All of you should have encountered this situation: when you go out to walk your dog, the dog is very excited to go out and say hello to all kinds of dog friends. Originally, the dogs were just playing with each other, but they didn’t control the degree and got into a fight! Dogs fight, can be light or heavy, in serious cases, may be bitten.
Treatment steps
Dogs are bitten, how should be treated.
First, you need to determine the severity of the dog’s wound. Then, determine if the situation requires immediate emergency treatment at the hospital, or if you can treat it yourself at home. Sometimes the severity of the wound is not visible, if you are not sure, it is recommended to go directly to the hospital to deal with it.
I. Need to go to the hospital and pretreatment of the situation
1. A lot of bleeding
If your dog is bleeding heavily, you must go to the hospital. Heavy bleeding from a wound is a sign of a damaged artery or large vein and requires a doctor to ligate the blood vessel.
2. Press the wound with sterile gauze
First aid pre-treatment: use sterile gauze to apply pressure to the wound on the way to the hospital to avoid excessive blood loss in the dog.
If you can’t find sterile gauze, you can use a cotton T-shirt or other fabric instead, and press the wound for 5 minutes; if it’s still bleeding after 5 minutes, keep pressing until the hospital.
Use cotton fabric to apply pressure; never use fabric like fiber, wool, or wool sweater. The fibers of these fabrics will enter the wound.
3. Shortness of breath
Check your dog’s breathing for shortness of breath, which is a possible sign of dog shock, or air entering the chest cavity due to a bite through the chest wall. These conditions are life-threatening at any time and should be rushed to the hospital as soon as possible.
If you find a deeper wound in your dog’s chest, apply pressure with gauze or bandages to slow the entry of air into the chest cavity, causing the lungs to collapse.
4. Weakness, pale gums, loss of consciousness
If your dog looks weak, or if his gums are pale and he loses consciousness, take him to the hospital immediately. These conditions may be signs of shock or internal bleeding.
Apply sterile gauze or bandages to the bleeding area, cover the dog with a coat or blanket to maintain body temperature, and then go to the veterinary clinic.
5. Large wounds or broken skin
Check your dog for large wounds or skin breaks.
If your dog has been torn, then there may be tears and wounds in the subcutaneous tissue. It needs to be rushed to the hospital for treatment.
6. Clean the wound as much as possible
Before going to the hospital, clean your dog’s wounds as much as possible.
Rinse the wound with saline, which will flush away contaminants and reduce the chance of infection; then moisten sterile gauze and cover the wound with it and secure it. This will keep the wound moist and ready for suturing on the way to the hospital.
If sterile saline is not available, homemade saline can be used instead.
Use 500 ml of boiling water and stir in a small spoonful of salt. When the saline has cooled to body temperature, clean the dog’s wound with a cotton ball dipped in water.
If you have neither sterile saline nor time to make homemade saline, it’s okay to go to the hospital, the doctor will thoroughly clean and disinfect the wound area.
Second, you can deal with the situation at home
1. The wound is not bleeding
If the dog is still alert and alert, and the wound is not bleeding, you can clean the wound at home.
2. Trim the hair around the wound
To see the entire wound, use scissors to trim the hair around the wound.
Start trimming from the edge of the wound until the entire wound is exposed. Do this wherever there is a wound.
Be careful not to cause secondary damage when trimming with scissors.
3. Rinse the wound with saline
Saline is the best choice because it is most friendly to the exposed tissue and also keeps the wound moist.
If saline is not available, you can make your own. (The “secret recipe” is mentioned above)
4. Find a person to help when cleaning
When you clean up, the dog may be nervous or cranky, you need to find someone to help you hold it.
If you can’t find someone to help, you can tie your dog’s mouth with a collar or soft rope to prevent it from biting you when it gets cranky.
5. If your dog has puncture wounds, be sure to go to the hospital
Puncture wounds are usually round, small in diameter, and are caused by tooth punctures from other dogs. Not all of them need stitches, and sometimes they heal on their own. However, it is best to have a doctor look at them, as hernias can easily form in this case.
The skin separates from the subcutaneous tissue, creating a cavity that may be filled with serum or pus, which can prevent the wound from healing. In this case, surgical treatment is required to allow the wound to heal.
Caution
1. Be sure to wear a leash when you go outside.
2. Stay away from aggressive dogs or large dogs when you encounter them.
3. Have your dog neutered as soon as possible to avoid aggressive behavior caused by heat.
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