New Owner - Dog Cut While Running - Treatment?

[ArrowOwner]

Hi our wonderful new grey Arrow loves to run around our smallish backyard. Today she came in from the run with a little cut on her lower hind leg. Nothing major, probably a half inch long. We want to get some general advice on treating such things. We washed the leg in a bath and then put a little neosporin on it. Any thoughts or recommendations? Thank you!

[GreyTzu]

If it is not actively bleeding, that is all I would do in my house. Keep an eye on it and if he is not limping, he'll live.

[Houndtime]

Just try not to let your dog lick it or a small cut can become very large. Otherwise, what you did should be fine.

[MaryJane]

I usually do exactly what you did - wash it with face cloth/warm water and then put Neosporin or Bacitracin on it

[EllenEveBaz]

Welcome to the wonderful world of tissue-thin greyhound skin.

 

You don't even have to put neosporin on it after you clean it.

[XTRAWLD]

I spray collodial silver on it to kill bacteria. That or some ouchless liquid like Bandaid just for flushing. Areas around feet can get quite dirty and you don't want infection. Aside from that, keep it open (or neosporin as you've done) and ensure it isn't licked. Clean it once or twice a day until it's crusting over nicely so dirt won't get in there and you are good to go. If it's a big cut, fur growing in the scab can get annoying so might need to trim the area if you can just so it avoids a problem in the form of licking and scratching when it's uncomfortable scabbing over times.

Edited December 22, 2018 by XTRAWLD

[LaFlaca]

I'd cleanse the area with sterile saline solution and apply a chlorhexidine spray, such as Curaseb, to prevent infection. For a deep or open wound, I'd top it off with EMT gel and maybe a bandage.

[greysmom]

This one is pretty simple - wash, disinfect, protect - as you did and others advised.

 

But you should also consider what you are comfortable dealing with - or what you're comfortable paying your vet to deal with - for the future.

 

For myself, if it's any sort of bite or ragged tear, deeper into tissue, actively bleeding beyond my ability to stop, or large enough to consider needing stitching/stapling we go to the vet. Minor scrapes and cuts we deal with at home.

 

To that end, most of us have a dog first aid kit. It has things like a wound wash, disinfectant, bandaging supplies, a thermometer, vet wrap in various widths, plastic bags and/or old iv bags to protect feet from getting wet, Epsom salts for soaking wounds, hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting (NOT for wounds), and various other miscellaneous items used for first aid.

 

I've also taken a class from the Red Cross on pet first aid, just so I feel confident. Our adoption group sponsors one just about every year and it's a great idea.

Edited December 23, 2018 by greysmom

[sobesmom]

You'll get used to little cuts and scrapes. I'm a big fan of vet wrap for leg scrapes if they want to lick at it too much, but it's not necessary if the dog doesn't mess with it. Sometimes the vet wrap makes them mess with it, so I'd say what you did is perfect.