My dog is limping after an accident. How do I treat her wounds?

Ideally they appear they can benefit from stitches but it may be too late for that. It does need to be seen for antibiotics at the least because an infection can take longer to heal. If you can shave the hair around the cuts it will be easier to keep clean. You can apply neosporin to the cuts to help with an infection and get an e collar from the pet store so she can't keep licking her foot and making that one worse.

I am so sorry to hear that Felicia had this wound on her leg. I am sure it is very unsettling for you both. From the pictures you have provided it looks as though the wound may be deeper than appears, and thus may require a trip to the veterinarian. The wound appears to have been caused by a puncture, such as a bite, or perhaps if Felicia got caught In a Fence. These types of puncture wounds are often deeper and have caused more tissue damage then can be visualised from the surface. I bet would start by examining Felicia, and the wound itself. The wound would be cleaned and disenfected, the vet may need to sedate Felicia to debris even the wound, if necrotic or unhealthy tissue is present. The vet may chose to surgically close the wound with sutures or leave it open to drain and heal wiith scar tissue. The vet may also prescribe pain relief, anti-inflammatory medictaions and antibiotics to treat a possible infection, or prevent one. I would advise the seeing the vet within the next 24 hours. In the meantime you can continue keep Felicia as calm and rested as possible, and do not use any over the counter medications without the direct advice from your vet. I hope that this answer was helpful, and more importantly that Felicia feels better soon. Warmest regards to you both.

Ouch, your poor pup! You need to take him into the vet as soon as possible. It needs to be cleaned sterilely, he may need x-rays to see if there are any possible broken bones, he needs antibiotics to prevent an infection, some of the cuts may need sutures, and he will need pain medication. Please do not give him any human pain medications, as many are toxic to dogs and can be fatal if given. The vet will determine the appropriate treatment needed. Please take him into one now.

That is usually a good thing that she is not limping or acting like it is bothering her. The photo has a lot of hair in the way and I can’t get a clear view of the wound, but the area looks bigger than I was expecting. A healthy dog like Wendy can often heal most superficial wounds. If the wound was deep, meaning you could see that the skin was cut all the way through, then she should see her veterinarian. If the wound was more like a scrape, then she can likely heal it on her own. You will need to make sure that Wendy does not lick at the area as that can make it get infected. Have Wendy wear an Elizabethan collar at all times. This will prevent the licking. If the area around the wound looks swollen or you see any discharge, or pain when you press on it, have her see the veterinarian as well. If you have any other questions or can post a photo with the hair pushed out-of-the-way, please feel free to post again.

Hello, and thank you for your question. It is difficult to see the nature of the injury from your photos, but it sounds like Bandit may have sustained an abrasion type of injury. I would recommend a visit to the vet within the next 24 hours to confirm the nature of the injury. If there is an open wound, he will require antibiotics. At minimum, he will require anti-inflammatory pain medication to keep him comfortable and help reduce any swelling. In the meantime, try to minimize his activity level (just out for bathroom breaks), and keep him on soft clean bedding. Keep his food and water close by his bed to allow easy access. I hope this helps, and that Bandit gets better soon!

Did the limping start today? I wonder if Pawl injured a muscle when he got hurt. It sounds like if the limping is intermittent that it might be ok to wait a short while, but I always worry about fractures and if delaying the exam would cause delayed healing as well. However, many soft tissue injuries will heal in their own with a few weeks of strict rear and possibly anti inflammatory medications if he needs them. I would encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian, but as long as the limping is improving then you may be able to wait until next week. As far as the scratch goes, keep it clean and keep her from Licking it. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

I did receive the photos you sent in this morning that were forwarded to me via our website moderator. The abrasions themselves can likely be managed at home with a sterile cleaning using Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water and then flushing the area daily thereafter with sterile saline from your local pharmacy. However, if you are also seeing swelling, this could pose a problem. Swelling underneath the skin following trauma is typically either of 2 things: an Abscess (infection underneath the skin) or a Seroma (blood filled sac) . An abscess will need to be treated by your vet, by having the area drained and then he will need to be placed on a short course of antibiotics. If this is a Seroma however, it will likely heal on its own as the body slowly reabsorbs the blood. As long as the Seroma does not get any bigger, which would indicate that there is continued bleeding underneath the skin that needs to be ligated via surgery. There really isn't a good way of knowing if this is Seroma or abscess by looking on the outside; however, with abscesses they are typically painful and will eventually lead to fever and illness (lack of appetite, vomiting) in most cases. Seroma's can be mildly painful, but won't cause a fever. So since you are limited on funds you can roll the dice and see if this thing causes systemic illness or not, or you can try to apply for financial assistance to get Wilber looked at immediately to make sure there isn't an abscess present. Here are some links for financial assistance. I https://carecredit.com/vetmed Here a couple of still up and running grant options: carecredit.com redrover.org/relief/urgent-care-grants/ (typical grant amount is $200) all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html - $50 maximum aid WHEN they have funds. a couple of 'special situation' ones: fveap.org - Vaccine Associated Sarcoma only thepetfund.com/ - Non-basic, non-urgent care (cancer treatment, heart disease, etc.) ONLY. ! hope that this was helpful and hope that your pet Wilber is able to make a full and speedy recovery from his traumatic injury. Take care!