Advice - My Injured Whippet

[snickers]

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Last Friday our 10month old pup (McCoy), stood on a peice of glass whilst out running. It resulted in a 1 1/2cm cut on his front foot just behind the pad of the paw. There was quite a lot of blood, I instantly took him to the vets were they cleaned it up and just bandaged him and gave me a cone so he didnt chew they also gave him 2 injections (im not sure what for pain maybe and antibiotic).

I returned yesterday to have him looked at again, they took the bandage off looked at the cut and re bandaged him up saying it hadnt taken and that she would see us again on friday and to take 2 antibiotics a day (Synulox 250mg), he is 15kg in weight.

Today is where the problems have started he seems quite lathargic (normally 100mph as they are) and not himself. (i removed the cone to give him more freedom). My main concern though is that he hasnt had a poo (pardon my wording) since sunday evening although he has been eating normally. Not been drinking as much.

Im asking for advice regarding most of the above and anything we can do for him, i.e. feeding wise, should we take bandage off foot (to tight/discomfort perhaps).

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks

 

[bertha]

Call your vet, better safe than sorry. That's what I would do.

 

[Juley]

Hi, If he is constipated due to the drugs he is on, he may well feel quite poorly. Also he has a cone on which is strange and his foot feels odd and hurtrs. I would give your Vet a ring and have a chat with the Vet nurse there. Cuts on the foot like that can take a while to heal. Your Vet will be able to advise you better. My girls send him a healing lick.

 

[FeeFee]

Some dogs seem to get upset stomachs on antibiotics so it could just be that, but there's always a chance he's got some infection in the wound and is running a bit of a temperature. I think a trip back to the vet would be best to be on the safe side - if it is the antibiotics upsetting him they may be able to change him to a different one.

If any of mine are on antibiotics I add a spoonful of natural live yoghurt to their food, I've been told it helps to replace some of the natural digestive bacteria that the antibiotics kill off. No idea if it's true or not, but the dogs love it! :lol:

 

[June Jonigk]

Your boy is on the bigger side of average weight for whippets, but the dosage of Synulox would normally be half a tablet twice a day. Your vet may of course have meant for him to have a hefty dose if it looks infected, as Synulox dosage of 12.5mg per kg bodyweight twice daily can be doubled in certain cases. I have never known them cause any side effects, but it's possible it could be doing with him. It would be worth checking with your vet to see if it would be the Synulox maybe. Good luck with him, and let us know how you get on :luck:

 

[snickers]

Thanks for the replys, very helpful.

McCoy did some business last night when we went for a short walk which, makes us feel a bit better. He seems a lot like his normal self now. Playing around and up to tricks that only whippets can do.

Back to the vets on Friday now, hopefully the cut will have healed a little.

Now my next problem is should i take the bandage off, he is trying his best himself and we keep stopping him. I personally think this could be one of the things that is distressing him.

I dont want him to pick at the wound or if it hasnt healed properly have blood all over if we take it off though.

He is bigger than the average whippet, he stands 22" and weighs 15kg....... and is Jet Black.......

Thanks for the advice and some more to the above questions would be helpful.

 

[~Annie~]

This link is to a thread I started when my whippet had a similar cut that was very slow to heal ... I got some excellent advice ... hth xx

 

[snickers]

This link is to a thread I started when my whippet had a similar cut that was very slow to heal ... I got some excellent advice ... hth xx

Thanks but cant get the link to work any ideas ????

Taran looks very much like McCoy did as a pup ..... a lovely Black coat and bright alert eyes !!!

 

[wild whippies]

As the wound's broken down when he was reviewed ? 3 days since incident the vets prescribed a broad spectrum anti-biotic at what I'd consider to be a standard doseage. It may well have been that the infection by Tuesday was causing some general malaise in your dog but I wouldn't suspect the anti-biotic as excess doseages are more likely to put your dog off eating, have diorrhea or vomiting rather than constipation. Everyone's an individual though.

Bandaging isn't exactly ideal when it comes to infections because as the wound isn't exposed to the air, plus the fact the wound is on an extremity means opportunistic anaerobic bacteria can take hold (which is what I suspect the vet discovered on Monday and was probably why they wished to review him in the first place). However, the bandaging appears to be giving the wound some closure and is acting as a barrier to other bacteria infecting the wound.

Personally I'd go with the vet's plan. Persevere with the bandage, keep it dry and monitor your dog for any adverse problems in the interim. If your dog does show signs of malaise, lethargy, distress or a high temperature then return to the vet before your review on Friday.

All being well it would be hoped that the wound has got some closure or some healing has commenced although it may be early days yet bearing in mind infection will have retarded healing to a certain degree.

Doesn't do any harm to give your dog pro-biotics (live natural yoghurt / Actimel / Yakult or specific canine pro-biotics) whilst they are on a course of anti-biotics, especially broad spectrum ones such as synulox which can have a negative effect on the guts natural bacteria. I suspect there's no strong indication for this now (as your dogs not showing typical signs of illness associated with anti-biotics) but it may keep you a step ahead if you return to the vets and the Synulox needs to be continued longer or coupled with another anti-biotic.

Wishing McCoy a speedy recovery - love the name by the way!

 

[snickers]

Thanks, great reply.

Going to leave the bandage on till friday, when we went monday the cut was still bleeding when nipped by the vet. I think she gave us A-bios to prevent infection more than to stop an already infected foot.

McCoy ...... named after the Champion Jump Jockey Tony McCoy (not the crisps as most people think)

Will let everyone know how we get on over the next few days. He hasnt had his cone on his head all day and last night but still goes for the bandage at times, just a matter of keeping an eye on him.

If i do (or mccoy does) take the bandage off is it ok to use normal human sterile bandages....silly question maybe but unsure.