Injured Dog

[LoveMyFeatherBabies]

I have an outside dog named Roscoe. He is a boxer/pitbull mix. Yesterday we noticed one side of his face was swollen (about the size of a grapefruit). He was in pain, so I gave him an aspirin (safe for dog consumption). Last night, I checked in again, and noticed it was now an open wound and the wound was oozy. He was drooling out of that side of his mouth, I guess because of the swelling. His tail was wagging and he wasn't acting weird.

That being said, we are country folk. We care for our dogs, get them shots, etc. but we also realize that they are animals and veterinarians are ridiculously expensive (and in my experience kind of snobby). Before anyone says I am irresponsible for not taking him to the vet or feeding him organic feed LOL understand that he showed up as a stray and was not purchased, so we are not being bad pet owners.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Maybe a snake or spider bite? Do you know of anything that we can do to help him recover? I really don't think it is life threatening because a dog's tail tells a lot and he is very happy and in good spirits (he even chased the van this morning).

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Skittlez]

It sounds like it could be an abscess. It also sounds like it has opened and is draining. You may want to put something on it to draw out the puss. I would also check his mouth for a bad or broken tooth. If the abscess gets in the tooth, gums, or jaw, a vet is needed. You could loose him to infection. I would also check to see if maybe he was chewing on something and got a splinter, or thorn, or something foreign stuck in the skin. This can cause an abscess also. I am not a vet, but have dealt with abscess in dogs, cats, and horses before and am only going by my experience. Maybe just a quick call to the vet for a few possibilities. I understand some vets are hard to communicate with, but infections can be very serious. Good luck with your pup.

 

[LoveMyFeatherBabies]

Thanks...I'll check his mouth to see if its in there. We may end up taking him to the vet just in case (=

 

[Kevin565]

Oh i hope he feels better!. The best thing to do is make sure the wound stays sterile. If.its oozing its going.to be pretty hard to do. I wish him a speedy recovery.

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

To me you just described a rattlesnake bit. Very painfull, swelling, possible oozy wound if not treated, infection starts fast. I hope for your pooches sake it is an abscess. Also before you start giving him asprin just note: IT CAN CAUSE BLOOD THINNING.. Rattlesnake bites can cause clotting problems. Some medications your vet might want to give or prescribe to your dog cannot be given with asprin just in case you did need to take him to an emergency ar regular vet.

Before anyone says I am irresponsible for not taking him to the vet or feeding him organic feed LOL understand that he showed up as a stray and was not purchased, so we are not being bad pet owners.

Irresponsible didn't even cross my mind...
A few of my cats just showed up here. Doesn't mean I wouldn't take them to a vet and have them properly treated. The second I call them mine and start feeding them I take FULL responibility for them. Just because you didnt go buy him doesn't mean he's not your responsibility now.

ETA: I'm not trying to be mean or tell you how to take care of your pets, I just needed to get my point out there and I'm sorry if I didn't sound nice!​

 

[NYboy]

I know money can be tight, a trip to the vet might be last resort. Do you have any atibiotics? If you do I would start him on them. warm compresses of epssom salt will help draw out infection. If this does not help or gets worse call a vet.

 

[watchdogps]

On the chance that it is a bite or sting of some sort, I would give benadryl. Its very safe, it won't hurt even if it isn't needed. Dog dosing is one mg per lb, rounded up. Its safe even wayyyy higher than that though. On e of my dogs is allergic to bees, and he got stung, my vet had me crush up 100mgs and give it to him in a syringe of water to get it absorbed faster. This is a 12lb dog, so that was appx 8x the usual dose, if that gives you an idea of how safe it is.

 

[lockedhearts]

I second the benadryl, have used it many times. We have Jack Russells and I can't tell you how many times they have stuck their noses where they did not belong

You can also buy Icthamol at the drug store/Wal Mart sometimes it is called drawing salve, you will need gauze to cover the wound, but that will draw the infection out and take the swelling down. You can also get SMZ tabs from vets pretty cheap. dose is 1 per 100#, would not hurt to give him those for a week or so.

 

[ultasol]

Perhaps abcess.

 

[LoveMyFeatherBabies]

UPDATE

Roscoe is doing great!

The swelling is almost completely gone, he is eating well, playful, and the wound is nice and clean/scabbed over.

I was waiting to see how he was this morning to decide what our move would be, but he seems to be back to normal with just a tiny bit of swelling still visible.

Thanks for all the input! If I could find a good country vet around here and not one of those crazy city vets, I would be so happy