Doggy help!

[vickybear]

Hi All,

Around an hour ago we noticed one of our dogs had a swelling on her leg, fluid filled. Too late for the vet, and within half an hour she had popped it ( sorry to the squeemish ). It left 2 small holes in her skin. I have some Boots antiseptic cream. Does anyone know if this will be ok to put on a dog until the morning with a dressing so she can't lick it? Any suggestions gratefully received. She doesn't seem too bothered about it, apart from doing a 'Jake the Peg' round the kitchen.

Thanks

Shelagh

[ChezTinns]

Sorry Shelagh, when I read your post I thought that your dog had popped 'its clogs' and not the swelling.  So long as it is covered with a dressing that she can't lick the antiseptic cream I'm sure you will be OK - pretty much the same as kids really.  Soother with antiseptic cream and cover with a dressing, and kiss it better!

Hope she feels better soon - let us know

JT

[vickybear]

Having re-read my post I can see why you would think she'd literally 'popped it'......gave me a good laugh, which will be more than I'll be doing with the vets bill tomorrow. I'll keep you posted. She just got out and went paddling in the stream without him indoors noticing, so she's already on dressing number 2 !

[Chesnelay]

Hi Shelagh - I work with dogs day in and day out and I still dont feel 'qualified' to offer advice. Was the fluid clear or pus-like - where on the leg was it? Was it near a joint? Just wanted you to know that someone had read your post. In my book a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.  For my own dogs I would prefer to use clean water to wash down and whether I would 'dress' would depend on where on the leg the wound was.  I'm a bit neurotic with my own dogs and as long as I am prepared to pay the bill, I would call a vet out at any time if I was really concerned.

Regards - hope she recovers quickly

[vickybear]

Hi there,

it's just above her 'knee' joint. She has a habit of licking her legs until she gets bald patches. The vet says there is nothing we can do about this. She's a rescue dog and he thinks she was probably taken from her mum too early as a puppy, as a result she's quite nervous and dependent. I think on this ocassion she has licked one until it's become infected. She's sitting next to me now quite happily, enjoying the extra cuddles. I know what you mean about worrying about them. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats and it seems we're at the vets almost every week with one or another of them.

Thanks for replying, the second dressing went on without anti-septic so we'll see how she goes. Vet is open at 8am so not long.

Thanks

Shelagh

[Just Katie]

Hi Vicky, I have used antiseptic spray on my dog before now and he healed lovely.  An old farmer boy told me to do it as he has always used it on his dogs.

Good luck, I hope all goes well.

 

PS Is that a samoyed pup on your avatar?

[vickybear]

Hi KKK,   Yes, it is a Samoyed pup.  I had one called Vicky ( hence Vickybear ) until 5 years ago, came from Wales...just like you!!

Poor pooch with bad leg is a Heinz rescue, just like her kid sister...oh, and both the cats.  I'd love to have a Samoyed again but the hoover just won't take it.......nice cushion filler though!

Shelagh

 

[Just Katie]

High maintenance but a cute smile.  Actually a bit like me

[TWINKLE]

"PS Is that a samoyed pup on your avatar?"

Thinking of breeding those now are you?

[TWINKLE]

[quote user="KatieKopyKat"]High maintenance but a cute smile.  Actually a bit like me[/quote]

Careful KKK!  I've got a lovely snap of your "cute smile" here just dying to be copied and pasted onto this thread![6]

[Bud]

Ive seen rapid swelling in dogs and also humans!

In my experience it is often caused by the antibodies rushing to the 'trauma' area

hence the speed in swelling. In dogs I have seen it whilst hunting, a dog getting bitten,

also in dogs caused by insect stings.

Ive been bitten a few times and twice had this rapid swelling which went after less than 24 hours.

I have a terrier which loves to catch insects, well she caught a wasp and her tongue swelled up,

her breathing became troubled, I used pyriton for children and the swelling started to dissapear.

