How should I have handled this

[BrownDogsCan2]

Saturday we were wrapping up after hunting and my partner noticed that my dog Roo had gotten a nasty hide cut about 3.5”s long. Opening day and a vet answering his phone so it was a no brainer. Quick trip to town and she was stitched up.
Had a vet not been available how should I have handled it.? I had no clue. Clean it? With what? Saline? Peroxide? Iodine? Would I cover it? Non stick ? Wrap it?

 

[Chessie 67]

Ouch! Thank goodness for the vet! If not, I would have cleaned it, ointment, gauze, vet wrap and tape. But again, great the vet was available!

 

[Hunt1GSP]

If it was my dog and no vet available, it would have been flushed with iodine and stapled.

 

[BrownDogsCan2]

If it was my dog and no vet available, it would have been flushed with iodine and stapled.

My partner had a stapler. Neither one of us knew if it should be or how it should be stapled. I kind of hoped the vet would staple it so I could see how it was done.
I’m glad the vet was available I think that was the better option.

 

[birddude]

That one is in a bad place. Epson salts solution. Whatever you clean it with, you'll be lucky if the stitches hold.

 

[17Hunter]

Never clean with peroxide. Kills healthy tissue that might be needed for staples/sutures. Saline wound wash is always safe, so that is what I carry. Find it at the dollar stores for like $5 a can.

 

[Hunt1GSP]

My partner had a stapler. Neither one of us knew if it should be or how it should be stapled. I kind of hoped the vet would staple it so I could see how it was done.
I’m glad the vet was available I think that was the better option.

I suggest you google it. Lots of videos on you tube on how to care for small wounds.
I’ve done several cuts in friends dogs and they didn’t even flinch when getting stapled. My wife did a cut on my young shorthair by herself and after talking her through it, she was surprised on how easy it was.

 

[Bob Peters]

Yeah I carry a stapler but have never used it. Do a quick search. I've heard from vets common problems are people using too many staples and people closing the wound too tight.

 

[Highvoltage]

Clean with saline solution, then apply some iodine solution. Staple from the top and let a weep hole on bottom. I have Doxycycline so I would give that for 10 days. It would need to be more serious before I seen a vet, but I fixed up a few dogs before.

 

[wingsnfins]

You made the right call getting the dog to the vet.
As to if there was no vet available, how to handle it. For that wound, the way it looks, I would have cleaned to start, then pad it with gauze to make sure I have the moisture out and to see how much it is bleeding. If I know that I could get that injury to a vet within 24 hours and it is not bleeding anymore, I would prep it with antibiotic topical and wrap it to let the vet handle it properly.
If the above was not the case, my gear that I carry is for those emergencies that I need to treat immediately or they become life threatening....those include bleeding, airways, trauma and hypothermia - all which can induce shock which is a killer too, more so in humans than canines though. If no means to staple or confidence, and it is a blood loss issue, pack it with combat gauze and pressure, wrap it and get to a vet. Wound packing and pressure, especially on extremities is a great first step.
There are also some awesome K9 tactical emergency casualty care courses out there, as well as "Stop The Bleed" for humans.
Just understanding the wound itself can take away alot of the stress on our brains trying to figure out how to treat our dogs.

 

[Glock]

The most common problem with “self-stapling” is like Bob mentioned too tight and not allowing the wound to weep. That along with not getting it clean enough. You need to irrigate and irrigate it again several times.