J M A N
05-18-2004, 07:58 PM
Mouth wounds, these are by far the most troublesome wounds to deal with because quite often they are not discovered until a very severe infection in already involved. The mouth must always be checked after any accident has taken place. If you notice any wounds, they must be dealt with immediately.
The very real problem with mouth wounds is keeping these wounds clean. The best way that I have personally found to treat these wounds is to flush them with salt-water solutions (1 tablespoon of salt to 10cc of warm water three times per/day) and always flush after the dog has eaten. A very good way to keep the food out of the wounds is to use a blender and make his food into a wet pasty mixture, then make small golf ball size balls and feed them to the dog by hand, he will swallow them and this will keep the food from accumulating in these wounds.
Torn ears and punctures deep with in the ears can also become a problem. The best way to treat torn ears is to keep them dry, therefore after cleaning the wound take a DRY towel and apply pressure. It may take several minutes in order for the bleeding to stop and quit, actually you may need to allow the ear to coagulate a clot on it's own because the dogs have a tendency to shake there heads vigorously and this just starts the bleeding all over again. Don't become overly concerned, unless the tear is extremely bad, the ear will clot on it's own. Puncture wounds within the ear itself should be dealt with just as I described in the puncture wound paragraph.
Torn or lacerated pads, over the years I've found that applying sutures or staples to torn pads is useless, the best thing to do for them is to keep them clean by flushing the pad one time with Hydrogen Peroxide, and every cleaning after this will be done with Batedine. A good way to accomplish this will be to take a small bucket and place his whole foot into the cleaning solution. Let the injured foot soak for 5 minutes, then remove the paw and pack the torn pad in Nitrofurizone, wrap it in clean gauze, then take a clean sock and place the sock over the paw, pull the sock up as far as it will go then tape it to the leg.
You should sit with the dog for 2 or more hours to allow the Nitrofurizone to soak into the wound, then remove the sock, dressing and wipe clean. Do this three-time per/day, NOTE: never leave the dog unattended with the dressing on his foot, many dogs with chew this dressing off and swallow it.
The very real problem with mouth wounds is keeping these wounds clean. The best way that I have personally found to treat these wounds is to flush them with salt-water solutions (1 tablespoon of salt to 10cc of warm water three times per/day) and always flush after the dog has eaten. A very good way to keep the food out of the wounds is to use a blender and make his food into a wet pasty mixture, then make small golf ball size balls and feed them to the dog by hand, he will swallow them and this will keep the food from accumulating in these wounds.
Torn ears and punctures deep with in the ears can also become a problem. The best way to treat torn ears is to keep them dry, therefore after cleaning the wound take a DRY towel and apply pressure. It may take several minutes in order for the bleeding to stop and quit, actually you may need to allow the ear to coagulate a clot on it's own because the dogs have a tendency to shake there heads vigorously and this just starts the bleeding all over again. Don't become overly concerned, unless the tear is extremely bad, the ear will clot on it's own. Puncture wounds within the ear itself should be dealt with just as I described in the puncture wound paragraph.
Torn or lacerated pads, over the years I've found that applying sutures or staples to torn pads is useless, the best thing to do for them is to keep them clean by flushing the pad one time with Hydrogen Peroxide, and every cleaning after this will be done with Batedine. A good way to accomplish this will be to take a small bucket and place his whole foot into the cleaning solution. Let the injured foot soak for 5 minutes, then remove the paw and pack the torn pad in Nitrofurizone, wrap it in clean gauze, then take a clean sock and place the sock over the paw, pull the sock up as far as it will go then tape it to the leg.
You should sit with the dog for 2 or more hours to allow the Nitrofurizone to soak into the wound, then remove the sock, dressing and wipe clean. Do this three-time per/day, NOTE: never leave the dog unattended with the dressing on his foot, many dogs with chew this dressing off and swallow it.