Urgent Advice Required Injury

[eve]

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Toddy was bitten on the shoulder this morning by another dog. The flesh underneath is not damaged but the tear is about 3/4 of an inch long and the skin is loose underneath.

My vet (one I have not seen before) wants to stitch it up. She says if we do not it will take a very long time to heal. I am not convinced that this is the best course of action. Whippets do not stitch well and the shoulder gets a lot of movement. I worry that fluid will not be able to drain off if the wound is closed. he is reall active and needs to run. 10 days on the lead will drive him mad.

I would greatly appreciate advice. He is booked in for the vets tomorrow morning at present.

The sticky matted mess is just Manuka honey although he has now had antibiotics too

 

[k4tie-d]

poor toddy, it does look sore

i would be tempted to try just keeping it clean and see how it goes, lavander oil is suppose to be good for healing :b

im sure someone else will be able to give you better advice,

i hope toddy is ok :huggles:

 

[Finleyfoofoo]

Doesnt look to bad,the vet could have put you a quick staple in just to help it heal quicker.We find that staples seem to allow more movement,and

for air to get to the wound etc.We have had staples put in several times,as then there is no need to be knocked out,saves you and the dog a lot of grief.

Hope Toddy heals quickly,

Amandaxx

 

[eve]

Believe it or not, that is why I took him to the vet. I wanted a couple of staples to stop the wound stretching but allowing it a chance to drain. It is at the top of the shoulder just below the withers. In my opinion, an area where there is too much movement to stitch.

 

[~Annie~]

Poor Toddy When Finn was bitten he was stitched, but the bite was on his flank and bigger/deeper than Toddy's. I have to say it did heal very cleanly and quickly.

Hugs to him and you from me x

 

[Finleyfoofoo]

Believe it or not, that is why I took him to the vet. I wanted a couple of staples to stop the wound stretching but allowing it a chance to drain. It is at the top of the shoulder just below the withers. In my opinion, an area where there is too much movement to stitch.

Hi Eve,

It really frustrates me when the vet doesnt seem to want to to listen to you :angry: Finn was bitten on his flanks,a lot bigger than Toddys,by a Collie,

i asked for him to be stapled,rather than stitched,a few seconds and the jobs done,so much easier.It healed brilliantly in 5 days.

I keep a stapler to hand now,just in case.

Amandaxx

 

[June Jonigk]

I can't see your picture as I am at work, but a cut 3/4 of an inch long will heal in no time without stitching. It shrinks up quicker than you think it will. A bite wound is always best left open IMO - no point in trapping in infection. Good luck, and I hope he heels quickly whichever route you take. :luck:

 

[eve]

Just off the phone to the vet. She definately does not want to staple and says that because it is an area with so much movement she feels stitching is definately the way to go as staples would just tear out. She says that if I leave the wound open it could take up to 6 -8 weeks to heal. Trouble is that she does not know Toddy. I tried to explain how hyper he is even in the house playing with Bella and that there is every chance the stitches could be pulled out too in their rough games.

I have tonight to decide what to do.

I have cut back the hair to see the wound better

 

[dawn]

Hi There

I would make sure it is kept really clean and put some wound powder on it to help dry it up. I certainly wouldnt be having it stitched. If it was a complete tear then that would be a different matter.

You can get wound power from any good pet store or even from the internet. I alway keep some in stock and wouldnt be without it. A course of anti biotics would also be a good idea.

 

[jim.c]

do not stitch give the antibiotics clean with salt warter it will heal fine :thumbsup:

 

[Debbie b]

i wouldn't use wound powder myself as it can seal in the bacteria, i would leave it as it is and clean in with hibiscrub, or dilute some peroxide and clean it with that it cleans and seals the wound

it will heal in no time

 

[whippetmad]

Poor love.......hope it heals quickly :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[twinkletoes dylan]

my lurcher got a cut on her ribs last year about 1" long, we were camping at a show and she was hooli-ing aroung with a puppy and squeaked but i don't know for sure when or how she got it i noticed when i stroked her and a felt tiny amount of dried blood on her hair and saw the cut, i was advised to wash it initially with saline or salt water then leave it to dry up naturally but watch for redness of infection.

i noticed it on sunday, it was gaping a bit on monday but still healthy and clean and by wednesday the flesh inside had puffed out and it was scabbing up, you can barely see the scar now, she still had her off lead exercise but not running with the other dogs cos they would play too rough and she barely noticed it.

sun evening

mon evening, gaping a bit

wed evening, filling in

hope all goes well x

 

[jinnyfizz]

Mine have all suffered varying degrees of bites/cuts/tears etc and, having had stitches in some and not in others, I would say that the best course of action for Toddy is to leave this wound open.

