Wound care for dogs: Everything you need to know about wounds in dogs

Wound care in dogs is an important topic that all dog parents should be aware of. No matter what kind of wound a dog has, appropriate care is crucial for their health and well-being. In this article you will learn everything you need to know about wound care in dogs.

Content

• How do wounds occur?
• How do I recognize a wound in my dog?
• Can I treat the wound myself?
• First aid measures
• What can I do?
• What do I need for wound care in dogs?
• How does the vet treat wounds?
• Why is my dog licking the wound?
• The most important facts at a glance

How do wounds occur in dogs?

In most cases, you will be out and about with your dog and will notice if your dog suffers a wound or injury. But your dog can also injure itself in an unobserved moment.

While playing

Dogs, especially young dogs, love "biting games". These are generally harmless. Even if the vocalizations often suggest otherwise.

However, if it gets "too violent", it can lead to injuries to the skin and mouth. Even in dog day care facilities, mostly harmless skin injuries occur from time to time during play.

On a walk

"He's not doing anything." "He just wants to play." "He's never done that before." All dog parents have probably heard these sayings about other dogs. However, biting can always occur and skin injuries are often the result.

Self-inflicted injuries

Whether due to exuberance in puppies or young dogs, or due to decreasing mobility in older dogs: both can lead to injuries or wounds in your dog.

Foreign body

Foreign bodies can penetrate the skin and cause injuries. For example, stubble fields harvested in late summer and fall can cause injuries to the paws, legs and lower abdomen. Thorns (e.g. blackberries and thorny hedges), where the thorns injure the skin or are stuck in the skin, can also cause wounds in dogs.

How do I recognize wounds?

With trained senses, dog parents can recognize individual changes (e.g. swelling/pain sensitivity) at an early stage and take action.

• See: Observe your dog. Does your dog lick or bite its fur in certain places? Do you notice any damp patches of hair?
• Feel: If you have felt an injury or wound, check the skin for further wounds by lightly stroking the fur.
• Hearing: You can also detect injuries with your ear, as many dogs make sounds when they are in pain.
• Smell: Some sores can also be detected with the nose. If you overlook wounds, inflammation with bacterial infections can occur. These smell different to unpleasant.

Can I treat my dog's wound myself?

If you have discovered a wound on your dog, the first thing to do is to keep calm. You can ask yourself two questions to find out whether you can treat the wound yourself or whether you need to see a vet:

• How deep and large is the wound?
• Which wound is it?

How deep and large is the wound?

The depth and size of your dog's skin injury may indicate whether you can treat the wound yourself.

Depth of the skin wound

All dog parents know from their own injuries that the depth of the wound determines how to proceed. If it is a superficial injury to the skin, wound care is required. This includes cleaning and, if necessary, hemostasis and covering.

Deep, gaping wounds in which the connective tissue (light/white) and possibly also the muscles (red) are visible are a case for first aid measures.

After this, the wound should be treated by your vet immediately.

Size of the skin lesions

Skin injuries that are superficial and smaller than approx. 2 cm can be treated yourself. All wounds that exceed this size should be treated in a veterinary practice after initial treatment, cleaning and covering.

What type of wound is the dog suffering from?

Just as with us humans, there are not only differences in the size and depth of the wound, but there are also different types of wounds in dogs.

Fur and skin

Your dog's coat protects and prevents injuries to the skin very effectively. The disadvantage is that we cannot see wounds directly, especially in long-haired and rough-haired dog breeds. You can only recognize skin injuries by examining the coat.

Skin incision, skin tear

Sharp objects often cause deep wounds in dogs. If a blood vessel is hit, this can lead to severe bleeding. In the case of "skin scratching", only the outer layers of the skin are affected. It is therefore a superficial wound.

Skin abrasions

Abrasions are rather rare due to the dog's coat, but they do occur. Such wounds are usually present where there is little fur, e.g. on the underbelly.

What does an abrasion on a dog look like?

Abrasions are superficial wounds in which the hair is broken off and the outer (keratinized) epithelium of the skin is damaged over a large area. In dogs, as in humans, abrasions are often weeping wounds. These skin injuries are superficial and usually heal without scarring.

Bruises, swellings

Injuries can also occur without wounds to the outer skin. For example, when romping and playing, by hitting objects, trees, etc. The skin remains unharmed, but a bruise (haematoma) can occur under the skin.

These are often very painful and the dog will not allow you to touch it. In such cases, you should clarify with your vet whether it is just a small bruise or whether muscles, ligaments or even bones are affected.

First aid measures

• Test your dog's pupil and eyelid reflexes
• Check the cardiovascular situation
• Position the injured areas of the body in a soft and stable position
• Clean the wound, e.g. with the Canosept wound spray
• Cover the wound if necessary

You can find out what you can do for various wounds in the next section.

How to disinfect a dog's wound?

Heavily soiled wounds can be rinsed out with clear water. Afterwards the Canosept wound spray is ideal for cleaning the wound. It also provides optimum support for wound care.

Which wound disinfectant for dogs?

The following is suitable for cleaning wounds Canosept wound spray. If a dressing is necessary, the Canosept wound gel prevents the wound from sticking to bandages and plasters.

Wound care for dogs - what you can do

The options for treating your dog's wounds vary depending on the wound. We will give you an overview.

• Small and superficial wounds
• Larger wounds
• Bleeding wounds
• Bite injury
• Laceration
• Stab wound
• Burns
• Removal of foreign bodies
• Paw injury

What supports wound healing in dogs?

Wound healing is best supported by rapid wound care that is adapted to the wound. For almost every wound, the wound should be cleaned by the dog's parents and covered if necessary.

