Small wound on dog.....what to do?

[Rushdoggie]

I would muzzle him and look closely, and hopefully its minor and will heal.

After it heals I would condition him to wear a muzzle and having his feet touched. You can do it with low stress by going slowly, using rewards and working at his pace. Then in the future things will be easier.

Theres a lot of good You Tube videos out there.

 

[Kholts]

Will he let you soak the paw in a bowl or sink?

If so I would go get some chlorhexidine solution which you can get over the counter at any pharmacy (no prescription necessary). It is a disinfectant and antiseptic that is used on superficial wounds and to prep skin for surgery. Essentially it works similar to peroxide but it doesn’t stop the wound from healing like peroxide can do.

I’d follow the instructions on the bottle for diluting it and just soak the paw the best you can for 10 mins and try to get a better look at it. Trim the hair around it if possible & apply an antibiotic ointment.

If you believe it needs to be looked into further than I’d book an appointment with a vet.

 

[ValerieJ]

I go to the veterinarian with every injury or illness concerning my dog or cats, as well as every year for a wellness exam.

 

[cassie]

My understanding is that tetanus is relatively rare in dogs. No approved vaccine for dogs either. If it's a puncture (or even a suspected one) then I would have it seen, better safe than sorry. I don't like spending money unnecessarily at all, but sometimes it's just best to be safe and see an expert. My last visit was for what I thought was an abscess. Turned out to be a benign tumor (histiocytoma). I'm very happy to know and not wonder, was worth it to find out.
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/health/can-dogs-get-tetanus/

I don't think tetanus vaccines are species specific. Tetanus is tetanus. A pig, a horse, a goat, a dog. or a human all get the same thing. Tetanus may be rare in dogs, but it does happen. Tetanus antitoxin is cheap.

 

[cassie]

I didn't mention that soaking the foot in a hot Epsom salts solution might be helpful. It will draw out any pus or gunk that may be in there.

 

[coach723]

I don't think tetanus vaccines are species specific. Tetanus is tetanus. A pig, a horse, a goat, a dog. or a human all get the same thing. Tetanus may be rare in dogs, but it does happen. Tetanus antitoxin is cheap.

Article I attached was written by a DVM, updated March 21, 2019.
From the article:
" There are multiple FDA-approved tetanus toxoid vaccines for humans, horses, and sheep. Unfortunately, there are none for dogs. Since tetanus is relatively rare in dogs, the sales of a tetanus toxoid vaccine for dogs would likely never pay off the expense of its development by a pharmaceutical company, so it’s no surprise that it hasn’t yet been developed. Money aside, there are also ethical considerations to vaccine development: To study whether a toxoid vaccine works in dogs, researchers would be required to infect dogs with tetanus and then treat them. The infection and resulting illness, treatment, and possible side effects of the vaccines would cause significant suffering and some deaths in the research animals. On balance, the endeavor hasn’t yet appealed to any vaccine developer. "

 

[AltonaAcres]

Thanks guys. I will clean out his wound, but may just bring him to the vet. He is not putting a ton of weight on his paw.

 

[cassie]

Article I attached was written by a DVM, updated March 21, 2019.
From the article:
" There are multiple FDA-approved tetanus toxoid vaccines for humans, horses, and sheep. Unfortunately, there are none for dogs. Since tetanus is relatively rare in dogs, the sales of a tetanus toxoid vaccine for dogs would likely never pay off the expense of its development by a pharmaceutical company, so it’s no surprise that it hasn’t yet been developed. Money aside, there are also ethical considerations to vaccine development: To study whether a toxoid vaccine works in dogs, researchers would be required to infect dogs with tetanus and then treat them. The infection and resulting illness, treatment, and possible side effects of the vaccines would cause significant suffering and some deaths in the research animals. On balance, the endeavor hasn’t yet appealed to any vaccine developer. "

OK. I stand corrected. Many years ago I had a subscription to a magazine that was written for veterinarians. You had to be a vet or a vet student to even subscribe to it. I think the name of it was Small Animal Clinician. Anyway, this one issue featured a dog that presented with tetanus and it described his treatment. It was a long road but they did manage to save him. He received massive doses of tetanus antitoxin, antibiotics, and supportive care.

Tetanus is rare in dogs. It is even rarer in pigs but I saw a program with the Incredible Dr. Pol not too long ago where they successfully treated a baby potbelly pig that had tetanus. It was touch and go for quite a while, and it was a lot of work, but the little guy did make it.​

When I gave a dose of antitoxin to some animal I thought might be exposed to tetanus, I just grabbed a bottle of antitoxin off the shelf. It was not species specific. It was just antitoxin. Goats, sheep, horses, or even me all got the same stuff. Maybe toxoid is different. However, the dog that the poster has if the vet thought is advisable would need antitoxin, not toxoid in any event.

 

[AltonaAcres]

He was limping a lot yesterday, couldn't put any weight on his affected paw, so we are bringing to the vet this morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[MROO]

Thanks guys. I will clean out his wound, but may just bring him to the vet. He is not putting a ton of weight on his paw.

Poor baby! Let us know how it goes. And remember that pictures of totally embarrassed puppies wearing the Cone of Shame are always welcome ... and usually quite entertaining!