Accidents happen, and when you have a multi-dog household, they happen a bit more often. Some things can easily be treated at home as long as you have the right stuff in your Doggie First Aid kit. This week’s post is about items you should have in your home to treat minor wounds or conditions as well as things to look out for when your dog seem to be under the weather.
Upset tummies: Put some Protexin Soluble probiotic in your dog’s water or over his food until poop is solid again. If your dog might need something stronger, activated charcoal might do the trick. However, if your dog is on medication, make sure to give the Activated charcoal two-hours before you administer his medication, otherwise the charcoal will absorb the medication as well. If your dog’s pooh is still runny the next day, rather take him to a vet to see what is going on.
Constipation: If you notice that your dog is struggling to poop, and that his poop is very hard, giving him some cooked butternut. This will give him the fibre he needs to get his tummy back to normal. If you notice your dog is trying to poop, but nothing is happening, get him to a vet ASAP to check for an obstruction.
Ringworm: Ringworm is not an actual worm, but a fungal infection that is transferable to other dogs and humans. It is a round scaling dandruff type patch on your dog’s skin. Hair loss and reddening of the skin will be present and sometimes there will be lesions on the patch as well. It’s fairly easy to treat with F10’s Skin treatment Germicidal shampoo and Germicidal barrier ointment.
Wash the affected area/s with the shampoo, leaving the shampoo on for 15-minutes and then rinse it off. When your dog’s coat is dry, apply the ointment to the patches every day. You can purchase these products from dogonline.co.za If there is no change to the affected areas within 3-days, take your dog to the vet for a check up on his skin.
Minor Cuts, Wounds, Scratches:
The first thing you need to do is to disinfect the area to make sure no infection takes place. Hibitane is a great product, available from vets and it does not sting like most disinfectants do. It’s also great to disinfect instruments used as well as your own hands. You can pour the solution into a spray bottle, and spray it onto hard to reach places.
Then remember to put some sort of wound care on after cleaning it. I personally really like F10’s Germicidal wound spray with insecticide. The spray is great to avoid having to smear ointment onto a sore or sensitive area, and it will keep flies away from your dog’s wound. This is also available from dogonline.co.za.
Please note:
- A dog tooth puncture wound might look small, but they generally are pretty deep and often not considered a minor wound, even if it looks like it. It may not require stitches, but will require antibiotics from your vet to prevent infection.
- Avoid putting ointment into a deep wound, as this would prevent the wound to close up and heal properly.
The gum check: Most people believe as long as their dogs’ gums are not pale, the dog should be fine. We should not just be looking out for pale gums, here are some ideas of other issues related to gum colour.
- Bright red: high blood pressure, heat stroke.
- Slightly red: Infection somewhere in the body, gingivitis
- Yellow: Liver issues, anemia,
- Brownish/Grey: Acetaminophen poisoning (due to consuming human painkillers)
- Pale pink or white: Anemia, shock, heavy metal poison, hypothermia, cancer, bloat
- Blue or purple: Lack of oxygen, asthma, heart disease.
If you think you need to take your dog to the vet, then be sure to read this blog post about choosing your vet. How to choose a vet.