My dog caught her leg on barbed wire-- help?

[sirfunkeybut]

It looks bad, I have a pic but I can't post it. She tore a 3/4 x 3/4" chunk out of what would be her front knee. What should I do? It's not bleeding at all but looks bad

[sirfunkeybut]

[singleshot12]

that looks pretty bad, put some anti-septic on it and stitch it up yourself or taker to the vet

[Curly]

I think she should go to the vet and get stitched up, but I'm no expert.  Good luck, hope she heals up fast. 

[whackmaster]

I think you should go to the vet 

[Southpole]

that looks pretty bad, put some anti-septic on it and stitch it up yourself or taker to the vet

If it were my dog I would clean it up, wrap it, monitor it until Monday. Then you can assess then if you need to go to the vet. If it makes you sleep better you can get a vet or vet assistant on the phone and at least ask them what to do without taking the dog in. 

[Goldeneye]

The knee is a flex zone.  Wounds there need to be taken care of more than other areas.  They have a harder time healing.  Take to a vet while it's fresh.  If you wait they may not be able to close the wound as it should be.

[mossy8352]

Do her a favor and get her to a vet!

[WAcoyotehunter]

it's not that big and it's in a spot she can clean it... I would probably just let it heal up on it's own.

[NW-GSP]

Keep it clean and get some vetricyn spray or gell and get a cone. I have seen allot worse heal up with no problems.
It's best to let it heal from the inside out otherwise you have a high risk of infection and they would have to cut out the bad skin and tissue to even be able to do stitches or staples.

[jrebel]

If you wait till Monday the vet will not stitch it.  So you have two choices.....1.  treat it and let it heal which it will probably do but she will have a huge scare / without hair.  It could take a while to heal as well because it is on a joint, which will make it more susceptible to infection.  2.  Take her to the bet and get it stitched up....it will heal fast and less likely to be infected.  Will end up with a  very small scare at this point. 

[wildweeds]

Your dilemma is why everyone should have a skin stapler,I got one from my vet and instruction and hands on training on nailing it shut,it's very easy to do and the few times I've had cause to put one back together it's come out fine.You line the cut sections up and start stapling at the top of the wound,staple down and leave the bottom 1/4 inch open so it can drain and not create an abcess.I hit em with cephalexin antibiotics afterwards and about a week later ascess the healing and if it's looking good I take the staples out.

 The wound your dog has needs staples or stitches IMO. 5-10 of them would be my guess.

[Cascade_fisher]

IMO - stitches but you might have waited too long now and the skin flap will go necrotic and need to be cut off.  Stitching is easy to do with the right stuff and the stapler is easy too.  Build a canine first aid kit and the skills to use it.  It will more than pay for itself for a field dog.

[Stilly bay]

Your dilemma is why everyone should have a skin stapler,I got one from my vet and instruction and hands on training on nailing it shut,it's very easy to do and the few times I've had cause to put one back together it's come out fine.You line the cut sections up and start stapling at the top of the wound,staple down and leave the bottom 1/4 inch open so it can drain and not create an abcess.I hit em with cephalexin antibiotics afterwards and about a week later ascess the healing and if it's looking good I take the staples out.

 The wound your dog has needs staples or stitches IMO. 5-10 of them would be my guess.

IMO - stitches but you might have waited too long now and the skin flap will go necrotic and need to be cut off.  Stitching is easy to do with the right stuff and the stapler is easy too.  Build a canine first aid kit and the skills to use it.  It will more than pay for itself for a field dog.

that wound/area needs professional help to heal correctly and quickly. if it were anywhere else besides a joint I would attempt DIY stitching. even Vets have trouble with those spots.
 

[WAcoyotehunter]

Your dilemma is why everyone should have a skin stapler,I got one from my vet and instruction and hands on training on nailing it shut,it's very easy to do and the few times I've had cause to put one back together it's come out fine.You line the cut sections up and start stapling at the top of the wound,staple down and leave the bottom 1/4 inch open so it can drain and not create an abcess.I hit em with cephalexin antibiotics afterwards and about a week later ascess the healing and if it's looking good I take the staples out.

 The wound your dog has needs staples or stitches IMO. 5-10 of them would be my guess.

5-10 staples for a 3/4" cut???  We stapled a dog this week with a 3" hog cut and only gave 6 staples.  That little cut will heal just fine without any help.  Dogs are tough.