Advice On Wound Please

[Janimal]

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kobi was bitten the other day on the top of his shoulder (his own fault) and nothing really that serioius. (by another dog btw)

Ive tried Lavender oil, Calendular balm, and cut-heal spray and hes driving me nuts (w00t) ........ lick lick lick lick lick lick ... . Its just gets a scab then opens up again :angry:

any suggestions please??

 

[kim & Tilly]

kobi was bitten the other day on the top of his shoulder (his own fault) and nothing really that serioius. (by another dog btw)
Ive tried Lavender oil, Calendular balm, and cut-heal spray and hes driving me nuts (w00t) ........ lick lick lick lick lick lick ... .  Its just gets a scab then opens up again :angry:

any suggestions please??

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What about one of those collar things from the vet or pets at home?

 

[wild whippies]

Is it a puncture wound or grazing? The former is usually best left open to the air and bathed with saline as infection is more likely to occur. Check for a hotspot in the area as if it feels warmer it's likely infection could have set in and vetrinary advice / treatment may be needed.

If it's grazing or a more open type of cut then what you have been using should be fine and like Kim says, a collar could be useful if you think he's excessively licking the wound (probably due to the knitting of the wound making it a little itchy) I've heard lots of reccomendations for friars balsam from the chemists too.

 

[dessie]

If it really is a small wound I would just leave it and let him lick or get a single suture put in it or put a jumper/t-shirt on him so that he can't lick it! I cannot BEAR those plastic collar things and would do anything to avoid having one of those!!

 

[Janimal]

Thanks Dessie - might try a jumper sleeve or something - I too hate those damed collars too unless they are absolutely necessary.

it is healing ... i fonly he would leave it alone. :- "

 

[*Lesley*]

Is he licking the lavender oil too Janis, when Sienna got that cut on her leg I put antiseptic wound powder on it she licked it all off but when I put the lav oil on she licked it and didn't like it so I assumed it must taste nasty :unsure: hope you find something :thumbsup: and :huggles: to kobi :huggles:

 

[clairej810]

Tiny got bitten in kennels recently, not bad, but it was a puncture wound, the people I got him from advised antibiotics to prevent infection and I also used zinc powder - works wonders at drying it out. It healed in record time and you can't see anything now. Don't know if that helps?

 

[Avalonia]

It sounds to me like you are fussing over a way too simple wound.

For years every time we got a puncture on a dog -- it snagged itself on a branch while running, got nipped during play -- we rushed it off to the vet for anything from antibiotics to surgery to stitch the wound. It cost us a fortune and I swear I could hear cheer at the vets every time we showed up with a minor injury blown up in our minds into a major catastrophe. And then we got smart and realized that in most instances nature heals these things very well, with a small bit of help on the part of the owner.

Get a grip! If it isn't on a muscle and isn't tearing, the simple solution is to prepare a small dish of warm water with an equal amount of hydrogen peroxide, available cheaply at any chemists, and wash the wound as long as it is open a couple of times a day. Then let it dry. Put nothing over it and for gods sakes quit using those stupid holistic medications and oils that are more dangerous than beneficial. Let the wound air dry and leave it exposed. Yes, the dog will lick it but this is good. That is what they do in nature. Licking will help speed the process and calcify it over the next few days. When it calcifies over stop washing and just observe it to see it doesn't reopen or get dirty and then just lightly wash over with the warm water/H2O2 mix. Honestly, it will heal itself.

The worst thing you can do is traumatize the dog with an unnecessary halo or by pestering him unnecessarily about licking it.

Don't think of a suture unless it is on a muscle and is tearing. Sutures only leave scars. Natural healing by cleaning -- by you and by the dog's own healing instincts (perhaps helped on by housemate dogs who may also lick it) -- will see thisi wound well on the way to healing within a week or two and in the end there will be no scars. We just had our top show bitch put a large hold in her side by running into a stick and creating quite a pelt tear -- perhaps 3 cms across. it looked ugly it looked like we should do more, but we followed our own advice and now three weeks later it has shrunk to the size of a pimple and is almost gone. No holes, no scars, and no trauma.

