Does Kona need a trip to the vet??

[Amy and Kona]

First of all, hope you all had a Great Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Our (nearly) 1 year old Goldendoodle cut his foot last night and we are debating whether he needs a trip to the vet. It is difficult to tell much by the picture but it is on his back right leg/foot on the inside, near his pad (that is the black part). The cut is about 3/4 inches long, 1/8 inch wide and about 1/8 inch deep. We THINK he cut it on a nail when his foot slipped into the side of the couch when he was roughhousing with company. He whined but never bled, which seems very strange. We did not notice anything different until this morning when he was slow to get out of bed (he sleeps in a crate) and slow to get up one other time. He has been hesitant to put weight on it a few times but has been ready to play each time the opportunity has presented itself. That being said, he was ready to play the night we brought him home from getting neutered, so I don't know what kind of indication this is. 

We are concerned that it won't heal properly because of the open wound and depth of the cut as well as the location and keeping it clean. He isn't a big self-groomer, which could be a plus and minus. 

Does anyone have any suggestions? Take him to the vet? Home remedies, etc?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He absolutely needs to see the vet ASAP. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Even I would have the vet look at this. I am surprised it dn't bleed.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

He definitely needs to go to the vet.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Look at in the morning or go to ER?

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

I think I would have taken him in right away today.  Is your vet open tomorrow a.m.   I hope you can get him in.  You might put something down into that opening in the couch so it does not happen again.

[Patty, Duffy & Oliver]

I asked my nephew who's a vet. It's hard to tell from a pic exactly what is going on.  It may not need the ER but don't wait a couple days since it would be harder to suture up if needed. Since it is so low near his pad they will probably close the cut to speed healing and give a shot of antibiotic along with a script for oral antibiotics. A cut that far down near the pad has a chance to get infected and then you run into more problems later. Here is something I didn't know myself until just now, Tetanus can occur in dogs but it's rare and no vaccinations need to be done at the time of the cut. (since the cut was caused by a nail) I had no clue a dog could get Tetanus!  He said don't use peroxide on it (wound is too deep) but if you need to clean it before you get to the vet to use Betadine solution.  Hope this helps! 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

That was nice of your nephew to answer a discussion question and be so helpful.

I too, would go to the vet first thing in the morning

[Patty, Duffy & Oliver]

He hates when I do that to him since injuries are hard to judge by a picture but when it's something not major he doesn't seem to mind too awful much.  I knew he would at least suggest if a trip to the ER was required. Since it wasn't bleeding, he thought it could wait until morning since he is still willing to move around with the injury. 

[Amy and Kona]

Thank you all for your replies. My instinct was to take him in but I was unfortunately battling my "motherly instinct" and my overly financially conscious husband. It sounds terrible but our little Kona has been more expensive than we anticipated and while I want to do what is best for him, I want to be sure we are not running to the vet everytime he bumps his toe. He is a very active (not-so) little guy and we are all adjusting to this, as our last dog did not get into near as many adventures. Our vet in an hour and I am planning to call first thing to get him in today. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think that's a great decision....please let us know how you make out.  Good luck.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Please update us after the vet.

You may want to look into pet insurance. There are many, many posts here about it. 

[Sally M]

IMHO, I think he needs a vet visit. They may or may not stitch him. Sometimes vets want a wound to heal from the inside out and and therefore they don't stitch. But I'm pretty sure, the vet would put Kona on antibiotics, nonetheless. We've had 3 dogs for "forever" and whenever they had an open wound, our vet prescribed the antibiotics.