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Ideas Needed On Keeping Wound Dressing On


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Hi All,

Am after some outside of the usual box thoughts and ideas at how to keep a wound dressing on a very determined (and large!) puppy...

Wound is upper thigh so hard to bandage anyway, but all chewing deterrents so far don't work. Elizabethan collar no good, he is getting around the biggest one I can find it due to his body length, ie the wound is a long way from his head, and his long head as well.

The usual chewing deterrents applicable to bandages are becoming exhausted, proprietary ones, vicks vaporub, even tiger balm, pepper, eucalyptus. This pup has snacked on sard wonder soap once when he raided the laundry so eucalyptus seems to be a favourite.

I am considering trying to increase the length of th EC by taping on another width of plastic. But not even sure if this will work, he even got the whole thing off last night and ate part of the EC and the collar he was wearing. The joy of narrow heads, hard to keep collars on... Sigh...

It doesn't help that he's bored and sick of toys. Giving him things to chew on food-wise is out as the wound is uncovered and I can't risk a fly. Even indoors if one gets in it could be nasty.

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Gosh I saw a pic of a guard type thing.....I think it was Dxenion who's dog featured in the Advertising.

I am sure she wouldn't mind if you pm'd her.

This is the type of product that I should have put in my favs. :(

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Oh facepalm! I didn't even think of a muzzle!! Thankyou!

I'll have to try a wire one. Have yet to see a really long plastic one and he'd probably find a way to eat it anyway!

Pjs is a nice idea but he'll shred them. Plus he'll overheat - too much coat.

Will have a look for Dxenion's guard thing, haven't got a mental imge at the moment...

Thanks guys. :D

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Have thought of cetrigen but am hoping to keep the site moist and am worried it will dry it more. Honey would be my next choice of application, I have had Tuffrock poultice on it and very happy with the progress. If only I could keep it on. At least the honey wouldn't be so yuck coming out the other end if he licked it off! The Tuffrock makes for interesting clay-ish poos...

I was going to try the muzzle but like Telida said, the worry is leaving him. I think him pulling at it creates more potential for injury. And we have to sleep sometime!

I went back to Horseland and got a different spray, a crib stop one. They recommended that one and Red Hot but it only comes in a massive bottle...And a much bigger price tag. So will try the Crib stop with heavy adhesive bandage tonight. I don't mind cutting hair off each time I change it, so long as is stays on in between!

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Still no luck on this. The crib stop spray doesn't even deter him at all. Last night I tore up a whole sheet into strips, and swaddled his whole back end like a sumo nappy, over a large heavy adhesive dressing.

It stayed on overnight. But after I changed it and re-applied it this morning he trashed the lot when alone for 10 minutes. Monster. :mad

So now he is crated inside, with a short lead clipped to the crate to stop him reaching his back end, and the EC on to stop him chewing the lead.

The largest wound is the only one he's interested in. It is looking slightly larger than it was but I think that is due to the edges smoothing off as they start to heal, instead of the ragged hole that it was. Otherwise looking ok, nice healthy pink edges. It would just be nice if the rotten thing would close up. It's disconcerting having a hole in my dog!! But no doubt it will. Am trying to consider it like a horse wound. They always do a great job of hurting themselves and it looks horrific. But time and treatment work wonders.

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Hi Alyosha,

I had the same problem with one of mine and I posted a topic http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/233646-preventing-wound-licking/

Dxenion suggested the Novaguard. I got one and I admit it's fantastic. It's like an Elizabethan Collar, only more streamlined and has holes for the ears to come out. Refer to this link http://www.provizorinternational.com/ I emailed the distributo for advice. Tasi was fantastic and I received my collar quite quickly and it has prevented her from getting to the wound and bandage. There are score marks on the Novaguard so you can trim it down. I left mine as the I also have the problem with long muzzle.

To keep the wound dressing on, I used a wide elastoplast type product, It's quite flexible and adhesive. I find that its better for the dog if yiou wrap some gauze around the leg ontop of the dressing and then use the adhesive to stick it on the leg. The only reason I did this was less adhesive to skin and hair. I found a combination of both these prevented her from getting to the wound. It is slowly healing and when I am at home, I leave the dressing off to allow air flow and quicker healing. Only after the vet says it's ok to not have a dressing or bandage on.

Pity you live so far away, I have have spare rolls of the adhesive. Good luck!

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Thanks KK Team. The largest in the Novaguard is for head length of 24cm, and my boy is well over 30, about 35/36. Damn. It's a good one though!

I think Borzoi are the most extreme doliocephalic breed there is so I shouldn't be surprised nothing is designed for such length! I've looked into greyhound muzzles too and the biggest is too short.

I've been using the heavy adhesive but he pulls it off, or down, prise his nose through layers or chews a hole through it somewhere. Even a whole long roll wrapped around the leg and body will only last a short time. No chew deterrent sprays or applications have worked, no matter how foul.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that he's a ratbag...

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Thanks KK Team. The largest in the Novaguard is for head length of 24cm, and my boy is well over 30, about 35/36. Damn. It's a good one though!

I think Borzoi are the most extreme doliocephalic breed there is so I shouldn't be surprised nothing is designed for such length! I've looked into greyhound muzzles too and the biggest is too short.

I've been using the heavy adhesive but he pulls it off, or down, prise his nose through layers or chews a hole through it somewhere. Even a whole long roll wrapped around the leg and body will only last a short time. No chew deterrent sprays or applications have worked, no matter how foul.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that he's a ratbag...

There is a product called 'dimethylphalate' (sp) that I am yet to see a dog not respect as a detterent, but of course there is always a first!! I think it is made by cattlecare, mabye at a stock produce store?

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Aloysha, permit me to sing to you the praises of a particular product for wound healing.

Ungvita%20Ointment%2050g.jpg

This was recommended to me by a fellow Whippet tragic (and lets face it, we Whippetfolk know about wounds on dogs) and I'd describe its healing/scar preventing qualities as not much short of miraculous.

Stinks like fish but once he's got a closed wound,have at it. I didn't have huge issues with it being licked off but you might to need all your sumo nappy/muzzle/steel box on head gear to succeed.

Edited by Telida Whippets
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Buy a dressing product from the chemist called alginate or kaltostat. Its a seaweed dressing that encourages open wounds to heal by churning it up from the base and creating a washing machine effect. Wounds need moisture to heal, and if you cut a piece of this stuff to fit neatly in the wound it will adhere and become sort of like a protective scab and the wound heals quickly underneath. Use something like hypofix to hold it in place and then muzzle etc as well.

Edited by KaseyC
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Great ideas guys. :)

Maybe I could get a Hannibal Lector box for him?

I can't get a muzzle long enough to fit him, unless I modify the largest wire racing one, but he can't wear that overnight or unsupervised due to the injury risk of pulling it off.

I'll have a look for the other spray. I've got Denatonium Benzoate: http://www.denatonium-benzoate.com/ which doesn't even slow him down for a second. Maybe he was born with no sense of taste??

At the moment I'm using a vitamin E cream with an antiseptic cream mixed in, gooped over the wound to keep it moist. If I can keep him away from it it's doing quite well. Last night I kept him off it and this morning it looked reassurringly good. But he has spent all day testing my poor OH's patience limits and thwarting every attempt. So it doesn't look quite as good tonight, any scab that was forming has been licked off. :mad Grrrr!!

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Cut the end out of a pot plant pot and put it over his head so it sits behind his head and in front of the shoulders maybe. It will stop him being able to bend his neck around.

Attach it with a collar and if you think he will try and kick i toff with his back legs, maybe strap it around behind his shoulders too.

Just an idea

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