dog healing

Question
QUESTION: HI there the other day my dog got his neck caught under the fence for over an hour. and he was in the sun. he has a slightly infected grazing on his neck and quite a hefty graze on his back. since this has happened his behaviour has changed and he is still quite frienly, but a little withdrawn. and will hide under things and not come out. also he is a lot more agressive toward our other puppy. he did not used to be like this. it has been two day's since he hurt himself. he is a rottwiler cross bull mastiff and is 10 weeks old. is this normal?

Joel

ANSWER: Hi Joel,

Thank you for writing to me about your 10 weeks old puppy.  Poor baby, he must have been terrified to be trapped in the burning sun for so long.  My guess is that he was dehydrated during his ordeal.

I don't know if there is something that is only "slightly infected."  It is impossible to know what is going on inside his body after the kind of trauma that he went through.  My guess is that he is in pain, possibly has infection going through his body and quite likely needs the attention of a vet and antibiotics.  

His behavior is NOT normal because it is not normal for him.  He has changed since this experience and this is something that you can discuss with your vet when you take your sweet puppy in.  I highly recommend that you do this and I wish you all the luck in the world.

Best Regards,
Shelley Davis

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks you so much for your response. i took the dog to the vet and the vet cleaned up his wounds. but it was quite bad due to the fence he hurt himself on was treated timber. it was causing his skin to lift off his back. The vet had to cut away a lot of his skin. What is the likely hood of him growing his hair back on these areas when the skin was removed

Answer
Hi Joel,

Thank you for taking your dog to the vet for treatment. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't, especially hearing how bad the wound was.

Depending on how much skin was removed, will determine how well the wound will heal.  If the vet was able to stitch the skin together then scar tissue will form and you shouldn't notice anything, depending on how long the fur is.  However, if there is a true gap that was left, discuss with your vet as soon as possible the idea of grafting over the wound.  This must be done immediately before the edges "set."

More disturbing to me is the treated timber.  Do you mean treated with arsenic?  You will have to detoxify your dog from whatever the treated chemical was.  Start with a very good brand of Milk Thistle, such as the Gaia Co. and give in the evening when it works best.  

Find out exactly what kind of chemicals this wood was treated with and start searching on the internet for the antidote detoxification for those particular chemicals.  There is a tincture made of natural ingredients that will detoxify heavy metals.  Please let me know what you can find out and I will try to help you find the solution.

Milk Thistle is for the liver as everything eventually filters there.

I am glad that your dog is on the mend.  You are a very responsible dog owner.

Best Regards,
Shelley Davis