Keeping Bandages On A Leg

[Guest ejw]

For the first week Jamaica was good about leaving her bandage alone. She was getting socks off fast, so I put her in a sweatshirt. She got crafty about getting out of it -- always when I was asleep or not around. (I still haven't figured that one out as she didn't pop any safety pins or tear it!). For a while, she just took the vet wrap off, and actually left the stitches alone until the day before she was due to have them out.

 

After about 9 days, I woke up to find her bandage completely off. I have been re-wrapping several times a day and repositioning pins in the hopes that she will leave it alone/can't get at it. The vet changed her dressing and when he did he sprayed the vet wrap with bitter apple. She left it alone for almost 16 hours.

 

Her incisions are very fragile, so it's imperative the bandage stay on. The original incision is now a large wound. It looked not bad the night before her dressing change, but when the vet undid the dressing completely I almost threw up it was so bad. When the vet changed her dressing he sprayed the vet wrap with bitter apple and she left it alone for about 16 hours, then got the bandage off again.

 

I sprayed the wrap and the shirt sleeve with bitter apple and will spray again before bed, but I'm afraid she's going to go after it again tonight.

 

Any and all ideas welcome! Her surgery site is on her wrist, so I doubt a collar would help.

[ahicks51]

If it's far enough down on the leg you can cover it with a sock, what I'd do is wrap the bandages with Vetwrap or an elastic bandage- not too tight, just enough to keep it covered. I'd then pull the sock up over it, and tape it around the circumference with some 1/2" waterproof tape about 1" down from the top. Then I'd fold the end of the sock back over the tape, and tape THAT the same way.

 

If a sock isn't long enough to cover it, just cut off the toe, and do the same as described above, but tape it at both ends.

[Guest redreed]

I had the same problem once or twice. We actually started using a sacrificial sock. We'd get a lighter weight sock for the inside and then do another heavier sock over it. By the time Tiger got the first sock off, one of us was home or awake so he couldn't get to the other one. We ended up doing this when he pulled out STAPLES (ewww so gross) from a nasty cut on his leg.

[Batmom]

You can use sticky tape -- Elastikon -- to anchor the bandage at the top. Just don't put more than @ 3/4" against the dog's skin, and don't put it where she's been shaved -- just on haired skin. It'll pull some hair off but no biggy there. If AND ONLY IF you have some bandage scissors, you can cover the whole bandage with sticky tape. Makes it harder to chew/pull off.

[Guest tigger]

See if this works for you...a GREAT product....very lightweight too....

 

www.cleanbreakprotector.com

 

[Guest ejw]

ahicks51, thanks, but done that and failed.

 

redreed, if she can get out of a sweatshirt with about 6 safety pins in it, I don't think a second sock would help. She was getting under the sock and pulling out the vet wrap, even with the sock completely wrapped in painter's tape. She just peeled back enough tape to get her needle nose under, then made vet wrap confetti.

 

tigger, I sent an email to see if they know how customs is with their product. I need it like yesterday and customs has held things up for 2 MONTHS in the past. It's chancy, as she has velcro strapped winter boots that she doesn't have any problem removing, but it might be a viable option.

 

In the meantime I will use Batmom's idea and get some sturdy sticky tape to go over the velcro wrap. Putting her in a skinny sleeve type pullover and plastering it with Bitter Apple seems to be helping -- we are going on hour 12 with no bandage removal, but I have to go to a doctor's app't tomorrow an hour away and want to be sure she's not going to do further damage while she is a home and bored or itchy enough to want to get at it again.

 

Thanks so much for all your responses! With your help, I will defeat my bandage Houdini!

[ahicks51]

In the meantime I will use Batmom's idea and get some sturdy sticky tape to go over the velcro wrap. Putting her in a skinny sleeve type pullover and plastering it with Bitter Apple seems to be helping -- we are going on hour 12 with no bandage removal, but I have to go to a doctor's app't tomorrow an hour away and want to be sure she's not going to do further damage while she is a home and bored or itchy enough to want to get at it again.

 

Do you have a muzzle that you can put on her while you're gone?

[Guest ejw]

ahicks51. good idea! Duh, I have two hanging right by the leashes that I never "see". She hates it, but she WILL wear one tomorrow! Should I put Tansi in one as well, or should she be Ok if I only muzzle her in the house?

[Guest LynnM]

If you have a serious PITA hound, the only real solution is to put the dog in a splint, coat it in bitter apple or similar, mzzle with stool guard, and keep a constant guard if the dog is out of the muzzle.

 

I know it stinks. I've BTDT. I've had a poor hound trussed up in splints, muzzle, crate rest and the whole lot and it's not pretty, but he gets through it and kept his leg.

 

Lynn

[ahicks51]

The rule of thumb is to either muzzle 'em all, or muzzle none of them. A dog wearing a muzzle is without defense in the event of a fight.

[Sighthounds4me]

We had to do Batmom's suggestion when Naples tore her dew claw. We decided to just have them off, since one was torn and dislocated. She WOULD NOT leave the bandages alone. I knew better than to try bitter apple because she thinks it's a condiment. So I went and bought some athletic tape (same as Elasticon), and taped the bandages a the top. We also placed her kennel muzzle with stool guard on her. She still managed to get them off!!! But she had to work a lot harder, and we could notice the "damage" to the bandages before they were totally off, so we could replace them.

 

We went through a lot of vet wrap and tape in those two weeks!