How do I keep a hot spot covered?
I had him at the vet on Monday. They shaved the spot, cleaned it, put some antibiotic on it, gave him a steroid shot and sent me home with Animax topical antibiotic and Simplecef oral antibiotic. He was doing very well with it since the appt. But I got home from work today and noticed that he shredded the scab that had formed and the area was all bloody. So I washed it with soap & water and sprayed it with a first-aid spray. I'll put more Animax on it in a bit. I want to bandage the area until it's healed but how would I KEEP the bandage on him? He HATES things on his body. It's just not gonna heal if he keeps tearing it up every 2 or 3 days. Two solutions in my mind: 1) a back claw proof dressing that won't come off no matter how much or how hard he digs & scratches at it or 2) restrict the movement of his LR leg so he can't even bring it up to meet his shoulder What are your thoughts? |
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| The best material I've found for protecting skin is blue jean material. I've found it stands up to more scratching and it's cotton so maybe more breathable than other fabrics I've tried. A sock on the foot doing all the damage is helpful too... as long as he's not a sock eater. This fabric came from Joann Fabric. I don't sew but I made it work anyway.   Hoping Brick's boo-boo will heal quickly.  |
| That's awesome. But sadly I do not have the time nor the skill set to make something like that. Can I buy one at a pet store? It looks a little like the Thundershirt. Can I use one of those? Can they be left on for 8-10 hours at a time? While he probably wouldn't eat the sock, he WILL get it off or chew through it to expose his foot. |
| I did the sock thing with Pooh and he was very good with it. He had surgery and drains put in at one point in his life and they advised me to put a tight t-shirt on him to hold the drains in. Maybe this will work. I had heard that a tight t-shirt will also work if they are afraid to thunderstorms. Wish I knew that since Pooh was very, very afraid of storms. Angus is 2 and storms don't seem too do much to him. |
| The location really makes it tough. I used a blanket once... and a stapler... to make a cape-type thing for Darby when she had a hystiocytoma on the front of her chest.   http://oesusa.com/AboutU336.jpg I can sympathize... the location makes it tough. The Thundershirt is a 55% Cotton, 35% Polyester, 10% Spandex blend... the fabric is doubled. Not as heavy as denim but it would likely help to protect the skin. But it may not allow air to the wound to help in healing... it's more form fitting. Not sure if this would work any better but my granddog has this one... and it's on clearance now. http://www.jefferspet.com/all-season-ba ... p/0036018/ With any of these, it's going to depend on whether Brick might get too hot but also whether he's accepting of wearing clothes. You don't want him panicking, trying to get it off and getting twisted up/hung up in it. But you likely need it NOW. Maybe a local store might have something? Bumble has a couple of the denim ones... he managed to put a hole in one of those so you can just imagine what he would have done to his skin. He wore them most of the day and night when his skin was worse. |
| I put one of my old t-shirts on him yesterday and he didn't seem to mind. But it didn't really provide any protection as the hot spot is just forward of his shoulder, on the base of his neck. The collar of the shirt ended just shy of this area. Grrrrr. I could pull it up to cover the spot, but it always migrated rearward as he moved around. I went to PetSmart's website and they make hoodies for dogs. <shakes head> I'll stop by the store after work and take a look at them. |
| Do you have any old turtlenecks? Maybe that would work? |
| You could probably make a really rough cover up like the one 6girls has, without sewing, and in less than 10 minutes. I'd just get a square of the fabric, cut two leg holes, pull the rest up around the body, cut off excess fabric and then figure out how to close it. Depending on how rough and tumble Brick is through the day, you might just be able to use clothes pins. It wouldn't be pretty, but I think it would work. And it would be way cheaper than the $40-$50 you are going to drop on a Thundershirt! |
| Poor Brick, hope he heals up soon! Why not an old light weight cotton loose T-shirt? Just use scissors to cut off the unneeded parts, to make slits and to make it easier to get on. |
A turtleneck is a good option as Roz mentions.  It will protect higher up on the neck... but the fabric is often lighter weight allowing for more damage from the back nails. That's when we also used socks.  I did cut the turtleneck sleeves shorter and stitched them up because they'd come unrolled and he'd get caught up in them. http://oesusa.com/BBClothes.jpg But you're not talking long term use.  |
| There might be an old turtleneck lying around the house. I was just concerned that they are kinda heavy and it's gonna be hot here next week. He won't be outside but our house gets pretty warm inside as there is no A/C. |
| With the turtle neck you can cut off as much of it as possible if you don't need it for coverage. They tend to just sleep through the day. If you have a fan for him to snooze in front of I think he would be able to stay cool enough. Hope he heals soon  |
| Yeah! A turtleneck muscle shirt. Just be sure he's not the type of boy to get hung up on something. |
| You might also try a kids shirt that would cover the area. I learned that trick from a doggie dermatologist years ago. Keeping the air off of it makes it more comfortable for them. Since my dogs' mommy has no idea how to sew, I bought them shirts and pants - started at the thrift store to get the sizing right. I use nylons for legs and feet that need air to heal and tape them on. Sometimes it takes a couple of layers. Be creative! Sometimes all you need is a lightweight summer shirt. You just want to keep the air off of it. And buy plenty of first aid tape to tighten up spots that may be too loose. |
| We found an old lightweight turtleneck in the house. I cut the sleeves off and it worked great. The spot scabbed over within a couple days and most of the scab came off within 4 or 5 days after that. He hasn't touched the spot in over a week. Actually, I think it's healed now (the skin is the same color as the rest of his skin) and we're just waiting for the fur to grow back. Thanks to all for their great suggestions. |
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