What Would Be A Good Treatment For This Dog?

[hawkenman]

My little boy's 15lb. Jack Russell wandered away and got tore up by a hog. There is a 4 x 8 inch wound exposing a few ribs located under her armpit, the dog is alert and eatng and drinking. My question is should I pack antibiotic inside the wound or let her keep licking it? The vet wanted seven hundred dollars up front to begin treatment, I do not have that kind of money at this time. Any home remedies would be appreciated. I've already started penecillen and pain medication.

[moxgrove]

how old is the wound?  It should be thoroughly irrigated to get out any debris, saliva and sundry bugs. A solution of 15 to one betadine to sterile saline or even well boiled water should be okay. If the wound is over 24 hours old then closure isn't a great idea unless you are prepared to run a Penrose drain from the wound because there will be infection! If the wound is over a day old then you are going to want to wash it out like I said if it is a fairly regular flap, the you tack one edge and put a dressing over the wound. It would need to be cleaned with antibiotic soap and redressed two to 3 times a day Putting the dressing in place and then  securing it with ace wrap coban or duct tape. Do not put neosporin or bacitracin inside the wound. This can actually keep infection in. It will be three or four days b4 you can get the flap to stay in place well. Obviously this is a less than optimal method for treatment. In the future I recommend keeping a pressurized wound irrigastion can and skin stapler in your hunting kit. I am not a Vet,or vet tech. Iam not giving educated veterinary advice. My only medical training is in Human Emergency medicine. Use the advice I gave at your own risk. DO NOT LET YOUR DOG LICK THE WOUND! PM ME IF YOU WANT TO TALK.

[GeorgiaDave]

Hello from Georgia,

   Mox gave some sound advice. I would like to bring up the fact that when giving meds, do keep in mind that they should be given in proportion to boby size. A 15 pound dog should not be given to much of any meds. The best thing I have found to treat wounds is something called " purple wound lotion " I picked up at my local farm store. It is designed for livestock but works wonders on dogs. I do not currently have any on hand so I can not say what is in it, but will get some this week and post it here. As Mox stated bacitracin is reliable if applied regularly, just make sure that you clean the wound between applications. And I agree that you SHOULD NOT allow the dog to lick a wound. Another suggestion is to get the K V Pet catalog which has about every canine med and first aid product you could ever need including meds, sutures and a very good staple gun. Good luck with helping your dog. During this down time, you may want to have a talk with this J R Terrier and let him know that he DOES NOT weigh 350 pounds, but as hard headed as they are, he likely will not believe you.........Good luck And god Bless You.
Dave

[Dee]

The penecillen should only be given in three day intervals in some cases with a lay off of about three days as I recall. The purple lotion, we used to use when cutting bull calves. Her licking the wound will be hard to stop, and may or may not slow the recovery. Remember, her mouth is much cleaner than ours. Plain ole POWDERED ALUM mixed with boiled water, and made into a paste will help pull the wound together, and will NOT prevent draining.
I am surprised the hog was able to cut her. Must have got her in some thick brush. I have a Jack male, and would bet she started the fight. These are VERY TOUGH DOGS, and my money is on her to make it. Good luck. I am an ole horse and dog man, and am not a vet, so proceed with my recs at your own peril.

[hawkenman]

Thank all of you for your input, Hawkenman

[moxgrove]

How is your pup?

[hawkenman]

Thanks moxgrove, she's doing good, she is able to walk around and I let her in the front yard for a little while today and the first thing she did was started eating grass. Maybe it is some type instinctual dog remedy but she ate a pile. The wound still looks horrible but not as bad as last week. I'm still giving her a penecillen shot at three day intervals and using Cut and Heal medication. Last week I went about 400 yards behind my house and saw an area that looked like there had been a fight. In the sand I saw very small dog tracks and one set of large hog tracks. These hog tracks have a signature being there is a large boar that I haven't shot yet because I considered him a good seed boar. Well one of his hoofs is missing a toe, and I saw this at the fight location. I have not hunted hogs with a dog in years, but I have a jam up bay dog that I use for tracking wounded animals (mostly from my wife's attempts to bring home the bacon). So I made him a protective vest out of two old bullet proof vests. So we shall see this weekend.

[moxgrove]

I am glad she is getting better. Good HUNTING! Be sure to share some with your pup. Those little terriers sure are tough. Ironically I always joke about getting a little cut vest for my Jack Russel. She thinks she's a 12 pound Pitbull.

[billy_56081]

I hope the dog heals up, sounds like it is doing good. The problem with them terriers of all sizes it they think they are 10 foot tall and bullet proof.