Dog hit by car, injured foot & torn dew claws. What should I do?

Infection is the biggest concern with these wounds and it's best to have a vet evaluate it to make sure it doesn't need further treatment. It's definitely good to flush it with warm water. Dogs tend to hate their feet being touched and water being sprayed on them, so I understand it will be difficult to hold her still for this. This is usually a two-person job, so if you can have someone help you hold her, then this would be best. Below is a link to a good tutorial about how to restrain her properly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y6CfUKwlQE After flushing the wound, it's best to apply an antibacterial cream to the wound and bandage it. In order to keep the wound clean, it's best to flush the wound 1-2 times a day and gently wipe away any big crusts - make sure not to scrub the wound, because this can make it worse. Apply the antibacterial cream after each flushing. If the flushing is too difficult, the you can alternatively try doing a foot bath with epsom salts for 15 minutes once a day. If the wound starts to swell or have pus oozing from it, then I'd recommend she goes to the vet for treatment. Otherwise, the wound should heal fine over the next 2-3 weeks. I hope that helps and Boca gets better soon.

Aw, I bet that stings for sure! If the nails were pulled completely and cleanly, they aren't likely to become heavily infected. If there are remnants left behind, they rest needs to be dealt with by a veterinarian so they can grown back in properly. As for the chunk of tissue missing, this has a much higher likelihood for complications from infection. Since I can not see it, I can't say whether or not it needs to be assessed, closed, sutured, stapled etc. You may want to have someone take a look at it. If not, make sure to flush the area with some chlorhexidine solution, keep it clean as possible, make sure that Teddy can't lick the area (use an e-collar), and possibly apply topical antimicrobial ointment. Teddy would likely benefit from some pain medication and antibiotics, but a vet visit would definitely be required to obtain those. Hope this is helpful!

Hello, and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Ouch, poor Riley! It's difficult to tell for sure from the picture, but it looks like that's still pretty healthy tissue at his declaw site. I'm glad to see a good blood supply, and that looks like his body is trying to close the site with granulation tissue. I'd absolutely recommend continuing to try to reach your vet and have that rechecked ASAP, as it will likely be best to re-sedate Riley and place new sutures to close that wound. The most important things in the meantime are to keep that area clean, and keep Riley from causing further trauma. If Riley will let you, you can GENTLY wipe or rinse the area clean with lukewarm soapy water - use a mild dish soap such as Dawn. You should have a cone or recovery collar from your vet. Put that securely on Riley - many styles include a loop to weave his collar through so it stays on. If you don't have one (or if Riley destroyed his previous one) you can purchase them over the counter at many pet stores, such as PetCo. Another option if you don't have a cone is to put a clean sock on Riley's front feet and tape the top so they stay in place. I hope you're able to reach your vet soon to have Riley rechecked in person! In the meantime, hopefully this helps!

I did receive the photos you sent in this morning that were forwarded to me via our website moderator. The abrasions themselves can likely be managed at home with a sterile cleaning using Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water and then flushing the area daily thereafter with sterile saline from your local pharmacy. However, if you are also seeing swelling, this could pose a problem. Swelling underneath the skin following trauma is typically either of 2 things: an Abscess (infection underneath the skin) or a Seroma (blood filled sac) . An abscess will need to be treated by your vet, by having the area drained and then he will need to be placed on a short course of antibiotics. If this is a Seroma however, it will likely heal on its own as the body slowly reabsorbs the blood. As long as the Seroma does not get any bigger, which would indicate that there is continued bleeding underneath the skin that needs to be ligated via surgery. There really isn't a good way of knowing if this is Seroma or abscess by looking on the outside; however, with abscesses they are typically painful and will eventually lead to fever and illness (lack of appetite, vomiting) in most cases. Seroma's can be mildly painful, but won't cause a fever. So since you are limited on funds you can roll the dice and see if this thing causes systemic illness or not, or you can try to apply for financial assistance to get Wilber looked at immediately to make sure there isn't an abscess present. Here are some links for financial assistance. I https://carecredit.com/vetmed Here a couple of still up and running grant options: carecredit.com redrover.org/relief/urgent-care-grants/ (typical grant amount is $200) all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html - $50 maximum aid WHEN they have funds. a couple of 'special situation' ones: fveap.org - Vaccine Associated Sarcoma only thepetfund.com/ - Non-basic, non-urgent care (cancer treatment, heart disease, etc.) ONLY. ! hope that this was helpful and hope that your pet Wilber is able to make a full and speedy recovery from his traumatic injury. Take care!

Ouch, poor Rupert! The quick itself should be left alone, but it appears in the picture that there is a long skinny piece of tissue or retained nail on the inner aspect of the quick. If that's the case, it will need to be trimmed back. If you're comfortable taking care of this yourself, you can trim that part back with a dog nail clippers (make sure you are comfortable with what you're doing and know what should and should not be trimmed - do NOT trim the quick itself as that would be very painfu for Rupert!). You can apply a gob of neosporin over the quick, and it may be helpful to cover that area with a clean sock for a few days, as the quick will be very tender, and will bleed easily. If you're not confident to do this yourself, bring Rupert in to the vet and they'll trim back any remaining nail tissue, and will likely apply medicated ointment and place a soft bandage. Monitor Rupert's nail bed over the coming week or two and make sure it is not getting red, swollen, or having discharge, which would indicate a nail bed infection requiring a vet visit and antibiotics. Hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This can be quite painful. I recommend you have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They can consider removing the dew claw to take the source of pain away or it can be treated with pain medications and antibiotics for instance. In the meantime, keep him from being able to reach it as he will likely want to lick or chew at it which can make it a lot worse. You may use an e-collar for that purpose. Good luck!

Poor girl! That must be very painful for her. Ideally, take her to the vet so that the damage can be assessed, pain medication prescribed, antibiotics if indicated, and professional wound care performed. If you are entirely unable to get her to the vet, and she is eating, drinking, acting ok, etc, you can clean the wounds with dilute Betadine (povidone iodine) available at any pharmacy. Add a little of the betadine to water so that it looks like tea. Clean the wounds with this antiseptic cleanser. Then you could apply a wound care product such as this: apply a nonstick sterile bandage pad, and gently wrap them (NOT TOO TIGHT) with rolled cotton or rolled gauze, and an outside layer of VetWrap or Coban (again NOT TOO TIGHT). CHANGE THE BANDAGES DAILY and do NOT allow the bandages to get wet. If they do get wet, even briefly, the bandages need to be changed. You can cover them ONLY when outside to walk to go potty, with a plastic bag, but don't use rubber bands to secure the plastic bag as it may be too tight. Keep her inside (except to go potty) until the wounds are healed, and ONLY cover in plastic to go outside. If she is chewing on the bandages, put an E collar (cone of shame) on her. Again, ideally, this should be evaluated by a vet. I can't assure you that this isn't a very serious situation without being able to see the wounds in person, and early, appropriate intervention is the best way to ensure that they heal well and with the least amount of complication. Finally, do not give any over the counter pain medication that is made for humans (no ibuprofen, aleve, Tylenol, etc) as these medications have a high likelihood of causing side effects of GI ulceration, liver damage, or kidney damage. Many safer alternatives designed for dogs are available from your vet. Thank you for asking PetCoach!