My dog's wound care, need advice on not getting bit [pics].

[Thegrayeyedgirl]

My 10 y/o female mutt (probably a lab mix), named Nevada was bitten by what we believe to be a black widow spider a few days ago. We first saw a small lump on her cheek that was about the size of a marble. My dad thought it was a simple bug bite. Within 48 hours it developed into a large abscess and we took her to the vet. The abscess was removed and a drain inserted into the sutured wound. She is now on a regimen of antibiotics and pain medications.

Now some background, we are Nevada's third home and we have had her for several years now. We got her from a rescue organization and it is believed that she was abused in one of those former homes. She has some aggression issues, especially toward strangers, women, other dogs and the smell of cigarettes. We keep her in the back yard and prevent her from interacting with strangers. We did not know about this until AFTER we adopted her when she began to exhibit these signs. She was very calm and kind at the rescue event, but when she established her territory at home this nature emerged. She has had only few incidents with us where she has bitten or snapped when she gets angry or uncomfortable. Ninety-nine percent of the time she is an absolute sweetheart, but the rest of the time caution is necessary. My parents are not interested in having her trained because of money issues.

She did display aggression at the vet on the day of her surgery, but the vet figures it mostly was from pain and fear. Today during her checkup she was pretty well behaved except when my dad tried to put a muzzle on her. The vet has decided to let the tube fall out naturally since the dead tissue on top of the wound is falling off. He recommends we put diluted betadine on the wound to keep it clean.

My question is: How can I reduce the chances of my dog biting me when I put betadine on her? She seems pretty trusting of me around the wound and even allows it to brush against me sometimes. However, I do worry about getting bitten if I do anything with the wound. Does anybody have any experience or tips in dealing with situations like this? And does betadine burn when you put it on? I am going to dilute it in warm water per vet's orders.

I will post some pics as soon as possible.

 

[Thegrayeyedgirl]

This is Nevada the day after surgery, so this was only three days ago. That white thing is the drainage tube.

I took this picture about 15 minutes ago. As you can see, the dead tissue is falling off and the granulating tissue underneath is coming in nicely. The vet says that this is normal and he is going to allow the tube to fall off naturally with the tissue. She does not seem to be in pain and is eating and drinking. He opted to not put a bandage on it, and we are just to keep it clean. The purple strings in the wound are the stitches.

A happier side. She is very sweet and friendly most of the time when she does not feel threatened or in pain.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Muzzles are one of the least distressing methods to use if you can get them to work for you. I recommend lightweight racing muzzles followed by cage muzzles as they are the least restrictive feeling to most dogs, and still allow for natural panting (and eating and drinking for racing muzzles). Problem is, you prob can't use for this, because it is something that needs to be done now. But, they are a very good consideration to utilize long term with aggressive dogs. You want to slowly introduce a dog to a muzzle, first by allowing them to stick their nose in the unstrapped muzzle for a few seconds for a treat. "nose in" or a similar command may be given. When your dog is very comfortable with this, you extend the time the dog holds the snout in the muzzle before getting a treat. Then buckle the muzzle on for a few seconds. Then progress to leaving it on for a few minutes. Treats and praise, and most any dog will learn to readily accept a muzzle. For now, I would discuss options with your vet as far as restraining goes. The problem is, forcefully restraing a dog that has possible fear aggression issues can cause large trust upsets. Another option might be distracting dog with something hard to lick up, and using a long handled tool to do what needs to be done. Best of luck and please keep yourself out of danger.

 

[redhen]

I would get a squirt bottle... each day you need to wash her wound out(how many times the vet suggested).... put the betadine in the bottle with the warm water and pet her and make her feel safe..giver her a treat to focus on..etc.....and then drip/gently squirt the liquid over her wound.... just keep working at it.. talking gently to her and distracting her...
I would only muzzle as a last resort.... try to "trick" her with doing it gently at first... the more you "force" and fight and scare her, the more she will fight/bite you...

 

[Thegrayeyedgirl]

I really like that idea. Hmm...maybe I'll use peanut butter and put a gauze on something long. Yes, she definitely has a fear of muzzles now..and it doesn't help that the wound is right on her cheek, poor baby. Thank you so much, this is a big help.

 

[Thegrayeyedgirl]

Yeah, I thought about squirt bottles too. As long as myself and others are away from her mouth I'm comfortable. We might have to experiment to see what is best for her.

 

[Mom2sixpeeps]

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Yep, great advise. You can use this situation to get her to trust you and not feel threatened.

 

[Thegrayeyedgirl]

Well, the dead skin has completely fallen off and there is only the red living granulation tissue left. It's a big open wound now. It has been clean though because the area she confined to is clean. We will probably do the first application of betadine tomorrow. She seemed to be uncomfortable this morning when I came to give her medicines. My dad checked her later and said she was doing much better. Still, we want to put the betadine on it to prevent infection. Wish us luck.

 

[Thegrayeyedgirl]

Good news!! We applied the betadine and she showed to aggression at at!

I used a large metallic skewer thing with a gauze taped to the tip and soaked that in the betadine. We do have to get more of the stuff on the wound though, but it was good for a first time application. I have considered doing the squirt bottle next if she will tolerate it, but I consider today a success! Thank you guys for your advice, it really helped. I feel better about doing this now.

 

[Matthew3590]

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