Can I remove a grass seed from my dogs paw myself?

Hi everyone. I know the title seems irresponsible and dangerous but let me explain. My British bulldog has a small purple swelling that is wearing a bit and appeared between his toes sometime today (only noticed just then). There’s a clear hole in the top so I’m thinking it’s a grass seed. Natural instinct would of course be to take him to the vet but there’s a problem - he has bad anxiety and even the smallest thing (eg. Going in the car to the vet, the waiting room, new people and dogs at the vet, etc) will set him off. Normally this would be fine except he unfortunately, as a bulldog, has severe breathing issues. When he gets mildly stressed he pants so hard he can hardly breath. Naturally I’d rather avoid this discomfort for him, which is why I’m wondering if I can remove it myself. Of course please tell me is this is too dangerous and I won’t try and will take him to the vet. Just trying to figure out the best course of action. Thanks so much!! Also side note: it’s nighttime here so I won’t be able to take him to the vet until tomorrow. Not sure if that impacts as I don’t know how severe grass seed complications can get

Hello!  I have flushed and chased grass seeds around inside feet, to have new swellings come up somewhere else a week or two later and another fragment emerge.  A problem of some seeds is that they are very sharp in one direction and enter the skin very easily, but are not so streamlined when pulled back in the opposite direction and can break up. The question is therefore whether it is better to let the body expel the seed than to flush it out, which in many situations it can turn out to be.  However I do feel that a huge presumptive diagnosis of a grass seed has been made here, where as draining tracts can exist for other skin-related reasons. I hear that you have a bulldog with potential breathing problems.  However, even bulldogs with breathing problems do need vet care at different times in their life and avoiding the vet also puts animals in danger.  However, interestingly the world has just gone through a Covid epidemic and many vets have been set up for distance / video link consulting. It seems to me that it would be a very good idea to talk through the situation with your vet and for both sides to try to find solutions, rather than problems.

Good questions to ask would include whether video link consultation would be possible.  And then, once the vet has had a proper look, what the vets' differential diagnoses (list of possible diagnoses) for the foot are then, what possibilities for future treatment exist and what the pro-s and con-s of each option are.  You may then be in a position to make up your mind.