Hi Guys; We've got two boys; Charlie and Oscar both rescues both younger than 2yrs. Last night after 3 months of them being together the inevitable happened, they had a scrap and Oscar got nipped tearing his skin in an L shape total length of the tear about an inch, fortunately it was only the skin that was damaged. Other half an I bundled him in the car with Charlie and got him home. We cleaned the wound strong brine and anti bac spray then unfurled the sin and laid it back across the raw wound as it would have been then lightly covered it. Should I be doing anything else other than making sure it stays clean and dry now, oh and not worrying too much because young boys will have the occasional ruck that gets too spirited from time to time Thanks guys
Sounds like you have done fine with regards to the wound. On the issue of the scrap do you know what happened in the lead up to the ding dong as that is what you should be tackling to resolve. Becky
Thanks Becky, its good to know we are on the right lines; The lead up was about 5-7 mins of Oscar the one who got nipped winding Charlie up, Charlie is older larger and the more dominant of the two. It was very genuinely play which got out of hand; and was reminiscent of me and my brothers playing in the garden when we were young and it ending in tears. In three months having been rehomed separately this was thier first fight; they get on very well together, and are inseprable. The only underlying issue I could possibly think of is that Oscar wanted more time off the lead to play, which we are working on increasing as his recall is very poor. Yesterday he was far too hot to play throughout the day as he normally does for 3-4 hours and tried to fit it all into the first few mins of his evening walk While its hot I'll look at changing the schedule of thier walks; so that they can play more in the cool of the evening.
mornin oops a daisy eh dog bites may look clean but they are full of bacteria my advice to you is to pop to the chemist and het some hibiscrub dilute it 50:50 with water and clean it at least twice daily he may need antibiotics and a quick stitch(the flap of skin may need to be snipped off) your vet shouldnt do it straight away as you seal in the 'bugs' and bear in mind it will bruise more today and be a tad tender you could also pick up some arnica tabs they help bring the brusing out they were probably hot,bothered and short tempered yesterday,like my lot
Young lurchers do play rough . If you find they are getting too rough with each other you could let them off the lead one at a time . I did this for a while when my whippets were young . This also means the recall tends to be better as they don't go so far away when they are on their own . Just keep an eye on the wound if it dries up that's good if it starts to look moist or red then a trip to the vet is called for :?
Had the same between Pharaoh and Kismet recently... Lurcher's skin is so delicate isn't it... Poor pharaoh ended up with an inch tear on his shoulder. I cleaned it with salt water and kept the wound together as best I could given the awkward place, but in the end it did get infected and we had to go to the vets for a course of antibiotics. So keep an eye on it. If it stays wet and weepy, or if you get reddish liquid ooze out under the scab when you squeeze it, get him along to the vets for some ABs. As for 'boys will be boys'... I agree with others, probably the hot weather combined with over excitement. You'll just have to be a bit more careful with how agitated you let them get on a hot day and watch their play for signs of it getting over boisterous. It was easier with Pharaoh and Kismet, the ruck was over a bone... So no more bones or shared treats and we have not had a repeat. This wont be the last fight, and it certainly wont be the last time his skin tears... Try to talk to your vets, see if there is a good one there who is used to greyhounds. I have a lovely vet now who is happy in most cases to give pharaoh a local anaesthetic and staple his wounds. Which is so much safer and less traumatic for him. You know what lurchers are like, he just stands there for her.. no brain no pain.
Hi Guys thanks for all the support; Went down to the Shoreham Dogs trust open day today and they had a vet' nurse / welfare station who had a quick look; it doesnt need stitching and they combined use of antibac talc and spray should do the trick. But if's and buts as per your notes above then get some pills. I think that changing their routine will work; and Oscar has already started being more respectful of other dogs so startling for us but a very valuable learning experience. Labradors were never this much hassle!!!! Cheers guys
