Dog leg wound: He won't let me touch it. What home care options?

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). Ideally a check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. The area must be clipped more and disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths (twice daily). Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking (if any). Hope this answer was helpful, but 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

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!

It's difficult to tell what's going on from the picture. I'm concerned there is a serious infection or a cancerous growth there and would recommend taking the pup to a veterinarian to be evaluated. If you are unable to do that, then the best you can do is to clean the area with lukewarm water and a mild soap, and keep it nice and dry. If the dog is chewing at it at all, an e collar can be used to prevent him from getting back there. However, I do not think this is going to resolve without veterinary intervention.

Hi and thanks for posting! You can try washing the area with soap and water a couple times a day and keeping it as clean and dry as possible. It looks like Bear has been licking the area frequently which may be a reason why it is not healing as easily, so I would try and keep an E-Collar on her to prevent her from licking and bothering the lesion. Certainly, if despite your best efforts it is not healing properly or is worsening, Bear should see his veterinarian to have the lesion evaluated. The lesion may be infected and may require the use of systemic antibiotics to help treat. I hope this helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

If it is bothering Joey enough to cause him to lick it, the first thing you need to do is prevent him from continuing that type of behavior. The best thing you can get for this is an e-collar or cone. While it makes them look ridiculous, they are effective at preventing self-mutilation and worsening infections. You can also make home made ones, which are illustrated for you on You tube. If you are truly dealing with a cyst like structure, these tend to increase in size until the point of rupture, they drain, and then they refill. It is impossible to tell what this is based on this picture, but it certainly might be a cyst. The best way to ascertain the origin of the lesion is with a biopsy or a fine needle aspirate. While a biopsy is certain the gold standard, it is much more invasive and costly than allowing your vet to obtain a needle aspirate. The aspirate will get your vet some cellular material to view on the microscope that will at least give him an idea of whether or not the lesion is something that he/she should be worrying about it. Whether or not this is the route you go with, the area is likely mildly infected and causing Joey some pain. He would probably benefit from antibiotics and pain management. Hope this helps and that Joey gets well soon!

Sorry to see that sugar has a lesion on her skin. My recommendations for that would be to get a hair clipper and remove all the hair on and around the affected area. Once this is done I would pain either a diluted Betadine or chlorhexidine solution and scrub the area until it is pretty clean. After having done this I would have obtain a triple antibiotic ointment or something with an antibiotic and steroid in it and apply it generously to the area one to two times a day. In addition I would obtain an Elizabethan collar to prevent sugar from performing any sort of self-mutilation which will ultimately delay the healing process. In some cases these lesions can require systemic antibiotics in which case it will not clear up and you will have to take sugar to the veterinarian to be seen. Hope this helps take care.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bogart. The only thing at home you can try is having him wear an E-collar. This will prevent any licking causing further damage from self trauma. It may allow the skin to heal. If this is unsuccessful though, he will need to see a veterinarian. The area could be a mass on his leg (benign or cancerous) or he could have what is known as a lick granuloma. I hope this information helps!