Sophie is mad at me because Alex and I disinfected (sort of) her paw with a dose of
tea tree oil on a cotton pad. I think she hurt her
dewclaw today while running amuck in the backyard, barking at the world and leaping up against the brick wall surrounding our yard. She is now -- well after midnight -- cowering underneath my bed, whimpering every so often. I feel so bad for her at the same time I'm annoyed because she did this to herself...she knows she's not supposed to get all excited about the people walking by on the street behind the house and jump around wildly like that.
Anyway, she hates the tea tree oil smell, and it prevents her from over-licking that dewclaw solely because of the scent...which is a good thing. I just don't want her to lick it to death and then have it be grossly infected. At least the tea tree oil is antiseptic and antifungal, so what little I did get on the affected area should help at least a bit. It's not that we don't keep her nails/claws well-maintained -- in fact, I think they're very well-maintained for a dog that lives indoors! -- but she is so rough on her paws and tends to forget or run on so much adrenaline that she is unaware that she's injuring herself when she "climbs" or leaps up against the very rough brick wall.
As I'm finishing up this entry, she's STILL under the bed, fuming. No more whimpering, so maybe she's fallen asleep under there. We'll see how she is tomorrow.
If I am ever a mother to a human child someday, this is how I imagine I'll react when the kid injures him- or herself.