Raw spot on my dogs toe

I just noticed my girls foot is super swollen & raw. There is a round circle of hair missing. She was running around playing today with my other girl so I’m assuming this is new? She’s been licking it nonstop which is how I noticed it. It almost seems like a burn but I have no idea how she would have burned her paw! Any advice? Should she be taken to the vet tomorrow? Anything I can do in the meantime to calm the spot? Thank you so much.

Hello!  That looks sore.   I would advise calling your vet to have this triaged in case they would like to see it today.  The problem with licking such a lesion between the toes is that it could be extremely swollen and sore by tomorrow,  so a buster-collar and some way to ease the soreness sooner rather than later may be extremely useful.  There is also a rare disease called Alabama rot that is occasionally seen in the UK and your vet may want to rule it in or out, depending on where you live, for example.  Please don't google this and be concerned:  most foot lesions will be caused by something far more common and I have no reason to suspect it in this case, but it's worth being triaged for it.  This link is from the Royal Veterinary College:  https://www.rvc.ac.uk/small-animal-vet/news/alabama-rot-in-the-uk-frequently-asked-questions, this one is from our blog:  https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2016/01/07/do-i-need-to-worry-about-alabama-rot/

I would like to be clear, that this lesion does not look ulcerated and that foreign bodies, allergic reactions, rodent bites, etc. may be far more likely than Alabama rot and are seen hundreds of times more often in the UK.    To quote from David's article: Fortunately, most dogs with skin lesions don’t have CRGV! However, if your dog does have any strange or unexplained sores or wounds, it’s important to get them checked out by your vet – in the vast majority of cases, they’ll be able to demonstrate a far less worrying condition. They can also do blood tests to check for kidney problems – although as it is often several days before these show up, repeating the blood tests in 48 hours may be necessary.

Ringworm may be a possibility (although it doesn't particularly look like a classic case), so it may be a good idea to wash your hands after handling this lesion avoid mixing with other animals until you know that it isn't.   However, the vast majority of such lesions are caused by rubbing between the toes, with or without the involvement of e.g. a foreign body or allergy.