Head Wound

Question
Our Sheltie was lost for 10 days and when he returned on Monday he had porcupine quills in his jaw and a severe wound on his head.  The vet cleaned it an used an aluminum powder aerosal spray bandage.  Now he will not tolerate the aerosol and has shook his head so much that it is raw meat.  I have been using an antisptic powder on it but need to know how to bandage it to protect it from dirt and infection.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Karla :-)

Some Dogs have a reaction to antiseptic powder. Both of mine do and can't tolerate it either.

I would purchase some Sudocrem Cream from your Pharmacist and apply this to the sore areas and it will "cool" down any irritation. I wouldn't use cotton wool bandage or cotton wool because this will stick to the sore areas and may cause pain and the Vet will have trouble removing the cotton wool. If you have any gauze pads, apply this to the head wound area and look for a soft bandage not the rough kind and use all of this on his head and every area the Vet previously bandaged up.

After you have done this, contact your Vet to tell them what's happened incase you need to take him down tonight so they can re-apply a sterile bandage. Definitely take your Dog back to the Vet tomorrow and ask them to show you how to re-dress the wound, what to treat it with and what signs to look out for. The Vet may also supply you with some bandages.

Take care and all the best and please leave me a comment.

Trisha x