Lanny Morry

Avalonia whippets, Canada

Fo

 

[dessie]

Don't think of a suture unless it is on a muscle and is tearing.  Sutures only leave scars.

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Sorry, can't agree with that! If you have experienced scarring from sutures your Vet must be pretty pants at suturing!!!

I would NEVER leave a skin tear to heal on its own, unless it is absolutely minute, they are always sutured and not under anaesthetic either, general or local, unless very large and complex.

 

[*Lesley*]

It sounds to me like you are fussing over a way too simple wound. 
For years every time we got a puncture on a dog -- it snagged itself on a branch while running, got nipped during play -- we rushed it off to the vet for anything from antibiotics to surgery to stitch the wound.  It cost us a fortune and I swear I could hear cheer at the vets every time we showed up with a minor injury blown up in our minds into a major catastrophe.  And then we got smart and realized that in most instances nature heals these things very well, with a small bit of help on the part of the owner. 

Get a grip!  If it isn't on a muscle and isn't tearing, the simple solution is to prepare a small dish of warm water with an equal amount of hydrogen peroxide, available cheaply at any chemists, and wash the wound as long as it is open a couple of times a day.  Then let it dry.  Put nothing over it and for gods sakes quit using those stupid holistic medications and oils that are more dangerous than beneficial.  Let the wound air dry and leave it exposed.  Yes, the dog will lick it but this is good.  That is what they do in nature.  Licking will help speed the process and calcify it over the next few days.  When it calcifies over stop washing and just observe it to see it doesn't reopen or get dirty and then just lightly wash over with the warm water/H2O2 mix.  Honestly, it will  heal itself.

The worst thing you can do is traumatize the dog with an unnecessary halo or by pestering him unnecessarily about licking it. 

Don't think of a suture unless it is on a muscle and is tearing.  Sutures only leave scars.  Natural healing by cleaning -- by you and by the dog's own healing instincts (perhaps helped on by housemate dogs who may also lick it) -- will see thisi wound well on the way to healing within a week or two and in the end there will be no scars.  We just had our top show bitch put a large hold in her side by running into a stick and creating quite a pelt tear -- perhaps 3 cms across.  it looked ugly it looked like we should do more, but we followed our own advice and now three weeks later it has shrunk to the size of a pimple and is almost gone.  No holes, no scars, and no trauma.

Lanny Morry

Avalonia whippets, Canada

Fo

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A bit harsh I think :angry: Janis was asking for advice not a lecture on how to care for HER dog <_<

 

[clairej810]

If you feel happier taking your dog to the vet, then do it, he is after all your dog. I would rather be over cautious than not! I suppose it's horses for courses though, different people do different things. Personally I always go to the vet (yes perhaps I don't always need to), my previous dog was very ill and that has made me much more cautious.

 

[Rae]

Poor Kobi :huggles:

I'd use dilute hibiscrub to clean it (and they dont like the tast so tend not to lick afterwards) and then aloe vera afterwards - that's cos it's all we've got handy here but it's normally worked for us.

I know what you mean about the licking. The thing with the collars is you can stop the dog with the problem licking but not the other dogs they live with so they are a waste fo time here, anyway I found that their noses are long enough to go past the collar anyway and it makes no difference :- "

Can you give him something to chew and take his mind off it instead?

Aww - I hope it heals up well - no photos of his war wound? (w00t)

 

[Avalonia]

I think you have seriously misread me Lesley as my response was certainly not designed nor intended to be harsh. I was just offering practical, lighthearted advice on the basis of several decades of raising hundreds of whippets and over 50 years of being intimately involved with dogs as my parents and grandparents were also breeders (though not of whippets). My intention was solely to ally concerns where the owner herself said this wasn't a serious wound, and just advise on what we do with non serious wounds on the basis of decades of experience.

Dogs are amazingly resilient creatures and simple wounds heal easily and well. We don't need to overdo treatment in such cases and hence my inexpensive solution -- essentially keeping the wound clean with peroxide and water and letting the dog help heal it itself -- was meant to reassure and not to judge.

Lanny

 

[Tony Taylor]

I've got to agree with Lanny here, even quite large tears heal better without suturing IMO.

