look.it looks like skin has been thinly sliced off. there is some yellow looking stuff attached which looks like infected dead skin. it smells repugnant.what could have happened to my pooch? i have it wrapped with ointment right now and will call the vet tomorrow (it's after 5)should i take him to the emergency vet clinic the next town over or does this sound like it can wait until morning?

take it in and dont risk INFECTION

The vet's not going to be happy that you've waited this long because of the chance of infection and its much harder to stitch if stitches are required if its already started to heal.However, you're only waiting overnight. What I'd do is clean it really well - if you use hydrogen peroxide you need to dilute it half and half with water. My vet told me that used straight it'll damage tissue. Then put some vaseline on it to keep the edges from drying out and wrap it up.

You can wait until morning, but until then I would wash it out with running water, via using a removable showerhead or the water hose, then putting some neosporin in it and wrap in tightly, but not too tight, in a clean washcloth or other soft rag. then you can use some electrical tape or duck tape to secure it. with duck tape, do not wrap it all the way around a few times, once is enough. with electrical tape (the skinny black kind) you will want to wrap it a few times. don't make it too loose or it will come off and not to tight or it will hurt his foot. remove the bandage when you get in the car to go to the vet's office to avoid him stepping in dirt or grass. he should be fine until the morning.

I think your dog is fine. I wouldn't go to the ER vet clinic with him. I think tomorrow would be fine. As long as there isn't horrible swelling or bleeding or constand drainage. Cut the dead skin off if you can, put a triple antibiotic ointment on it (neosporin) And keep it wrapped, but put a telfa pad on the raw part. It should heal up enough where you don't need the bandage in a couple of days unless he starts to lick, and it will start to get hard where he will stop limping. My dogs have done this a few times, I never figured out what they tore their pad off on but this is what I have always done. Just keep it clean and I would say you don't even need the vet...unless you need antibiotics...if its really infected.

He should be fine until the morning. You did the right thing to wrap it in ointment. I would recommend cleaning it with hydrogen peroxide, but there are three problems:1) You have a big dog in pain2) Dogs in pain can be slightly more aggressive (just trying to protect themselves) even if they are the most loving do to you in the world3) With chow in him, I'm not sure how he'll react.However, you know your dog better than I do, so you should decide if you want to clean it.

Does he seem to be hurting when he is just laying around? Is his nose wet or dry feeling? If he seems to be hurting all the time, not when he is just walking I would probably take him to the emergency vet. If he seems comfortable and it is wrapped where he can't lick it, I would wait until tomorrow. If you think he is running a fever I will probably take him on in now also. Your guess about what happened is as good as anything I can say. Dogs tend to get into lots of things and anything could have cut his paw. Hope everything turns out good and he feels better soon. Hope you feel better soon too!

your dog will be fine until the morning but it seems like the dog needs medical care. My dog was hit by a car and my vet said she'd be fine until the morning.

I think you are fine til morning. Put a wash cloth or paper towel in warm water, clean the area. Let it dry. Try a bit of hydrogen peroxide. THat will clean it out. Let it dry. THEN lightly wrap it with some gauze and put one of your socks over the foot. Good luck.

Here is some advice from a veterinarian (me...)From your description, it sounds like it can wait until tomorrow. It may be a wound or started with a wound but it may be an area that has been licked raw due to a reaction. It does not really matter now. You need to take the wrap off and wash off the ointment. These will make the problem worse. This type of area gets these oozy, irritated spots because they stay moist because they are hairy and between the toes and because the dogs lick them. Golden Retrievers are really bad to get them. Wash with copious amounts of warm water. You can do an epsom salt soak if the dog will tolerate and dry throughly. You can try to decrease the licking by giving 3 (25mg each) Benadryl--assuming he has not other health problems. This can be repeated every 8 hours. It may make him sleepy.This is not a life-threatening problem so take him to the veterinarian tomorrow to find out what it actually is (wound, allergy, irritant, demodectic mites, yeast or bacterial pododermititis, interdigital pododermitis, acute moist dermititis etc.) The Veterinarian may do cytology, skin scrape or fungal culture to diagnose the problem. In addition to treating any inciting cause, he or she may use anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, appropriate topicals and/or an elizabethan collar to prevent licking.Good luck.