On Tuesday, I picked up the dog from daycare and he was limping. I thought he probably sprained something. By today, he wasn’t limping anymore, but he wouldn’t leave his groin alone. Licking incessantly. So we looked, and he has the area raw, as dogs will do.
But I noticed what has to be a bite mark in the area. One puncture, maybe1/8-3/16 deep. I’ve treated it with antibiotics. It is not actively bleeding, but it is quite irritated from all the licking.
Do you think this warrants a vet visit ASAP or monitor for a couple of days?
You might consider a cone-of-shame to stop the licking (or wrap the area in gauze so it can’t be licked…probably other solutions out there that achieve the same goal) and give it another day or two.
But, if you can, a vet visit is best in case there is infection. The sooner that gets treated the better. A day or two could make a big difference in the pup’s health if it has an infection.
If cone-of-shame route keep a close eye on the dog and get to a vet ASAP if he seems to be getting worse.
ETA: IANAVeterinarian…probably worth calling them and asking although my experience is the answer is no advice over the phone, come in for an examination. But maybe they could suggest an OTC ointment to you over the phone that might work to relieve irritation in the area to give him some relief…ask to know what is ok to use.
Yeah, he’s already got a cone of shame on, and we’ve been spraying it with an antiseptic spray. The unfortunate thing is that it’s been 48 hours to where we noticed it. Also, while Oskar is a sweet dog, he does not like the vet and does not cooperate. He has to be muzzled at the vet, and he’s 100 lbs.
(He really is nice, but really doesn’t like the vet)
It will almost certainly get infected & require antibiotics.
When my dog was bitten on the foot (Friday afternoon, naturally) even though I washed it repeatedly with hydrogen peroxide by the time I got her to the vet on Monday the foot was swollen, she was limping and obviously in pain. The vet said I should have brought her in right away.
While you’ve got to treat it like one, I’ve got some optimism that it might not be a bite wound. The groin of a hundred pound dog is a strange place for an injury but especially a single tooth puncture.
Edit: and doubly optimistic if the limping is still cleared up today.
It’s clearly improving. His movement is completely normal and he doesn’t lose his mind if you go near it, but he still wants nothing more than to lick it.
There is some kind of gouge, and it is relatively deep, but looks healthy to me (all pink and white). I believe if he would stay away from it it would approve.
I said upthread that this happened Wednesday, but I misspoke, it happened Tuesday. So we’re three days in and it doesn’t seem like crisis.
Nonetheless, the Misses has spoken and I’m taking him to the urgent vet clinic today, which I don’t think is necessary.
There is some kind of gouge, and it is relatively deep, but looks healthy to me (all pink and white). I believe if he would stay away from it.
As I mentioned, I have no problem taking him or paying for it. Making an unhappy 100 pound dog who does not like vets is always a little scary. Now, some of that’s on the vet. Vets who take a few minutes to calm him have better outcomes than those who don’t, but at no point is he happy to be there.
ETA: The little bastard has figured a way to contort himself just enough to get his tongue on it, despite the cone of shame.
Call the vet and ask if there is some kind of ointment (I hate that word) that might give him some pain relief so he doesn’t feel the need to work so hard to lick himself. Antiseptic spray is good to clean the wound but won’t give any pain relief.
The vet said that while it was pretty deep, it was just two punctures and no tearing, and seemed pretty clean. She felt the worst of it was from his licking of the area.
So now we get pain killers, stitches, antibiotics, and the cone of shame, all for the low price of $900 and 14 days.
Did I mention that my wife has work trips to FL and GA, and I have to go to Spain in that time? Ugh.
