My dog has a wound near her nipple. When should I see a vet?

It looks as if Fluffie has a pretty severe infection of her mammary glad. She will need antibiotics and possible a surgery to debride the dead tissue so it can heal. I’m sure this is painful and uncomfortable for her as well. I would recommend getting her to a vet as soon as possible.

Poor Stella! I would gently clean it with warm water and antiseptic soap. To keep her from scratching at it, you can put an Ecollar on her. You can get one at a pet store or make one at home. Keep the wound clean and dry, and monitor it for signs of infection. If you see redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, or pus, then it is infected and she will need to see the vet for antibiotics to treat it. I hope this helps!

Ouch! Poor Bess! This area looks pretty infected and if she had one last week my suspicion is she had allergies or some other cause leading to these areas of bacterial dermatitis (hot spots). You can try to clip some of the hair away from the area and gently clean it but I think Bess will probably need to see a veterinarian to get oral antibiotics. I don't think she has to be seen right this instant but you should try to schedule within the next day or so. Use an e-collar to prevent her from licking the area and making the issue worse. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Bess' skin recovers quickly!

You can use a clean washcloth to gently remove any debris and keep the nipple clean. Monitoring the puppies and moving them to a different nipple when they try to nurse is also best to help the area heal. If it becomes infected, oozing debris, smelling, red and hot to the touch, etc, it needs to be seen by a vet to be more thoroughly cleaned and treated with antibiotics.

Wow, that looks quite deep, and Roxy needs to see a vet sooner rather than later. Gently clean the area with warm water and antiseptic soap. Keep it clean and dry, and prevent her from licking it with an Ecollar. Get her into a vet as soon as you can. Best of luck.

The best thing to do is to clean the wound well each day. You have to also make sure that the wound does not have maggots in it, because these will make the wound much worse. The fly spray is OK for outside the wound, but is not good for inside the wound and will delay healing. I recommend flushing the wound with clean water twice a day to help it heal quicker. I do not recommend applying any soaps or antiseptics like iodine to the wound, because this can also delay healing. I know this may seem contrary to what you have been told, but please trust that this is the best way to treat a wound. Here is a link to a video that does a good job of explaining how to flush a wound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMpP4zpyrPs These wounds take a while to heal, so with daily flushing, it will take at-least three weeks until it is completely healed. I hope that helps and Pilly gets better soon.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Kona. Poor girl. I would gently clean her wound with warm water and antiseptic soap. To keep her from licking at it, you can put an Ecollar on her. You can get one at a pet store or make one at home. Keep the wound clean and dry, and monitor it for signs of infection. If you see redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, or pus, then it is infected and she will need to see the vet for antibiotics to treat it. I hope this helps!