The most common injuries that happen to our dogs involve the head area. And it is the ears that are most frequently torn in dogfights. The ears also tend to bleed profusely. So if your dog comes back injured with an ear wound, then take the following three simple steps to bandaging the area:
1. First make sure that your dog is calm from whatever fight he got into. Then clean the wound with warm water and a light disinfectant. Be sure not to get any hair or other small particles inside the wounded area.
2. Next, wrap the ear with a bandage. You should have plenty of bandage material from your emergency first aid kit but a cloth or shirt will do just fine. Wind the bandage around the head to keep it secure and to prevent the ear from bleeding when the dog shakes his head.
3. Continue with bandaging his ear by wrapping it around his head over and over until it is secure. Avoid putting any unnecessary pressure on the windpipe. If need be, you want to use what is called an “Elizabethan Collar”. Now get your dog to the vet immediately for further medical attention.
DogandMaster.com
DogandMaster.com on September 25th 2007 in Dog First Aid, Dog Health
“Who is walking whom?” This question pops into my mind whenever I see owners being dragged down the street by their dogs. Leash pulling usually becomes a complaint only after a large dog has finally succeeding in pulling its owners off their feet, with resultant injury or embarrassment.
Most cases of leash pulling involve dogs that have accommodated to the discomfort of a choke chain, pinch collar or even a leather collar. Some of them cease pulling only long enough to cough, some even regurgitate or take a few deep breaths, then continue struggling forward.
Most dog owners have no idea that their frustrated leash-pulling dog might actually suffer physical injury during their daily tug-of-war. However, in a Swedish study by the noted behaviorist Anders Hallgren, of 400 dog owners who agreed to have their dog’s spines X-rayed, 63% were found to have spinal injuries. Of the inured dogs with neck (cervical) injuries, 91% had experience harsh jerks on the leash or were serious leash strainers! Among aggressive or overactive dogs, 78% had spinal injuries.
DogandMaster.com
dogandmaster on March 6th 2007 in Dog First Aid, Dog Health, Dog Training
As your dog grows older, the muscles of the colon and rectum may lose some of their ability to propel and expel feces adequately during a bowel movement. Reduction in stomach and intestinal digestive secretions can produce a bulkier, firmer stool as can diets very high in dry food content if there is insufficient water intake. Your dog will squat and strain to force the fecal mass slowly out. She may cry from the discomfort.
Prostatic disease can mechanically cause constipation as the prostate gland enlarges and presses up against the floor of the rectum. Similarly, tumors in the rectum or on the anus can interfere with the passage of feces. Any dog may have an isolated difficult bowel movement on occasion. This should be no cause for alarm if he is otherwise in good health and there is no bleeding or excessive pain.
Repeated bouts of constipation can slowly stretch the rectal muscles, causing permanent dilatation and resulting in chronic constipation. Once this occurs, your dog will need frequent enemas as well as fecal softeners to help him eliminate. The increased time the stool remains in the colon and rectum will allow bacteria that normally live there to act on the stool, causing putrefaction and excessive gas production.
DogandMaster.com
dogandmaster on February 24th 2007 in Dog First Aid
When dogs lie down in their normal position, the major portion of their weight is supported by their elbows, especially when on hard surfaces. With the passage of sufficient time, and as your dog gets older, the hair covering the elbows disappears as the constant pressure destroys the local hair follicles. In response to this same pressure the skin undergoes hyperkeratinization, a thickening and toughening process, and callouses are formed.
A similar process can take place in the skin covering the hock joints, but this is less frequent. The rate at which these callouses form is directly proportional to the size and weight of your dog. They are rarely seen in Chihuahuas or other toy breeds, regardless of age, but occur with great frequency in German shepherds, Dobermans, Newfoundlands, Great Danes, and most other giant breeds as early as five years of age.
As a rule they cause no problems. If they seem inordinately dry or hard, gently rubbing in a small amount of white petrolatum ointment once or twice a week should keep them soft enough to avoid any difficulties. Once in a while they do get so hard that they start to crack, developing raw fistulas which readily become infected. Your dog will lick at them and compound the problem by irritating the skin. When callouses reach this stage, they need prompt veterinary attention.
DogandMaster.com
dogandmaster on February 20th 2007 in Dog First Aid, Dog Health