Small and superficial wounds

You can treat small and superficial wounds yourself. Wound care for your dog involves cleaning and caring for the wound.

You can use the Canosept wound spray which is simply sprayed onto the wound and cleans and cares for the wound optimally. You can also use the colorless and odorless Canosept wound gel onto the wound painlessly. It is quickly absorbed and can also be used under bandages and plasters without sticking.

Larger wounds

For initial treatment, you should keep the wound as clean as possible . The painless Canosept wound spray. This reliably removes dirt, dead cells, fat particles and sebum residues and supports optimum wound care. Further wound care should always be carried out by your vet for larger wounds.

Your vet should always take over further wound care for larger wounds.

Bleeding wounds

If your dog has an open, bleeding wound, the bleeding must first be stopped. If it is just a "skin scratch" or an abrasion, it is often sufficient to press a sterile wound compress onto the bleeding until the bleeding has stopped. Your dog should be kept calm.

Then start cleaning the wound, e.g. with the Canosept wound spray. It may be necessary to trim the dog's fur around the injury so that the fur does not stick to the wound.

Heavy bleeding

If it is a deeper wound, such as a cut, a pressure bandage may also be necessary. This should only be applied in an acute emergency to stop the bleeding (Source: VDH) Due to the resulting lack of blood circulation, the pressure band age must not remain on the wound for too long.

How to proceed:

• Cover the wound with a sterile compress.
• Press a wrapped, rolled-up gauze bandage firmly onto the compress.
• Secure the rolled-up gauze bandage with a second one. It is important that pressure is applied to the wound.
• See a vet as soon as possible.

What helps with open wounds in dogs?

In the case of open or bleeding wounds, the bleeding must first be stopped. You will need sterile compresses for this. In the case of heavy bleeding, a pressure bandage should be applied as an acute emergency measure.

Remove foreign bodies

Foreign bodies are usually best removed with tweezers. In general, when removing foreign bodies, you should feel confident using tweezers and your dog should already be used to them. Use the tweezers in such a way that no injury can occur.

You can remove superficial foreign bodies, e.g. thorns, yourself. Foreign bodies that have penetrated deep into the skin should be removed by a vet.

The size is also important. Large foreign bodies, e.g. a shard, should be removed by a vet. The risk of severe bleeding or other complications is too great if you remove them yourself.

Bite injury

Regardless of whether your dog has been bitten by a cat or another dog, the wound should be treated by a vet in the event of a bite wound. Even if the wound is only small, germs may have penetrated through the teeth and saliva. These can cause infections. In addition, it is often not clear whether and to what extent the tissue beneath the skin surface is damaged. (Source: Veterinary medicine portal)

Laceration

Where the skin lies unpadded on the bone, lacerations can occur as a result of a blow. As lacerations often require stitches, the wound must be presented to the vet as soon as possible.

Lacerations can only be sutured easily by the vet within six hours. The stitches are then removed after approx. 10 days. Unless the practice uses self-dissolving stitches. In this case, the part of the suture that lies under the skin is broken down by the body and the outer part simply falls off by itself.

Stab wound

Puncture wounds include wounds caused by thorns, splinters of wood or insect bites. Infectious agents can easily penetrate and multiply in these small wounds. Check whether you need to remove any foreign bodies. Then clean the wound, e.g. with the Canosept wound spray.

Burns

To avoid skin damage, burns should be cooled as quickly as possible with cold water or a cooling pad. You should then clarify the degree of the burn and the next steps with your vet.

Paw injury

During regular paw checks, dog parents can detect dry, possibly already cracked paws and apply moisturizing Canosept paw care at an early stage. If superficial wounds do occur, the Canosept wound spray or the Canosept Wound Gel can be used for optimum wound care. Further information about sore paws in dogs.

The first-aid kit for emergencies: What do I need for wound care in dogs?

Do you want to be prepared for an emergency? Then there are a few things you should have in your medicine cabinet for optimum wound care in dogs.

• Rounded scissors for shortening fur
• Product for disinfecting or cleaning, e.g. the Canosept wound spray or Canosept wound gel
• Sterile compresses
• Gauze bandages
• Tweezers
• Cooling pads

The veterinary treatment

In practice, there are significantly more options for thorough wound treatment. The wound is first rinsed and disinfected. The vet also removes foreign bodies and gets an overview of the extent of the wound. Although the wounds may look unspectacular from the outside, they may be more dangerous than you think due to deeper injuries or a high risk of infection.

The vet and the specialist staff will treat the wound to ensure good healing and avoid scarring and close the wound with staples, for example. They will then inform you about the next steps and the correct medication. If the dog's wound needs to be treated under anesthetic, this can only be carried out by the vet.

My dog licks the wound open

All dog parents are probably familiar with it: your dog's urge to lick wounds. Your dog is trying to relieve the itching. This is caused by various substances that are released during wound healing.

Licking the wound can cause the wound to open further and not heal properly. It may therefore be advisable to cover the wound.

In some cases it is necessary to wear a neck brace. In all cases, it is important that you monitor the healing of the wound and contact your vet if you are unsure.

The most important facts at a glance

• Get an overview of the dog's state of consciousness
• Cleaning and, if necessary, covering the wound are important first aid measures
• Superficial and small wounds can often be treated by dog parents themselves, e.g. with a wound spray or wound gel for dogs
• Deep and large wounds are a case for the vet
• The correct wound care for dogs depends on the type of wound
• Always keep an eye on wound healing. In the event of delays in healing or uncertainties, the vet should be consulted immediately

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