Antibiotics, yes. Keep the wound clean, yes, but don't seal it. Remember the area around the wound will now be swollen and therefore it will look worse than it is until the swelling goes down.

I use Intrasite Gel on wounds such as this - excellent healing properties and has never failed me ....... http://www.furrypharm.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=1093

I'm sure it will heal in no time at all, Eve, and you can avoid Toddy having to have a GA :thumbsup:

 

[moonglow]

If it was one of my dogs,i'd bathe it a couple of times a day with a salt solution& then put neat lavender oil into the wound.It will heal very quickly if you do this,honest!!!

Personally i wouldn't give antibiotics as the lavender is anti bacterial.

 

[wild whippies]

Because of it's position, it is likely that any drainage or infection will track down to the lymph nodes under the armpits and neck rather than exudate up.

As it's a tear and not a puncture I think it's entirely up to you. If you went ahead with stitching the benefits would be purely aesthetic as you'd probably get a nice closure (providing it didn't get infected) and minimal scarring. If it's left alone you'll probably get some knitting of the wound but I suspect most would be granulation tissue formed from below the wound (which will leave some residual scarring that may / may not be covered by surrounding hair)

Whatever you do, I would personally avoid using any form of antiseptic powder / cream etc. The properties within them whilst killing off the bad bacteria will also hinder the good bacteria. Warm saline bathing will promote healing whilst deterring bacterial infection. Be observant for an infection which could potentially be an issue due to the fact drainage isn't being effected by gravity and the wound was inflicted by a dog bite although I'd of thought it unlikely with it being relatively superficial. Not used Manuka on wounds but from what I've read it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[haycroft]

poor Toddy,im sure if you keep clean and putting the honey on which has great benefits,also aloe vera once dried up(ive got loads of plants,you could of had one if you were closer)

Bow had a simiular injury,not so big..it soon cleared up,but she kept licking it which took abit longer..

 

[Kirawan]

If I were in your position, I would use Cut n heal.... becuase it heals from the inside and keeps infection at bay.

As the wound is now old... it would need cutting the skin before stitching, which would involve more stretching than it would, even if it had been done immediately. I honestly reckon that by tomorrow.. the mere idea of stitching has lost it's reason.

here is a link to the cut n heal... which I think is fantastic http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Multicare-Cut-H...uctinfo/CUT227/ absolutey made for situations like this in my opinion.

 

[wild whippies]

If it was one of my dogs,i'd bathe it a couple of times a day with a salt solution& then put neat lavender oil into the wound.It will heal very quickly if you do this,honest!!!Personally i wouldn't give antibiotics as the lavender is anti bacterial.

Gram-negative bacteria isn't as suceptible to lavender. As such with potentially varied bacterial strains being present I would personally opt for the anti-biotics but only when I saw signs of an infection anyway. In fairness this isn't a risky situation and lavender is effective against some strains of gram positive bacteria so using it wouldn't be of extreme detriment just possibly ineffective against certain infections.

I agree with Kirawan about time being an issue and it does make me wonder whether suturing at all would be worthwhile tomorrow. It'll depend on whether the tissue is already knitting but the honey retaining some moisture may have prevented some tethering of the wound enabling it to be stitched.

 

[JAX]

If it was one of my dogs,i'd bathe it a couple of times a day with a salt solution& then put neat lavender oil into the wound.It will heal very quickly if you do this,honest!!!Personally i wouldn't give antibiotics as the lavender is anti bacterial.

Wondered when youd mention Lavender Debs :thumbsup: ,

Best thing keep it clean with salt water and if you can get Intrasite gel , apply twice a day , but make sure you wash clean before reapplying

heres a hole Buffee managed to do to herself , heaven knows how, no stitches , just antibiotics , hibiscrb and intrasite gel , left no scar at all