Razor Burn

[Leslie and Halas]

Halas has a little razor burn under one of his front armpits.  The skin is broken, and the area is really red.  It doesn't seem to be bothering him, but he can't reach the area anyway, so I don't know what he can do about it if it is bothering him.  I want to put something on it in case it is bugging him, and just so it doesn't get worse, since the skin is broken.  I put a little dab of Neosporin on it, since I'm confident that he can't lick it off.  Is there any other lotion or powder I should put on it to ease discomfort (if he has any) or make sure it doesn't get worse?  Thanks in advance.

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

My vet gave me a product called "Neo-Predef with Tetracaine Powder".  When ever Haley gets a little boo-boo that bothers him I dust a little on.  It stops the irritation and is antibiotic.  It works real good. I'm sure you would probably have to get it from your vet. 

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

I would just leave it alone and try not to touch the area. I keep silver colliod spray to put on open sores like that, but since it isn't reachable, and he seems fine, then he probably is fine and I wouldn't bother. Take a look at it once a day to ensure it doesn't get more red, but really dogs heal incredibly fast and most of these little bumps in the road don't bother them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The Neo-Predef powder is what I've used, too.

The problem for Halas is with the location of the burn. There's a lot of constant friction in the axilla area, and it doesn't get as much air as other parts of the body to promote healing. Try to keep it as dry as possible. You want to avoid having a moist dermatitis develop there.

After my last poodle had a serious razor irritation in the groin area, we stopped using clippers or shavers of any kind on her for the rest of her life; other than her feet, she was hand-scissored only. It might be tough for you to find someone who is willing and able to only use scissors, but for the more senstivie areas of the body (groin, stomach, axilla), scissoring will prevent this kind of thing in the future.

Hope Halas heals soon and doesn't have any trouble with this.

[Leslie and Halas]

The location is really hidden.  I didn't even see it until this morning, and he was groomed on Tuesday.  I guess it's possible that he scratched himself there with his toenails, but they are pretty smooth, so I don't think it was that.  And there's no hair around, so that makes me think it was just shaved a little too close. Now I'm noticing that he is scratching the area with his back leg a little bit, but I can't tell if it's right on the bad area or not.

Tina the Groomer has always been willing to do whatever I want, so I think I'll ask her to move away from razors.  He's had some minor razor burn other times, too, but it's gone away in a day or two.  She already scissor cuts the rest of him.

I'll see if I can pick up some of that Neo-Predef stuff.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Keep him from scratching it, any way you can. Poor Halas!

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

I recently had a razor burn myself :-( and went to the drug store and got Aloe vera spray with Lidocaine.  Don't know if it's dog friendly or not...

[Leslie and Halas]

I just made a quick call to the vet.  They said to try some triple antibiotic ointment (Neosporin) on it, since he can't reach it to lick it off, and let it get as much air as possible.  So he'll just have to get lots of belly rubs to encourage him to lay on his back with his front legs sticking out. They also said that's a tricky area, since not a lot of air gets to it.  Halas is staying at his Grammy's tonight, so I hope I can convince her to offer him belly rubs. I'm sure she'll do it after a little arm twisting.  Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Feel better Halas!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Neosporin seems like a good idea. This is what frightens me about groomers.