My dalmatian, Pixel, had a growth removed from her left back leg last week. Because of the way the dressing was applied, her foot has swollen. We took her to an emergency vet yesterday and were told it’s not serious and it’ll go down, but that we shouldn’t let her lick her foot.
hah- yeah, right. Pixel figured out how to get around her e-collar, and I hate leaving a sock on her foot because it needs air to dry it out and help it heal.
So, my question: What can I put on her foot that won’t hurt her, won’t stain the carpet, and will taste nasty enough that she’ll quit licking?
Help me, Teeming Millions - you’re my last hope! Well, maybe not, but you’re lots cheaper than another visit to the vet…
A sock shouldn’t impede the ability of oxygen to get to Pixel’s wound. Cloth is definitely gas-permeable.
Is it a cloth, human-like sock or some kind of plastic, gas-impermeable dealie simply called a “sock”? If it’s cloth, and it keeps Pixel from chewing on her foot, then I’d have no problem with leaving it on.
They told me to put Ben Gay on Jake’s foot so he would stop licking it.
Now there is one more thing we know he will eat.
The dog will eat anything. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that a dog that ate a soda can AND a softball would be put off by something so tasty as Ben Gay…
Actually, a sock is probably the best and cheapest thing you can do. I use little kids’ tube socks from Wal-Mart - four pair (eight socks) are only about $5 (I have greyhounds with little feet and long skinny legs, so this type works best for us).
I wrap a piece of that white first-aid tape around the leg (not tight, of course) where I am going to anchor the sock and then use a type of breathable surgical tape called Elastikon to affix the sock to the tape. That keeps the sock from falling or being pulled off. Then when I change the sock, I don’t have to keep ripping the adhesive off the leg itself and pull the hair off and irritate the skin. I change the sock every day, and if it is wet outside a baggie goes over the sock until the dog comes back in. It’s a pain in the butt, but if you keep with it, it works. Your vet can also give you some IV bags, which can be rigged up over the foot. The plastic they are made of is very tough, and they last a long time.
If you keep the sock dry, it allows a reasonable amount of air in and the wound will certainly heal faster than if she’s allowed to pick at it all the time. Even if she does lick at it, she won’t be able to do as much damage to herself thru the sock as she would without it.
I’ve tried all the spray-on stuff, and none of it works for long with a dog that’s determined to lick. The best one I’ve used is called Phooey, and even that needs a lot of reapplication. I don’t use it directly on the dog’s skin, I put it over a bandage or sock just to discourage any picking at things.
If you don’t mind spending a little more money, there is some stuff you can get called EMT gel (http://www.emtgel.com/) which is made of collagen and helps wounds to heal. You smear it on the wound and let it dry, and it forms a porous barrier over the wound that protects it and helps it to heal faster. If the wound is sore or itchy, it seems to relieve those feelings a bit. I still wouldn’t use it without a sock or bandage, though.
As for the swelling in the foot, try massaging it if she’ll let you. It will stimulate the circulation and get the swelling down faster.
It’s one of the unexplained unmated socks that the dryer fairy left behind. My worry about it is that she licks the sock - I didn’t want her to get trenchfoot or something from wearing a damp sock.
The emergency vet did give us what she referred to as “Vet Duct Tape” - maybe it’s Elastikon?? Anyway, it did keep the sock on.
Thanks for the massaging tip, romansperson, I’ll do that. Since I’m her alpha-dog, I’m sure she’ll let me do it.
H8_2_W8 - someone else suggested the bitter apple - sounds like it might be worth a try…
Ben Gay? ummm, I think not…
Thanks, all - I appreciate it muchly, and I’m sure Pixel will too, when she’s back to normal… or what’s normal for a spotted demon…
I had a similar problem with my dog before. She was allergic to fleas and would chew holes in her paws until they bled. To get her to stop I tried bitter apple (no effect), socks (she chewed through them), vet tape (chewed through), ben gay (ate it anyway), tabasco sauce (ate it anyway), and the big lampshade looking collar (figured out how to get it off).
The only thing that worked was a wire muzzle when I wasn’t around. I didn’t like doing it but it was temporary, didn’t hurt her, and it worked.
I think they are also called Elizabethan collars. My vet offered to rent me one for my dog when he had a knee op but it turned out it wasn’t necessary. They DO look silly but that just makes them a good photo opportunity and they do work.V
We’ve had 2 of these collars on her - the first was too short so we got another - she can still lick her foot. When I let her out this morning, the sock I’d put on her last night was slobbery… I’m going to get some bitter apple spray today and see if it helps.
I hate to collar almost as much as she does - she’s always whacking it against the walls and the furniture, and she can’t get thru the doggie door when she’s wearing it.
Vet-Wrap, you can get it at pet stores, or a people-version at drug stores, is a stretchy bandage that sticks to itself. If your dog won’t chew it off, it might help a little more than Elastikon. It doesn’t stick at all, so you don’t have to worry about pulling the hair out.
(With FairyChatMom’s Dalmation, or romansperson’s greyhounds, good luck. And freezer bags make good boots to keep bandaged feet dry. They are easier to come by than I.V. bags too.)
-Rue.
You don’t have to worry about trench foot if you change the sock every day. Thinner socks dry faster and allow air flow better. Another thing you could do, since you say the growth was on her leg, is just cut the toe out of the sock and use a little vet wrap to keep the bottom of it closed. That will allow air in to the toes.
Be careful with vet wrap because it is possible to make it too snug. With my greyhounds, I have to wrap the leg way up with vet wrap to keep the sock or bandage from sliding off, which makes it more likely there will be too much compression. It gets expensive using that much too.
There is a different type of e-collar available, but I don’t know if it would work in your case. They are called Bite Not collars:
One thing about muzzles too - you don’t want to use the kind that holds the mouth shut. A wire or plastic muzzle that allows the dog to open its mouth, pant, drink, etc. is the only kind to use. The bad part about them is that these kind also allow that sneaky tongue to get in between the wires and still lick! so sometimes you have to duct tape the sides. My greyhounds also try to scrape muzzles off on us, the walls, the furniture, etc. so I have only used one a couple times.
