Argos Got A Small Tear From A Stick

[Guest ScottH]

Argos ran into a branch this morning and put a small tear in his skin. It is a hole slightly smaller than a quarter on his right side, about half way between front and back legs.

Noreen cleaned and bandaged it before she left for the day. My new RN in the house, DD Ellen, re-bandaged it at noon. It is hard to keep a wrap on the wound. Every time he gets off his pillow bed, it shifts and exposes the wound.

I'm figuring this is not worth a trip to the vets as long as we keep it clean and watch for signs of infection.

Any advice on how to keep a bandage on?

 

Pics:

 

Close up:

 

Thanks for any and all advice!

Edited July 24, 2010 by ScottH

[Guest CakeLady]

you could try putting a bandage on and then wrapping vet wrap around the entire torso to hold it in place. I think our group has done that a couple times with foster dogs that had an open wound.

[CaliforniaGreys]

Poor guy, all that endurance and he gets it with a stick!

 

Unless he's bothering it I wouldn't wrap it. Feel better Argos

[Guest Energy11]

Sorry to hear about Argos. That IS a small cut. Here is some info from the Mt. Hounds First Aid Seminar. If your DD is an RN, maybe she can get some of this surgical tubing. You can put a large bandaid on the cut or even a mini pad, and cut the tubing to fit. I did this with a few of mine. Hope this helps!

 

 

 

Neck, trunk and body injuries:

 

As most of us already know, greyhounds’ skin is thin, and when cut, tears like a zipper! If your dogs get cut or bitten, and it is a weekend or night, ... YOU CAN treat this yourself, for the most part. (*If the wound is into the muscle, or the bone is showing, Or you cannot get the bleeding stopped, see the vet IMMEDIATELY.

 

If it the wound is superficial here is what you do: Hold pressure to stop the bleeding. Gently clean the wound with warm water, and blot dry. Apply Trypzyme-V ointment or triple-antibiotic ointment to the would. Cover with a large band aid, or non-stick dressing. You can cover this, depending on the size , with a maxi pad, and affix to the dog’s body with Kling (stretch bandage) or the Surgical tubing mentioned in the ear segment. This dressing needs to be changed twice daily, and you need to see your vet for a course of antibiotics and a follow-up. Deramaxx or Rimadyl can be given for pain. If you don’t have either of these, ONE 81 mg BUFFERED aspirin can be given daily, according to a licensed veterinarian, but not for long periods of time. If your dog happens to get an object stuck in it, (*impaled object) DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE IT! Use rags, napkins, gause, ... whatever you have handy, to stabilize the object and tape it. Bringthe dog WITH the object in tact to your veterinarian IMMEDIATELY!!! Removing the object can cause more damage to internal organs and bleeding!

 

Temporary splints for broken bones can be made using folded cardboard, a rolled up magazine, or even a tree branch, if the above is not available. SPLIT in the position you find it! DO NOT try to straighten out the limp, and see you vet IMMEIDATELY! It is a good idea some old magazines and masking tape in your first aid kits for this emergency.

 

Here is the site for the surgical tubing:

 

Tubular stretch Surgical bandage (*comes in different sizes and looks like a fish-net stocking). You can order different sizes on this website:

 

http://www.medplususa.com/list-index-p-Bandage_Retainers-cp-207.html. (Copy and paste for site).

 

Good Luck!

 

 

[3greys2cats]

My Max had one like that and I tried to bandage it but found that it was better to put antibiotic cream to keep it from getting infected and keep off bandages so the air can get at it, my guy would not stop licking it so it took forever to heal Skin tears are common here w/Max and every time I take to the vets, he gets stitches or staples and antibiotics but my vet always leaves the wound w/out dressing, hope this helps and Argos heals quick.

[racindog]

Goldie had a similar tear in the same place. Even the full torso vet rap wouldn't work. I finally gave up trying to bandage, put his stool guard type muzzle on so he wouldn't lick it and healed it as an open wound with no problem. I wouldn't chance vet visit for something so minor. Don't want them exposed to germs from sick dogs or psycho vets etc.! I generally use Wonder Dust powder in such instances but the nitrofurazone puffer would probably work great too. Heck any type of antibiotic or collagen (EMT spray etc.) would work but it would probably heal just as good with nothing put on it too. JMO.

[rebeccamcl]

Davis got a small puncture from a stick at the dog park the first couple of weeks after I moved here. I didn't notice it at first because it was in his chest. Then when he got up from his dog bed I saw the blood on it. He had stitches and to keep him from bothering it,I took an old sheet and cut it into strips. I wrapped it criss-crossed over his chest, betweeen his legs,under his belly and I tied it on his back. It looked funny but kept him from getting at it and bothering the stitches.

[Guest JarBear]

How about a snug t-shirt with a maxi pad stuck inside over the wound. I even had to get creative with a neck wound once and use a fleece belly band with a pad inside...worked like a charm since he couldn't get his foot to it to scratch.

