Hi, I know I don’t post much, but you people all seem pretty intelligent and experienced, so maybe at least one of you will be able to help with this.
I volunteer with an animal rescue group, and my latest foster that I just picked up last night is a rat terrier, about one year old. In this one year, whoever had him before set him on fire at some point, and he is missing large patches of fur along his backside. There are also numerous other health issues I’m currently treating him for, but this is the one I need advice on.
Part of what we do is to try to make the dogs as “adoptable” as possible. Sadly, our local shelter has to regularly euthanize dogs who aren’t “cute” enough to get adopted. Now, my foster is safe, in no danger of being euthanized, and he’s welcome to stay with me as long as he needs to. But, do any of you know any home remedies or such to help his burned skin to heal and his fur to grow back? I believe the burn itself to be nearly healed, as it doesn’t cause him any pain, and he lets me pet it. It’s just rough, scaly skin. Any advice or anecdotal experience is welcomed.
Topical aloe and the contents of a fish oil capsule massaged into the burn will go a long way towards keeping the critter’s skin smooth and soft. Regaining fur is totally dependent on the type of burn. If it was first or second degree (blistering), the fur should come back. A third degree burn chars the skin, and will kill the hair follicles.
If the burn is pretty much healed then the hair follicles may have been destroyed and the fur might not grow back.
I don’t have any personal experience, but poking around online I’ve found suggestions for vitamin E oil, cocoa butter, and Mederma. I have no idea how well any of those treatments will actually work.
Thanks! I don’t really have a way of knowing what kind of burn it was, since I wasn’t there when it occurred. I just feel so bad for the poor little fella and want to do everything I can to get him back to his happy little self.
I’m not a vet, but my best guess would be good moisturizers on the skin topically (anything mentioned above) and a good protein rich diet to help the follicles heal and grow hair again, if they aren’t too badly damaged. You might ask your vet about adding a biotin supplement too.
Poor little guy has to heal from the inside as well as outside. I’m glad he’s in good hands now!
We’re still working on the inner healing. Today at lunch, he actually attempted to get in my lap after he was done eating. He hasn’t shown any aggression toward me or my other dogs (I’m still keeping them separated anyway, just because he needs time to physically heal before I can socialize him), but he’s very wary. Let me see if I can find a way to link to his photo album without compromising anyone’s privacy and y’all can see how cute he is too!
I don’t see why not, for Facebook. Poor little guy. He’s lucky he found you.
First, you should check with the vet before you buy any of this stuff. He may have a medical type cream he’d prefer you use.
Good quality fish oil supplement, you can just add it to his food. Canned food, as well, because it helps with hydration and well hydrated skin heals better.
oh, poor lovie pup. Not sure about the skin issue but perhaps while you’re showing him he can wear a shirt/sweater? Then after his issues are revealed people can take a look at the skin.
Don’t assume that makes him un-adoptable. Just make sure that people know that story. Possibly note “Must go to a non-smoking, no-fireplace home” – that gives your volunteers an opening to tell potential adoptees about this.
Groups I’ve worked with often find homes for the ugliest or visibly abused/scarred animals, just as well as the ‘cute’ ones. It seems like it’s the mediocre, nothing-special ones that stay un-adopted the longest, and are in danger for euthanization when they run out of space.
Those pictures are all from a few days ago. Since then, he has been stitched up and has a drainage tube in.
Also, there are requests for donations in the caption/comments, but that’s not what I’m posting these for (I swear!), so mods, please remove if not allowed.
Again, thank y’all so much! I really appreciate the help!
Not a dog person, but I swear to god I don’t understand how anyone can torture animals, regardless of what type of animal.
To be totally frank with you, his back doesn’t look that bad from the distance of the photos. He looks like a sweetie. (What was going on with his neck that you had to debride it?)
There’s two avenues here: topical, and internal. Please ask a vet before you use anything, even topically, because I’m thinking for people burns, not doggy ones.
Topically, Aloe is good for skin, as are vitamin E capsules. Getting more into expensive areas, once the area is TOTALLY HEALED, then you might ask about salicylic acid masks or peels to help the skin regenerate itself and work out some of the scarification.
Internally speaking, “good” fats, biotin, and keratin might help in general, if the hair follicles aren’t damaged. The jury is out on whether ANY of those things actually accomplish anything, but neither do they seem to do any damage. Otherwise, just trying to get him less stressed will help hair growth.
Again, please talk to a vet before treating with anything, even natural stuff. He’s been through enough already to have to deal with a bad reaction to something.
Honestly, compared to other burn injuries I’ve seen, that’s really not so bad. Not as scary looking as when the skin is all pink and multicolored scars are all over. That sort of blends with his fur pattern.
