Cut down dogs back. Need advice on treating

M

MollyandMe

New member
First off Im not sure where to post this so I came to my normal spot here in the Kansas forum. I can post it elsewhere if I need to.
I Hunted all day today and had a pretty good day up until about 4:30. Shot a pheasant that went sailing into the next field and my one year old took off to retrieve it and didn't slow down for the barbed wire. He put about a 10 inch long cut down the middle of his back. It's not bleeding much, if at all and it doesn't seem to be too deep. I do have a canine first aid kit ...syringe, iodine pack, staple gun, gauze, bandages, etc...just not sure what to use where. I figured cleaning it with the syringe and water would be appropriate but not sure if I should try to cover it or leave it alone or what. I tried to call vets in the area but everyone was closed by the time I got to town and I'm 4 hours from home and not going home till tomorrow. So trying to work with what I've got in the meantime. Figured someone on here may have some expertise the could share on what, if anything I should do for him. If pics would help, I can post them.
 
If you don’t think it needs stapled then don’t. Keep it clean. If you have emt gel or a 3 way ointment, or heck even bag balm, I’d put some on it. Whenever my dogs get good cuts or wounds i like to give them a shot of penicillin. If your not comfortable stapling it yourself it will be too late by morning for a vet to do anything.
 
I'm not a veterinarian so treat my advice accordingly...

If I'm understanding this correctly, it sounds like a deep scratch into the skin, but not all the way through the skin. Like, you can't spread the skin apart and see muscle or anything,,, the cut is just through the outer layers of skin, but the integrity of the skin is still intact, right?

In these type of situations where it is just a deep scratch, I just clean it really well with saline and run a bead of antibiotic ointment down the scratch. Since it's on the top of the back, I don't worry about the dog chewing or licking at it. I would clean it and treat it daily until it looks like the skin is healing over. You said it's not bleeding, so I would not go bananas with the staple gun or anything like that.

If it's more serious than how I interpreted your description, then personally, I would make a trip to a vet tomorrow. If it's actually a separation of the skin and there's a potential that anything got into the wound, they'll want to put the dog on antibiotics and they'll also want to stitch up the holes. To me, I think of the skin stapler as an emergency tool. I would only use it for a very serious cut where I thought I needed to close it up before making a trip to the vet for proper care.

Again, I'm not a vet. But that is my policy with my dogs and I haven't lost one to barbed wire yet. Good luck and quick healing.
 
To me that looks like a "keep it clean and watch it" injury. But it's always comforting to have a professional say it.
 
Doesn't look to bad to me. If you are going to a vet in Hays go to Hillside. Keep it clean and put a little Man or Beast Salve on it. Probably would not hunt the dog til it heals.
 
One of the great senses of relief I got was the day the Vet told me that dogs aren't susceptible to tetanus. Young Bert, the not-right dog, thrived on running through old wire--once I only noticed a deep gash in his chest after he finished an astounding retrieve and plopped down as I praised him and had other hunters come over to remark on the job he'd done. The dog wanted to keep going. He seemed to only do this sort of thing if it were a Sunday or major holiday, when the vets were closed.

I gave him a stern talking-to about it. He appeared to not be impressed by my wisdom.

As the guys have said, I just trimmed the hair around the wound, flushed it with luke-warm water, then sudsy water, then (with apologies to YB) rubbing alcohol. When we finally got to the vet, he just said, "it's fine. It will heal from within the wound; I wouldn't bother with stitches now."

And so it did.

best wishes.
 
Had a shorthair with a tear once and I could see the muscle underneath. Caught it on a fence. About 3 inches long. Vet just had me keep it clean and watch it. Said shed probably pull out stitches anyway. It healed within a couple of weeks. Also had a setter about 25 years ago that made a "V" in its ear. 3/4 of the ear had a tear right up the middle. I panicked and called a vet on a Sunday afternoon. He said go ahead and bring her and I'll stitch it. She will shake them out within a day. Well, I listened to him and held off. The ear healed all the way to the tip. He recommended a dab of super glue.

Dogs are so tough.
 
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