Bandit Has a Bad Owee! - UPDATE

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

So I caught Bandit all of the sudden chewin on his leg and upon futher inspection it was a scab, a big scab he was chewin off.  I got he flea comb out and combed out the rest and underneath is a pretty deep (hard to tell how deep) puncture.  I called the vet and they said I could bring him in but maybe try to clean it and then put a pressure bandage on it.  It is about 1/4" wide and again I can't see how deep but is was oozing some blood.  Any thoughts on a cause or suggestions for treatment?  How concerned should I be?  I tried taking a pic but  it was hard to get an accurate pic.

 

This one you can kind of tell how deep it is.

[Leslie and Halas]

I hope he's OK. Ghat sounds painful. Maybe he punctured it on a stick or branch in the yard. Or if you have a fence, maybe his leg got caught on the bottom of the fence as he was running or something.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

I don't know!! I would think I would have noticed him messing with it before now. I as worried it could be some kind of bite or what if it was metal, do I need to worry about Tetnus with dog??

[Adrianne Matzkin]

You can get saline in a spray can at Walgreen's to clean it, I spray it on a cotton square (no fuzzies to stay on the wound) and wipe it.
The hardest part is keeping him from licking it. Do you still have an e-collar? I can't tell if it is in a spot where you can put a sock on his leg to cover it.
IF you can keep him from licking it, then maybe some neosporin but only if he can't lick it.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

I wrapped an ace bandage on him with a cotton ball. He is sleeping soundly right now. I am just most worried about infection. I will see how he does with the bandage tomorrow. We don't have an e-collar, it's too high up on his leg for a sock. I can look for the spray tomorrow.

Thanks!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Little Bandit! You are such a sweet little guy and things keep happening to you!! I'm so sorry!! :( Boy, Suzann you would think that you would have heard him screaming when THAT injury happened!! If it was scabbed over already it could have happened several days ago I suppose!!?? When he was in someone else's care? Maybe check with his caregivers to see if he cried out or acted distressed while he was with them? It could have been caused by any number of things-anything pointed and at his leg level!

I have heard that tetanus is extremely rare in dogs but I don't really know from experience. It seems that the vet would have shown concern about that if it was an issue. I think they gave you good advice for now. I would suggest trimming the hair back from the wound area. Wash with warm soapy water. Once it has stopped bleeding you could put an antispectic cream on it if you have one and then bandage. Some people clean wounds with hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball after washing with soap and water but it can sting as you probably know. The saline rinse would be good, too. The main thing is to keep it clean to avoid infection and it will heal on its own.

When you say you are worried about infection do you mean you are conerned that he will get one or concerned that he already has one and you don't know how to identify it?


Bandy Baby!! I'm so sorry about your big owie!!! :( I'm sendin' lotsa doodle kisses and licks your way. Get better Baby!! XOXO Tara

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

The other day at daycare he had an incident where he was sleeping on Devon's lap and he woke up suddenly and then peed on Devon:( Which was really weird, that was Tuesday. Devon then took them on Thursday to the park, but he would have said something. I will let him know and see if he remembers anything. I brushed them both thoroughly last night and didn't notice anything. He is such a baby I would think he would have shown signs before today.

I will trim his hair and medicate tomorrow. I am not worried it is infected now but the wound is so open I am really worried about it becoming infected. For now he is tolerating the ace bandage so hopefully that will do.

TARA - I am dreamin of you right now, which makes me feel all the better! xoxo Bandit!!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Well, it WOULD be nice to know what caused the wound so you know whether or not something could have broken off in it. That was a really strange incident with Devon but it probably wasn't related to this since it was Tuesday. But I think it is a good idea to check with him about Thursday.

Karen just posted a link to some really good information about puncture wound care that should be very helpful, too.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's been many years since i took a first aid course, but I do remember that puncture wounds are a concern because they don't always bleed much and there can be a risk of infection if they're deep. There is a danger of tetanus, and if you don't know what made the wound, there could be something still in there. I found this article on-line about treating your dog's puncture wound:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4893205_of-dogs-small-puncture-wound.html
Poor Bandit, I sure hope it's nothing serious and he feels better soon.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Thank you Karen. I will clean thoroughly tomorrow with meds and ythe article is very helpul. I am trying to avoid the vet visit but will do if necessary. I remember when I had to go to the ER for my puncture wound, and "the flush" was not pleasant. I am just wracking my brain as to what happened??

BTW, good work on the Mackie rescue.

[Leslie J]

I would definitely be cautious with a puncture wound. My childhood dog had one which turned out to be a wound from someone shooting him with a BB gun. He was fine but I wouldn't want to leave a BB inside.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

OMD, someone shot your dog with a bb gun??? I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow or wait until monday if he acts okay.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Poor Bandit, that looks painful. Hope he gets better fast. I found vetericyn to work wonders when my cats were chewing themselves from flea allergies - a 2 inch red, sore, oozing bare patch would have scabbed over in 24 hours and healed withing a few days.

http://www.vetericyn.com/