It's not unusual for active, healthy dogs to sustain minor cuts and scrapes as they play. Fortunately, dogs heal very quickly, and most of the time these injuries will mend on their own if left to dry in the open air. There will be times, however, when a cut is too deep or the dog is too frisky to allow for proper healing without your intervention. Knowing basic wound care for dogs will come in handy for those times when an injury can't heal well on its own. With minimum care, you can increase healing in dog wounds, such as minor cuts and scrapes.
Things You'll Need
- Clean towels
- Warm water
- Mild soap
- Antiseptic salve
- Cotton swab
- Sterile gauze
Instructions
Instructions
Calm your dog before administering first aid. Call your dog to you and pet or brush him for a few minutes to give him comfort and reassurance.
Remove hair, pebbles, glass, twigs or other large debris from the wound with a towel or with tweezers, if necessary.
Clean and rinse the wound thoroughly until there is no more debris visible in the wound.
Dry the wound and surrounding area thoroughly, being careful not to drag hair back across the wound.
Apply antiseptic salve liberally to the wound with a cotton swab.
Dress the wound with a thick pad of gauze. If possible, fasten the pad by encircling the entire limb with a gauze strip since tape may not adhere well to fur.
Monitor the wound for signs of infection or damage to the dressing. Repeat the procedure if the dog chews off the dressing or the gauze gets wet or dirty.