[vickybear]

Thanks to all who replied. Took her to the vet today...shaved it, squeezed it, sprayed it, injected her and gave her some horse sized anti-biotics and sent us on our way. No dressing as she said it was better to be in the fresh air......which means our little 'angel' has been licking it all day!![6]

Apparently she will be prone to this now as she's always licking her legs bald. The vet offered to give her tablets to calm her nerves but I think at 2 years of age I don't want her on tablets for the rest of her days. Generally she's a happy pooch, just a bit obsessed with nibbling her own legs.

Thanks again

Shelagh

[PossumGirl]

Rats.  The image I tried to send didn't come through.

There's a collier Lune available at French Animo that I really like.  Unlike the usual "cone" collar, this is an inflatable, pvc collar that fixes around the dogs neck and doesn't interfere in their vision or ability to walk through doors, etc.  It's a bit pricey though, 65€, which is why I haven't bought one yet.  But, I think it's a good idea if you've got the cash.

PG

[godwinsj]

Puncture wounds need to be kept open so they heal from the inside first & don't abcess which means washing them out with salt water and squeezing regularly to make sure there is no build up of pus. Once healing is on its way, we find that VEGEBON is very good for stopping nervous chewing as it smells & tastes disgusting. It is primarily for treating cows so you can find it in any good agricultural merchants. You shouldn't use to much antiseptic cream as this actually deters healing after a while.

www.parsonrussellterrier.com

[vickybear]

Thanks all. The collar sounds like a good idea as we have 2 dogs and the 'nibbler' amuses herself chewing bandages, stiches etc on the other dog when she's got none of her own ( not that they're ALWAYS in the wars! ).

Is Vegebon a French product?  I'll give anything a go to stop her doing it as she's certainly not very happy about this abcess!!

Thanks.

[Christine Animal]

Just a suggestion, Vickybear, but it might be worth talking to a behaviourist about why she does this, as it may be a "nervous" problem.

 

[vickybear]

Hi Christine,  we have spoken to a few people about it. The main thing they want to know is whether she is left alone a lot and gets separation anxiety, but she has both of us here 24/7, and we got another little rescue dog to keep her company in the UK when we did have to work. She gets on brilliantly with the other dog, great friends and she is happy in herself, but she looks for constant re-assurance ( she gets lots of cuddles but is not spoilt ). Our house is generally very quiet, no children and in the middle of no-where, but occasionally we will firmly tell her to get in her bed if she misbehaves and you can guarantee that she will have a little 'wee' in her bed with nerves when she gets there. We have never hit her or shouted, and we've had her since she was 8 weeks so no-one else has mis-treated her, however she was from a rescue home and was the last of the litter, sitting looking very concerned when we saw her, so possibly that's where it started?

She's a cross collie and I understand that they can be highly strung too?

Thanks for the suggestion,

Shelagh

[godwinsj]

VEGEBON is French and we get it from Gamm Vert. It works very well on the Border Terriers who are inveterate nervous chewers.

Labradors are bad for it too - I used to have a yellow one that chewed massive holes in herself no matter what I did! My vet at the time used to give her a cortisone injection when she got really bad, but in the end a topical appication of something seriously nasty tasting was what helped the most! 

www.parsonrussellterrier.com

[Just Katie]

Hi Vicky,  are you absolutely sure she was not mistreated in someway by her breeder?  About 12 years ago I acquired a lab x G Retriever who was the most wonderful dog.  However, for some reason he hated men and even bit a few for no reason.  Also he used to cower if I used a sweeping brush.  The woman I bought him from was a true animal lover, her dogs were her babies but her husband just hovered in the background with a scowl on his face.  Jealousy is a terrible thing isnt it.

[vickybear]

KKK, I'm working on the assumption that there wasn't time to mistreat her. She was in the animal sanctuary by 6 weeks old, we got her at 8. Certainly the sanctuary staff would not mistreat her ( I hope ) as they always acted like angels. Whether something happened in her first 6 weeks to affect her I don't know. She's actually a cross collie/labrador so perhaps the earlier post regarding the labrador is true of her?