[boopieface]

Try putting on some EMT gel if you have it. The stuff is amazing!

[Magdalyn58]

Daisy got a similar cut on her side and I put some EMT gel on it after I thoroughly cleaned . It healed very, very quickly. That stuff really works.

[Guest Ola]

I agree with those who say it's not necessary to bandage. If air can get to it that will help it heal faster. Just make sure that the items he normally lays on (beds, blankets, couch) are clean so the wound doesn't pick up dirt. And you may want to keep those surfaces covered so they don't get stained from the blood (clean bed sheets would work, if you don't have any old ones you can pick some up at the thrift store, or old towels would work too).

 

A long t-shirt would be another idea to cover it a bit (in case he's licking it too much) but you'd have to find a way to tie/clip it so it's not hanging down to the floor. LOL

[Guest ScottH]

Argos is licking the wound even with the EMT spray on it!

We'll keep at it until we find something that works.

His little brother Kota also tries to lick it. Ewwww.

Not a great way to spend his 5th birthday, having all the humans saying 'Leave it!' all day long.

[Anne]

Same type injury to several of my hounds, I put on a tee shirt, tied it (the bottom hem) around their tuck. Worked like a charm!

[nyGreys]

Awwww, feel better sweetie.

[gryhnd2]

My Max had one like that and I tried to bandage it but found that it was better to put antibiotic cream to keep it from getting infected and keep off bandages so the air can get at it

 

This worked for a similar injury on Riley - it healed up nicely and you can hardly notice it unless you back-comb him to reveal the small patch where his fur hasn't yet grown back.

 

 

Argos is licking the wound even with the EMT spray on it!We'll keep at it until we find something that works.His little brother Kota also tries to lick it. Ewwww. Not a great way to spend his 5th birthday, having all the humans saying 'Leave it!' all day long.

 

That's unfortunate - we were very lucky with Riley - even though he likes to lick our carpets, he didn't bother this injury or his more serious one on his leg which involved stitches. Perhaps a muzzle (on both of them since Kota thinks it's yummy too!). Strategically placed duct tape works if you don't have a poop guard.

 

Heal fast Argos!

[tbhounds]

Ok it seems I'll be swimming againist the tide here but, I think you should bring hin in for a stitch--it will heal regardless but, if it's closed with a stitch it will heal much quicker and with a lower chance of infection.

[phall]

Good luck, Scott! How's Argos doing tonight?

 

My new boy, Star, came in from the yard last week with a similar wound, but larger and there was a bit of a flap of skin also. I think it was a branch from our forsythia bush. We did go to the vet and get 9 stitches! The location is tough for bandaging. But to keep Star away from his wound and stitches, he's wearing one of Howard's t-shirts. It's working well.

 

Pat

[KF_in_Georgia]

I agree with the t-shirt suggestion...as long as you can keep the shirt from sticking to the wound. (Try EMT Gel, blow on it until it "dries" nice and crusty. Then add the t-shirt.)

 

I just bunch up the extra t-shirt fabric along the dog's back and hold it there with a rubber band or hair tie. But arrange the position of the shirt so Argos's boy-bits are accessible; having his bits covered made Sam irritable.

[Charlies_Dad]

Poor Argos. I hope he is doing better today and happy belated B-day!!!

[Guest ScottH]

He is doing better today. It looked really good after we cleaned it out last night. We will be out and about today and have a Tee shirt to put on him if he starts licking it.

He had a nice birthday because there was ice cream involved!

 

[Guest Energy11]

Nice bandage!!!

 

Glad Argos got to celebrate his birthday, too!

[cleptogrey]

that looks exactly like one of the punctures that felix received which i tried letting heal naturally. i was at the vet for something else, he looked at it and said, "let me fix this properly". basically the wound needs to grow from the inside out, so he cleaned the new top layer and out came the staple gun. it closed up beautifully and we can hardly tell that vampire dog emily had struck again! 3 staples and the healing proceeded really rapidly,maybe 10-14 days. i just kept a no-bite collar on, gave his neck hair time to grow, and that was it! friends who have let pucture wounds like that heal naturally waited almost 6 weeks for it to fill in. since he is a brindle you won't have any scar.

 

happy birthday argos!!!

[Guest ScottH]

Here is a picture 2 days after the incident. We are leaving it open for a while each day, when someone is around, to let it get some air. It is shiny due to the antibiotic ointment smeared in it. Noreen used the clippers to trim back the hair to help us keep it clean.

I think it looks ok so far.

 

 

He is handsome even when sleeping!

[Guest Ola]

It looks pretty good - hope it continues to heal!

 

Is sleeping with their head on the floor (but body on a bed or blanket) a greyhound trait? Mine does that all the time.

[Guest ScottH]

Here is a picture of the wound 9 days later. Still looking good. It just will take a while to heal. It gets cleaned then hot compresses twice a day and is then smeared with antibiotic ointment. We only cover it when he is going to very dirty places. So far, he is not licking it.