Frankie Got Hurt...

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

We went out to dinner and the theater last night; when we got back and greeted everyone/ unmuzzled, I noticed some blood on Jewels' head. Turns out it wasn't hers, but Frank's. He has a little round hole about the size of a pencil eraser on one side of his head, cheek area but a little further back, and a small triangular tear (really small, 1/2" at most) just inside his ear on the other side. We think his muzzle may have gotten caught on something, or maybe he just really wanted it off, and either the muzzle itself caused the little cuts or he did with his nails trying to get it off. I am leaning towards it being caught on something because this morning he is acting sore around his neck and head area, like he might have been thrashing around a bit.

 

Anyways I cleaned him up and applied Mupirocin, this morning I gave him a Rimadyl because he appears a little sore. I also started him on antibiotics. My poor old man; he looks so sad today. He may just be working me for treats though! He is going to be fine; looks like I will be bringing him to work with me every day for awhile since I can't muzzle him until he heals. Not sure I want to, after this...

[greysmom]

Awwww. Poor guy! Hope he feels better soon!

[duncan41]

Kiss his boo-boos, give him lots of love\in, boat loads of treats and he will be just fine! Poor Frankie!

[Remolacha]

poor Frankie

 

I know a lot of people leave their dogs muzzled, but I've never been comfortable doing that, for just this reason.

[Guest zoolaine]

Aww poor Frankie - for him: and

[carronstar]

I hope Frankie feels better soon.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Does the injury to his face go through to the inside of his mouth? My Sam once bit through the side of his own mouth in a scrap with Oreo. (The best clue was that the hole inside his mouth was bigger than the hole on the outside of his cheek.)

 

And in the same scrap, Sam took off a tiny bit of the flap of Oreo's ear.

 

My two weren't muzzled during that tiff (I was upstairs changing clothes, and came running as soon as I heard the growling). But Jacey once got into a scrap with an alpha bitch at SEGA's adoption kennel. In that instance, both dogs were muzzled, but Jacey still wound up with damaged cartilage and a missing tip on one ear. (When something gets her attention, both ears point left. Otherwise, she usually has one ear pointing forward, one pointing back.)

 

So it's just possible that Frank and Jewels mixed it up: She might have tagged his ear, and he might have done the cheek injury himself. And if Jewels had a grip on Frank's muzzle, Frank's neck might be sore.

 

Check around the house, too, for any sign of disarranged furniture...or blood stains. A common source of trouble is the hardware on cabinets and drawers, especially the kitchen, where a curious dog might have been doing some counter-surfing and gotten hung-up on a handle.

 

I worry about the risk of my guys getting hung up on furniture, but I'm quite certain they're strong enough to snap the strap on a muzzle if they had a problem. Meanwhile, if Frank and Jewels got into a tiff, the muzzles might have saved them from serious injury. And at my house, the muzzle keeps Sam from eating the house. He likes to chew wood, he counter-surfs, he empties trash cans, and he eats paper and plastic. I got tired of coming home and trying to figure out what he'd eaten, how much he'd thrown up vs how much he still had inside him, and whether I needed to haul him to the E-vet.

Edited October 17, 2010 by KF_in_Georgia

[crazygang]

Aaawww poor guy hope he perks up soon....

[Guest cruzNhounds]

Feel better soon frankie

Edited October 18, 2010 by cruzNhounds

[mychip1]

Lots of love to Frankie!

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Thanks guys... Frank is feeling better this evening and his wounds are doing fine. Definately didn't bite the inside of his mouth, that little hole is further back than that (about an inch before his ear) and the other side is actually right inside the ear opening. I inspected his muzzle and found some blood inside and on the buckle. I am pretty certain he got it caught.

 

He's already gotten his happy disposition back so I think we'll get thru this just fine!

[Guest greybookends]

Better the small wound he got than a much larger injury without the muzzle and if they did mix it up a bit, it could have been both with more serious wounds and not just one with a small injury. Nothing is without risk, you just need to determine what the larger risk is. I hope he heals quickly.

[racindog]

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Better the small wound he got than a much larger injury without the muzzle and if they did mix it up a bit, it could have been both with more serious wounds and not just one with a small injury. Nothing is without risk, you just need to determine what the larger risk is. I hope he heals quickly.

 

Oh, believe me... I know... There is definately a reason for the muzzling and Frank is it. Even though his temperment is greatly improved over the years, he will never be able to be fully trusted. I am pretty certain though, that this was self-inflicted; but if it weren't and there was a little tiff, Frank is not the dog to mix it up with, knowing his history. So either way, we will still need the muzzles after he heals.

 

Oh, and extra cookies and kisses are the best medicine!

Edited October 18, 2010 by FullMetalFrank

[greysmom]

You might get some of that adhesive moleskin (for shoes and corns) to wrap around the cheek pieces and buckle. That might help in the future.

 

Glad he's doing OK!

[Remolacha]

glad he is feeling better! there is no doubt, some dogs need to be muzzled. the moleskin is a good idea, I use it on the inside of Fletcher's muzzle.

[grey14me]

Since it sounds like he has similar wounds on both sides of his head, I'm wondering if he got his whole head stuck somewhere...like under the couch or beside the fridge or just somewhere where he could've actually wedged his head in. Glad he's feeling better already

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Thanks again; he is doing really well and I think once he heals, you'll never even notice his boo-boos. I do think he might have gotten his head stuck somehow although I can't figure out where. He has some bruising near his wounds. He's coming to work with me; I will need to use one of our kennel leads to get him in and out. I don't want to use his martingale just yet.

 

Oh, and the moleskin idea is super! I have RJ's muzzle wrapped with vetwrap because the strap is kind of boogered up and it seems super comfy now! All of their nose pieces already have the moleskin padding so I can just add some more to the buckle and strap areas.