A little advice please! - Page 1

A few minutes ago, we notice Chaos chewing on the back of his left front elbow armpit area.  No limping noticed before this etc.  Hubby held him down while I looked, and in his armpit was a huge scab/sore/absess kind of sore.  Seaping kind of also.  Raw and irritated.  We had no idea anything was wrong.  This is the first time we noticed him messing with anything.  Steve held him down and I cleaned it up.  Skin is really irritated now and bleeding a little in spots, but not much.  I went to the store and bought some triple antibiotic ointment and some peroxide and we cleaned it up real good.  Should I cover it or should I let him clean it him self to make it heal?  It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would after we got everything off of it though.  We think he did it going over the chain link fence to get to our privacy fence to get the neighbor dogs.  Hubby fixed the fence so hopefull he can't get over it now.    Oh, I also have some steroids and antibiotics left over from Bree when she cut her foot open.  I gave him one each of those too and will continue until they are totally gone if needed.  Any other ideas?

As long as the sore doesn't seem to need Vet assistance.........keep it clean with an antiseptic cleaner and the triple antibiotic cream should help it heal.    They're kinda like kids with all their scrapes and bruises.

JMO

K, thanks.  Since we found it and cleaned it, every step he takes now, he lays down and starts licking it!  It seems to be irritated more now that it's cleaned up.  Now that I know it's there, we wlll keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected more.

I would hold off on giving him anymore of the steroids until you speak with your vet.  Although the vet might prescribe them, they could be in a different dosage.  Steroids can be tricky, in fact sometimes a dog needs to titrated off or on.

Cleaning and triple antibiotic is a good step.  I wouldn't let him lick the area though as that will further irritate it and you don't want him ingesting the ointment.  If he'd keep on a bandage I would put on a sterilized pad and then wrap with a bandage.   

A product I find really helpful to use in case of  scrapes, cuts, and minor wounds is Maxi/Guard Zn7 Derm Spray 2 fl oz (60 ml).  It's a spray you put right on the affected area and it really helps speed up the healing time , reduce any itching as well as having antibacterial properties.  I had a GSD that had lots of skin problems and would scratch various wounds from time to time and this is the only product that really helped clear up wounds as well as help hair regrow much faster to the affected area.

Here's the link:

http://www.vetamerica.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=303

I forgot to say I would also hold off on the oral antibiatics as the vet might want to prescribe a different kind or strength and he needs to take the whole prescribed amount.

Just tried to wrap it.  No way to do it!  It's right in the arm pit area and nothing will wrap around it without binding up.  It looked like it irritated him more to have the wrap on it then without.  I did put more ointment on it though. 

Shepherd Women I agree with sueincc, I would not give him your other dogs meds. Actually when  given antibiotics my vet wants me to give the whole script to the dog they were prescribed to.  You might try dobbing some Bitter Apple on the hair around the sore, it might keep him from licking.

I do have some of that.  Would it sting though?

I wouldnt use an ointment at all   do you have some spray medicated antiseptic    you get it at petsmart.....or liquid bandaid.....is good   ointments are not going to stay on it, and his licking isnt going to help .....if you spray it with a spray antibiotic, like the vets use a dilute of peroi=xide and geneactin ? spelling ?   and spray it....

It will dry it up and let it heal and coat it....liquid bandaid is great  for that area.......oily things just make worse the problem....for any skin problem u use   Cephflexon-----500mg,   with food     twice a day the first day   then once a day for 7-10 days if the place is really looking like it is infected.....for 7 days if not bad just to stop the infection from coming on,,,,,,no steriods        feed yogurt every day    1/4 cup     puts good biotics back in and helps the digestion......good luck.....

give him a cow hoof or a round steak bone to chew to get his mind off the place...if you spray it , it will help the itch and sting and soreness.....I always keep K-9 aspirin    large size from Naturapet.....for dogs   because it is buffered....I never give a real aspirin for any reason.....He should be fine...

Just keep his mind on something else the first 24 hours...