My dog has an open cancer wound. Can I use home remedies on it?

I'm so sorry to hear that Comus is dealing with this. Unfortunately, since chemotherapy decreases the immune system, infections can be common in dogs treated with chemotherapy. I would recommend considering some special wound creams or ointments and bandaging techniques to help speed healing. You veterinarian may be able to teach you to do bandage changes at home. I would also ask your veterinarian about trying LASER treatments to help speed healing. Many vet clinics have LASERS, so that would a simple addition to Comus' treatment plan. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. From the pictures, it does appear that this is a sizable hole. Unfortunately, when dealing with cancer cells, anytime a cancerous mass is removed this is a possible complication. Flushing the area may help this heal faster or this may not heal well at all due to the cancerous nature of the area. I would say that if this is not looking like it is developing healthy tissue within a week of flushing and caring for the open wound, I would recommend having this closed with stitches again. I would have the veterinarian check the wound every 3 days to monitor it's progression. This area is hard to bandage and most likely a bandage would not stay in place in this area. I would leave this exposed to the air so it heals better. When she goes to sleep at night, I would put a shirt around her or a pair of boxer shorts to keep it protected. 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.

This can happen , as wounds like that, even with tension cuts, often slough the skin, The skin will have to grow in slowly and it will. However the wound will need regular bandaging and moisture, so you will need to discuss a bandaging schedule with your vet, Have the vet or his techs show you how to bandage the wound, and give you supplies , (ointments, etc),

You can loosely bandage it with a gauze bandage. Make sure the bandage does not cut of blood flow to the lower leg. You could also wrap the leg in a towel and then tape the towel so it stays on. You can also get some Yunnan Baiyao powder and sprinkle it on the ulcer to stop the bleeding. This should be available from a chinese herb shop, organic shops and even your pharmacy.

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. I'm sorry you and Pitoune are dealing with this. Please be advised that to prevent this from happening to future pets, they need to be spayed before their first heat cycle. The chance of getting mammary tumors is virtually zero when a female dog is spayed young. It is very difficult for me to tell the orientation of what is going on in this photo. I'm assuming the photo is of the abdomen since you said they are mammary tumors but again, it is hard to tell what is going on based on this one photo. You are not going to get these to clear up and will likely only get worse; they are malignant cancer. They will only stop weeping when she stops scratching them. All you can do is exactly what you are doing although I don't think you should blow dry them - it is very easy to burn the skin making it worse. Everything else you are doing is fine. I'm not sure what you are using to cover her but I suggest a recovery suit and to put a feminine maxi pad between the skin lesions and the suit to catch any discharge. This protective layer should stop her from traumatizing the area. You can also put a human baby sock on her back feet so it covers the nails so if she does scratch she cannot hurt the area. ( https://www.amazon.com/s?k=surgery+suit+small+dog&crid=ZTVVO4IRU78L&sprefix=surgery+suit+small+dog%2Caps%2C120&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 ) If they are worsening I suggest you speak to your vet about possibly increasing the dose of Prednisone. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I am so sorry, but there is nothing you can do at home for this, other than try to keep it clean if it breaks open and bleeds (which it looks like it could do at any time). Short of taking her in, there really just aren’t any options... this would require surgical removal. If she’s comfortable, eating, and happy, it’s not wrong to just love on her for the time she has left and not pursue treating the tumor. Again, I’m sorry I don’t have more options to offer you. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Unfortunately, the pictures are blurry and I can't get a good view. It looks like there may be some crusty discharge in the area which could signify a bacterial or fungal cause but I am not certain. That's going to be tough to heal if he will not let you touch the area to clean it. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. If he will let you handle it, then home care will be easier. Do be careful not to be bitten. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesion once a day (not his whole body, just the lesion). You can use a topical hot spot spray or something similar for pets as well. OR you can also apply a tiny dab of organic coconut oil and rub it in well. The MOST important thing is to protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesion does not start improving within a week or if it is getting worse, call your veterinarian to find out if you have any options. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.