Treating Dog Wounds

Treating Dog Wounds - Open Wounds

• Assess Severity of Bleeding
  If your dog has an open wound, the first thing to do is to assess the severity of bleeding. In general, spurting or pulsing is a severe bleed that requires immediate emergency treatment by a vet; flowing or dripping is very serious which requires a trip to your vet immediately; seeping or oozing is usually not so serious and can be treated at home.
• Stop the Bleeding
  If your dog is bleeding profusely, try to stop the bleeding by applying direct pressure with a sterile gauze pad or a clean towel. Do not keep lifting the gauze to see if the bleeding has stopped as this disrupts the clot that may have formed. Similarly, if the gauze is soaked with blood, do not remove it since it contains important clotting factors. Instead, keep adding more gauze or towels on top of the soaked ones.
  If possible, try to elevate the source of bleeding so that it is above the level of your dog's heart.
  For severe bleeding, you need to apply direct pressure to the arteries that supply the wounded area. These pressure points are located at the upper inside (armpit) of the front legs, the upper inside of the hind legs and the underside of the tail.
  Only use a tourniquet as a last resort or on the advice of a vet or human doctor.
• Clean the Wound
  If the open wound is not serious enough to warrant a trip to the vet, you need to clean the wound once bleeding has stopped.
  First, use a pair of scissors to trim the hair surrounding the wound. Dipping the scissors in mineral oil before cutting the hair will cause the hair to stick to the scissors instead of falling into the wound. If there is crusted blood and debris on the wound making hair trimming difficult, try softening this material with warm water and soft toweling and use a gentle blotting technique.
  Once the hair has been trimmed and the entire wound revealed, flush it well with a sterile saline solution. If you have herbal tinctures of calendula and St.-John's wort on hand, make an herbal saline solution:
  Boil a cup of water to sterilize it. Let cool. Add 10 drops each of the tinctures of Calendula and St.-John's wort plus one-fourth teaspoon of table salt. Use a syringe to gently flush out the wound.
  Finally, disinfect the wound by gently dabbing the area with sterile gauze that has been soaked in hydrogen peroxide.

• Dress the Wound
  Spread a thin coat of calendula ointment on one side of a non-stick pad and apply it directly to the wound. Using a roll of cotton gauze or bandage, trap the pad against the skin and wrap the gauze around the body part in a manner that will keep the pad in place. Do not wrap the gauze too tightly as this will cut off circulation. Changing the bandage once a day and keeping the wound clean will help the healing.

Treating Dog Wounds - Bruises

Treating Dog Wounds - Boosting the Immune System

• Echinacea: Echinacea is an effective immune-boosting herb. You can get a tincture of the herb such as Only Natural Pet Echinacea Herbal Formula and give your dog five drops per ten pounds, two to three times a day.
• Vitamin C: Vitamin C is an immune-booster as well as an antioxidant. It can prevent infections. Give your dog about 5-10 mg/pound, two to three times a day for two to five days.
• Pancreatic Enzymes: Pancreatic enzymes such as Bio Zyme can help your dog digest his food more thoroughly and get more micronutrients into the bloodstream to help replenish the blood loss as well as to help the body fight infection.