My dog's elbow sores won't heal; he pulls off bandages. What to do?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bailey. He appears to have a skin infection over the area of his elbow elbow callus. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian. This can be a difficult area to heal as you mentioned dogs tend to lay on their elbows. In the meantime, place an E-collar on him to prevent any further licking as this will make the wound worse. If an infection is present, he will likely need oral antibiotics to help it heal. I hope this information helps!

Place an e-collar (cone) on him to prevent further licking or chewing. This may be enough to allow for healing. Keep the area clean and dry. If it doesn't heal or if it grows or spreads, have Barnaby physically examined by your veterinarian. He may need antibiotics or further diagnostics, such as a fine needle aspirate or biopsy, if it is a lump or mass.

Hello, elbow & hock calluses, or hygromas, are common on most large breed dogs, regardless if they spend their time on a couch or concrete. There is very little muscle under the skin in these areas, so the skin is easily damaged. Often with time, the skin toughens up & no longer become easily damaged. In the meantime, Koba may need antibiotics, or gentle cleansing of the area with an antibacterial wipe, such as Hibiclens. Then talk to your vet about the use of additional padding, or protective braces for his elbows. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I think it will be fine to try and treat this at home for now (even though we don't know the cause), but would recommend a visit to the vet if it doesn't get better in 2 weeks. Here are my recommendations: 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the sore skin. 2) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at least twice a day. 3) Bandage the wound with gauze and apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream (i.e Neosporin) to the wound. Keeping it covered and keeping Snoball from licking it will be the most difficult part of the treatment. You can help keep the bandage on by placing a good (really sticky) tape above and below the bandage. You can find sprays in the pet store, like bitter apple, that are meant to deter licking. This can be sprayed on the bandage (not the wound) to help keep Snoball from chewing it off. NOTE: Be careful not to bandage too tight or it can cut-off the circulation. If you notice that the toes/foot starts to swell, then remove the bandage and leave it off until the swelling goes down. You can also help keep the bandage on by taping a clean sock over the bandage. These types of lesions tend to take a long time to heal, so don't be surprised if its not completely healed until a month later. Once the skin looks normal and Snoball stops trying to lick, you can stop the cleaning/bandaging. I hope that helps and Snoball gets better soon.

You can wrap them, but I almost guarantee that he will rip those wrappings right off! You are better off putting an Elizabethan collar (sometimes referred to as the "cone of shame") on Ollie to keep him away from those spots. There are very nice, soft ones now that are much more comfortable than the old, rigid plastic ones. If the sores have not healed in a week, please take Ollie to the vet and have them checked!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to make out what the problem is with the hair around the affected area but from the picture, it looks as though there is a severe hot spot or abscess at the region of the left elbow. If you have no veterinarians near you, I would recommend using a mixture of betadine and saline (mix the two together until you have a light brown mixture) to clean the area. First, you will need to remove the hair from around the wound so that you can treat this properly. Once the hair has been clipped away, I would recommend soaking the elbow in this solution three times daily for 15 minutes each time until resolved. If this does not resolve or worsens, then I would strongly suggest you find a veterinarian that can treat this appropriately. Kaju will likely need an oral antibiotic and anti-inflammatory for further treatment. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Poor Kane! From looking at the picture, it looks like this may be a callus that had broken skin on it or even got infected. I would try to let it dry up and just continue to treat it with the elbow balm. I would try to make him lay on soft bedding. I would also make sure he isn't licking it. You can put a cone collar on him if needed to prevent this. If the wound doesn't heal, there is discharge, or anything worsens, I would strongly recommend to have your vet take a look. He may need some oral antibiotics to help heal it completely. I hope this helps!