My dog has a cut. Should I take her to the vet or is ointment enough?

It doesn't appear deep. If there is no active bleeding, clean it up with a diluted Betadine or chlorhexidine (Hibiclens) solution. I see you have a triple antibiotic ointment. You can dab a bit on the area. Place an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent pawing or rubbing. Monitor for lethargy, fever, bleeding, swelling, discharge or loss of appetite. These are symptoms that should be addressed by your veterinarian.

It's a bit difficult to tell from these pictures, but it does appear deep and wide enough that it will need stitches. It's best to take him to a vet soon, because the wound will heal better the sooner it is cleaned and stitched. For now, you can flush the wound using a syringe or other dispensing device with warm water for five minutes. This may not be easy, because dogs tend to hate water getting near their face. I recommend having someone help you with holding Wish to make sure the wound gets flushed well. Infection is the biggest concern with these wounds; so after flushing, it's best to apply an antibacterial cream to the wound. Your vet will be able to advise further treatment after evaluating it. I hope that helps and Wish gets better soon.

Hi there, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. That appears to be full thickness through the skin, and would likely benefit from sutures. Additionally, bite wounds have a very high likelihood of becoming infected without systemic (oral) antibiotics, so Hazel should be seen by the vet to get started on antibiotics. Hope this helps.

Keep the wound clean with solutions (twice daily) as suggested in the previous answer. Please post a picture of it so we can have a look at the severity of the cut and understand if needs to be stitched up or not. Best usually to keep it exposed rather than bandage it (healing usually is faster). If you have some, triple antibiotic ointments like Neosporin would work (do not allow her to lick it off). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Superficial wounds around the face are usually treated with topical antibiotics (creams or ointments) or antibiotics tablets. Larger wounds need to be stitched up, but if the would you found is not fresh, most likely your vet would not want to stitch it up. Please, clean the would twice a day with 4% chlorhexidine solution (you can buy it at pharmacies) for a few days and it will hopefully heal up. However, if it starts to bother Aimee or becomes painful you will have to take her to your nearest vets possibly to get a course of antibiotics.

Hello, Dogs with heartworm may cough with or without phlegm. The best way to test for heartworm is with a small blood sample. That cut on the paw pad is very deep. Ideally, I think she should see a vet for it now. Clean the wound with warm saline before applying the topical antibiotics and bandage. Do this twice daily until healed for the best possible results. If her foot gets swollen, starts having green discharge, or she stops being interested in food, it may be a sign of a serious infection that requires a vet visit and oral antibiotics. I hope that's helpful!

It's difficult to see what happened here, but it does look like a wide and inflamed wound. I agree that it looks like a cut. If it was noticed suddenly, then this would be my top suspicion. It may be fresh enough to get stitched, so it's best to bring her into the vet, because this could otherwise take a long time to heal. If it came on gradually, then I would be concerned about a very bad skin condition like fungal infection, parasite infection, autoimmune disease or skin cancer. Although, for it to happen in multiple spots like that would be rare, it would be worth taking her to a vet within the next day or two to get it checked out. Here's what you can do for now: 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the sore skin. 2) Wash/spray the area with warm, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at least twice a day. This will help to treat and prevent infection. I hope that helps and Saphira gets better soon.