Once upon a time I would take a dog to the vet to have tears sutured and they would invariably get infected since bacteria are invariably sutured under the flap so you need antibiotics. The last dog I had sutured ended up with a drain in.

If you leave the wound open there is perfect drainage and the wound will heal by granulation which very rarely gets infected. If you're worried you can give antibiotics but I don't unless I'm sure it's infected.

I'm not convinced that using hibiscrub or any other antibacterial washes is such a good idea since as far as the delicate fibroblasts that are going to repair the wound are concerned you might as well be using napalm.

To be fair puncture wounds are slightly different in that they are more likely to get infected. You should NEVER suture a puncture wound - it needs to drain.

 

[wild whippies]

At the end of the day, everyone has different methods for treating their dogs and they're chosen methods are usually down to previous succesful experiences. I am always interested to hear of other peoples experiences because it is useful to share knowledge and lifes one constant learning path and I want to do the best for my dogs as I'm sure everyone else does.

I too like yourself Lanny have used simple methods (diluted peroxide or saline) infact one of my dogs years ago had a very severe bite wound about 4 inches long and about 1 inch wide from being attacked by another dog. Due to location and severity the vet couldn't suture the wound so we had to resort to bathing with warm saltwater as often as possible and of course anti-biotics because of the very high likelihood of infection. It was a slow process to heal mainly because the wound had to lay down granulation tissue from underneath wheras if it had been possible to suture, this would of course had drastically reduced healing time. The other thing was of course my dog was left with quite a thick scar but that really wasn't any concern to me because she'd been lucky to survive the incident in the first place. I do appreciate if people have a chance of using something that could minimise scarring, increase healing time and prevent infection then I'm all ears to any information people have to offer.

 

[wild whippies]

Incidently I work with hibiscrub every day, it is beneficial in wound management because it is effective against G+ve organisms and is relatively inert in body fluids. It is also used for bathing in patients with MRSA due to it's ability to reduce microbial load on the body without damaging delicate tissue. I myself haven't used it for wounds on my dogs but I have found it beneficial for dogs with a pre-existing skin condition that has been impaired to resolve due to bacterial / fungal invasion.

LOL Just seen who posted the comment about hibiscrub and Napalm!! (w00t)

Better go and find some links to back up my post... I'll pm them cos they have images of damaged scrotums! :lol:

 

[*Lesley*]

I think you have seriously misread me Lesley as my response was certainly not designed nor intended to be harsh.  I was just offering practical, lighthearted advice on the basis of several decades of raising hundreds of whippets and over 50 years of being intimately involved with dogs as my parents and grandparents were also breeders (though not of whippets).  My intention was solely to ally concerns where the owner herself said this wasn't a serious wound, and just advise on what we do with non serious wounds on the basis of decades of experience.
Dogs are amazingly resilient creatures and simple wounds heal easily and well.  We don't need to overdo treatment in such cases and hence my inexpensive solution -- essentially keeping the wound clean with peroxide and water and letting the dog help heal it itself -- was meant to reassure and not to judge.

Lanny

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I appologise if I misread your post lanny, it's just that some of us do not share your wealth of experience yet and so tend to try our best from things we have learnt so far, from experienced people to heal the injuries our dogs sustain and yes probably do fuss too much but not with the intention of traumatising them, in years to come when we have done this numerous times no doubt we will share your same view :thumbsup:

 

[kris]

rereading avalonias post i can see why lesley got a bit miffed!words like get a grip might come across in a conversation as being a friendly word but on the internet it sounds more like a reprimand! (w00t) personally i would just let my dog lick the wound clean and let nature take its own healing course. :thumbsup:

 

[Janimal]

Just caught up with this again folks. Thanks for all the advice - it is slowly healing.

I did say in the title (not too serious) otherwise he would have been straight to the vets without a doubt. hope you all dont think Ive been making a fuss overnothing.

Just the little monkey wouldnt leave it alone then kept nibbling the scab off. (w00t)

Heres the wound in question and Yes it is drying up slowly. :thumbsup: (hope this shows up)

 

[Janimal]

and another.... and Thanks again everyone for your advice - I have tried to leave it alone as much as possible.