Thorn in Paw: How to Help your Dog

– Hello, I’m Emma Hammett
from Today, I’m going to talk to you about a common injury and how to help. So what to do if your pet has a thorn or a splinter of
some sort stuck in their paw? You may start seeing that they’re limping or they’re trying to avoid
using one of their paws or limbs or weight-bear on it and they just look a bit miserable. And they may present it to you as well. If you cam see something obvious in there, then what you should try and do
is get a clean pair of tweezers and get someone to look after your pet and to actually be keeping
them calm and sorted whilst you’re doing
that because, obviously, if you’re going to hurt them
in removing the splinter, they could end up
snapping and hurting you. They wouldn’t mean to, but it’s possible. So just make sure that
they are calm and sorted and that you’re not putting
yourself in danger as well. And then what you would do is get a nice, clean pair of tweezers, and you would ideally
grasp the thorn firmly and pull out the way that it went it. So in the same direction that it went in. Now, if there is a wound, a substantial wound, obviously,
not just the entry wound, if there is a wound in the paw, then you wouldn’t ever
take any embedded object out of a decent wound. But if it is just a splinter or a thorn, then you take it out
the way that it’s come. You would squeeze very slightly
to get a little bit of blood and to ensure that it’s entirely out. And then you would clean it. You can clean it with some
soap and water or a wipe. And then keep an eye on it. So if you’re worried at all, then take them to the vet
to get them checked out. But, hopefully, in removing it, it will all heal over and
everything will be fine. So I hope that’s useful. You just remove it the same
way that it’s come out. And if the splinter is
in any form of a joint or round by their paws or you’re worried about its direction, then please always get
it removed by a vet. And if it’s not something easy that you can grasp and remove, and it’s snapped off or something, then, again, get it removed by the vet. And if it is glass, then
always take them to the vet so that their paw is X-rayed to ensure that there are no
other little bits of glass that you can’t see because anything embedded
in there can get infected. So if it’s a simple thorn,
you can take it out yourself. I hope that’s been useful. That’s Emma Hammett from

You may also like...

4 Responses

  1. Legitfox Animations says:

    My dogs kinda mean i guess and its stuck like, not in the pad thing, but inbetween them. And she bites me if i touch her paw. Luckily shes a yorkie, so even if i do get bit the worst that could happen is i bleed, right? Whats the worst injury that a yorkie could make? I dont want to risk it ?

  2. Daniel Robertson says:

    Cant locate thorn Smh

  3. Sandi Cooke says:

    No damned use at all,, watched this to see if any info in what happens if the thorn breaks off or you cant see it?

  4. Farrah Kellingbeck says:

    How long to recover, to stop limping?? I pulled it out.

Leave a Reply
