Dogs paw stepped on by deer, what should I do?

Question
QUESTION: Dear Jana,
I live in a rural area, and a couple of days ago my German Shepherd, Gabriel, ran off after something (I'm assuming it was a deer).  I went after him, and found him limping and holding his left front paw up in the air.  There are two small lacerations on the top of the paw, about the width of a hoof, and it is swollen.  I think he must have gotten stepped on, probably by a deer, possibly by one of the horses or cows in our neighborhood.
He can bend his leg normally, so I don't think he has any breaks in his leg...just the swollen paw.  I have been rinsing the cuts out with Hydrogen Peroxide, and soaking his paw in Epson Salts and warm water twice a day to try and bring the swelling down (which is working, his paw is much less swollen today than it was yesterday).  I've been trying to keep him off of it as much as I can.  He can walk on it but still limps.  Is there anything else I should be doing?  Should I bring him in to a vet to check and see if any of the bones in his foot are broken?  I'm worried about him, and I hate to see him limping around miserably.
Thank you very much for your time!
Sincerely,
Sara


ANSWER: I, too, live in a rural area and deer vs dogs are the norm around here. If a deer hit him, it hit him while it was flailing its front feet at him. They don't step on dogs, but try to shred them with those razor sharp front hooves. So his foot met her foot in mid air.

Bones could be broken, an xray is not uncalled for in this case. Bones in the foot are very small and break easily.

Make sure that you use a solution of 50% water and peroxide- H2H is way to strong to use alone- very tissue damaging.
Epson salts is good too. Keeping it dry and clean is paramount.
If he is still limping and it is still swollen by Thursday I would opt for the x ray. If he is using it by then it will heal on its own. Make sure his rabies vaccs are up to date. Keep an eye out for muscle stiffness and such- dogs do get tetanus and there is no vaccination for dogs I don't think.

Let me know how he is in a few days please.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your response!  I apologize for not getting back to you sooner...life has been very hectic.  Anyway, Gabriel's paw is no longer swollen and up to a couple days ago was healing up nicely.  Unfortunately, he took to licking it and reopened the top wounds, as well as one more we discovered on the bottom of his foot.  We tried bandaging it up in a clean sock with medical tape, but he only left that on for about a day before tearing it off.  He then proceeded to get any other bandage we put on it off within a few minutes.
As of today, the top wounds have re-healed up, and the paw is not sore.  However, the gash on the bottom is not healing up since he won't leave it alone.  We'll be bringing him to a vet tomorrow and hope that they'll be able to bandage it up more thoroughly, or maybe give us a cone for him to wear so he can't lick it.
Thank you very much for your help, and if you have any other suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.
Sincerely,
Sara

Answer
At this point getting him an E-Collar is the best bet to stop him licking this. I am glad to hear that it has healed so far.
Just make sure you watch the bandages and don't let them stay on too long. Have them removed when the vet says to, don't wait a day longer or the foot will swell up.
I have seen tons of swollen feet with old, rotten bandages on them. The owners 'forgot' to take them off!!
You won't be that way I know!
Thanks for letting me know.