Clutch has extreme issues with people touching his feet. If he even thinks that you are going to touch his foot he completely flips out. He does know the "paw" command and will give it to shake and also to let me dry his feet off. He is especially protective over his back feet (I think this comes from the time that he injured his back foot) even making it hard to trim the back nails with tempting treats.

For the past week Clutch has been licking at his right back foot. For the first day or so I thought maybe the hair between his pads was too long and he was just trying to fix it. I thought this because he never indicated that he was in pain (limping, holding foot, being more protective of it than usual) but then he continued and I became worried. It has taken me this long to be able to get a look at it. I was able to look at it this evening for maybe 5 seconds. The large paw pad looks like it may have a cut on it. It almost looks like there is a small flap (I don't quite know how to describe it) of skin... or perhaps a gash. 

My question is how can I help my little guy get better? Is there anything I can do for him at home or is this something we need to see the vet for? Should I put anything on the cut? Is it alright for him to keep licking it? Should I put bitter spray on his foot to keep him from licking it? Is this something that can mend itself? How can I make him comfortable?