At the moment she's sprawled out over my hubby who's trying to watch TV between her ears ( funny place to keep a telly, I know! ).

[Deimos]

My own (amateur) opinion is that 6 weeks to too young for a pup to be separated from its mother. Eight weeks is better – so maybe being suddenly put is a sanctuary at 6 weeks might have had an impact for the worse.

Also, to an extent, her parents behaviour may also have “rubbed-off” on her. When I visited the breed to select my youngest, both her Mum and Dad were very timid. Mum was out nd around. 1st time I approached she slunk off. 2nd time, she lay in a doorway, exposed he tummy in a very submissive way as I got closer. However, when I was a couple of yards away it was too much and she disappeared. Dad was in a large fenced off area with another dog. He seemed OK but when I got close to the fence he always stayed at the far side of the fenced run. However, despite loads of socialisation, different environments, meeting all sorts of new experiences at a young age (without me reacting to any fear she may have show), guess how she turned-out. She is much better with people than other dogs, but parental behaviour can have quite an effect of a pup.

My other dog (also a Border Collie) has several “challenging” aspects to his behaviour and his (UK) breeder of my other dog has put a lot down to his father.

To an extent some dogs can get to overcome some fears is they are introduced gently (even after the behaviour has set-in). There is a dog at my agility club that goes a “bit angry” at blokes. He is trained separately and his owners were telling me (after he did his “angry thing” with me) about how there is something the dog does not like about men. So when the dog next did his angry thing I just crouched down, offered him the back of my had and stayed still. Dog stopped its “stroppy” behaviour pretty well straight away and came up and said hello – and is now fine with me. A few more people doing that sort of thing with that individual and I think he will overcome the need to behave to blokes like he does.

Ian

[Just Katie]

Yes Ian that is what I always encouraged but I had to be very careful of him.  I have lost him now unfortunately but I have a seven month old dog crossed with a horse who has a wonderful temperament I'm pleased to say.

[godwinsj]

Can  I just say that I feel how a dog develops is more complicated than just mere socialisation? For instance, a puppy that is born first often finds the best teat (they stick to the teat they first find), becomes the biggest & is therefore more dominant in the litter. This is often the puppy the mother is sure is going to survive & so she puts all her energy into him, especially if the envirommental conditions are not conducive to her rearing a largish litter. Often we have noticed if left to their own devices these dominant puppies & the mother will push out smaller weaker ones which are then in danger of fading away. It is also these puppies that are usually first out of the bed etc and the leader in the litter. They are obviously going to be quite a handful!

Conversely, we have had tiny puppies (usually bitches I may say - males are the weaker sex it would seem) that defy all expectations & live. Our record is a Parson puppy that was 116g. at birth (normal weight for a terrier puppy at birth is 170-200g) and she has lived with only being bottle fed in the very early stages. The reason why she has survived is an incredibly clever & attentive mother but also she is very determined and clever herself. One of the things we noticed about her was that she always wriggled under her 4 brothers & sister to stay warm in what has been a very cold winter & to make sure she was never pushed out. She too, is not going to be an easy puppy and will need a lot of sensible handling.

Other factors make for even more complications. Genetic inheritance is as important in dogs as in humans - different breeds have their own characterisitics, and within those constraints parents hand on their particular genes. For instance a Coton du Tuléar is always going to be timid & suspicious of strangers & no amount of socialisation is going to correct this. A Border Terrier is always going to be inclined to sneak off & get up to mischief & no amount of socialisation with other dogs is going to stop a Parson Russell terrier from picking a fight if it is jealous.

In the end I think the situation is just as complicated as it is in humans and there are no easy answers. Perhaps in the end, you just have to accept things as they are & works round or with them?

www.parsonrussellterrier.com