puncture wound

[Leanne]

I know one of you has to have had a dog suffer a puncture wound in the field.  Bonnie my GWP was running in the woods when she yelped and yipped and when I looked her  over you could see she had a puncture wound right where the stomach meets the back thigh.

The vet is closed, what should I do?

I have rinsed it with saline, and wiped it with iodine solution, I gave her a pain pill from her amputation surgery......

I hate this crap, but any extra advice is needed.

[washelkhunter]

If the wound is relatively small you could super glue it closed. Pinch the edges together then apply the glue. should hold for 2 or 3 days and close up. sounds like everything else you did for the dog was spot on. 

[tony04]

If you got the wound good and clean then glue and or aply some sterile bandages. Is the puncture just through the skin?

Also, how big is the wound?
Might go to dells farm store and pick up some antibiotics

[rasbo]

keep it clean and watch her urine and stool

[Stilly bay]

do not put superglue on it! thats a good way to seal in any infection and create an abscess! if its done bleeding, clean it the best you can, and keep it as dry as you can and keep it covered til you can see a vet. sealing it improperly could lead to an infection of the abdominal cavity depending on the severity of the wound. some puncture wounds need tubes inserted to help with drainage, in a way they heal from the inside out.

obviously put an elizabethan collar on her, and check her gums for shock occasionally, maybe even her temp.

[wraithen]

sounds like she'll be fine. There's not much to do for puncture wounds really. If you cleaned it I wouldn't worry about infection, superglue kills everything. Used on all kinds of my own wounds with not problems so should be fine on a dog. Dogs are tough as hell.

[Special T]

I think  you will be fine, but i would agree with stillybay on this one... puncture wounds should not be sealed up...

[Cuda]

do not put superglue on it! thats a good way to seal in any infection and create an abscess! if its done bleeding, clean it the best you can, and keep it as dry as you can and keep it covered til you can see a vet. sealing it improperly could lead to an infection of the abdominal cavity depending on the severity of the wound. some puncture wounds need tubes inserted to help with drainage, in a way they heal from the inside out.

obviously put an elizabethan collar on her, and check her gums for shock occasionally, maybe even her temp.

  Super glue is great assuming the wound is clean but I have seen what a sealed infected wound can turn in to. Keep it open and clean until you see a vet (depending on the severity of the wound).

[Special T]

Cuts are much different than punctures for 2 reasons. Cuts bleed and self clean easier makeing them less prone to infection. Puncture by nature push matter into the flesh making them much harder to clean. Unless you are cleaning by probing into the wound, then I would leave it open.  If it is big enough that you can probe into it to clean, you may want to leave it open so that the vet can take a better look. 

[Stilly bay]

 
the location of where she described the wound to be can be a tricky spot. if things are not taken care of properly ( to all you arm chair vets) it can go from a serious localized infection to a really serious major infection in the abdominal cavity.

 that pup has been through alot already, losing a leg and doesn't need to deal with this.

hopefully its not nearly as bad as it sounds.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Hows the dog doin? Hope the stole looks good!

[Leanne]

15 bucks for antibiotics and a good scratch from the vet and we are good to go!  If you live on the oly pen I HIGHLY recommend DR. heather short of Sequim animal hospital!  She is the greatest!

[Stilly bay]

can't beat that ... judging by the price my imagination was running a bit wild. glad to hear she is alright.

[wildweeds]

Puncture wound care advice.......................... Clean thouroughly and apply a wet/dry bandage.It operates on the premise of Osmosis,take half a dozen gauze bandages,2x2's,4x4's wet them down with an antiseptic like Nolvasan,take half a dozen dry and place over the wound then the wet ones on top of those,couple of dry on the outside and tape or vet wrap in place.The wicking action(osmosis) will suck the bad juju out of the wound,the dampness will allow the wound to heal from the inside out,change every other day........................ the things you learn at the vet...........My vet taught me that,and I had a puncture wound trainwreck in south dakota and mentioned a wet dry bandage to the vet back there, to which he said,"your pretty informed,yes that would be a good way to go in this instance". He told me that plain old honey works well also in a wet dry bandage.

[jetjockey]

One word.   Granulex.  Go buy some.  It should be in every single dog owners arsenal.  It is about the best thing in dog care you can ever imagine.  With wounds, clean, and then spray Granulex twice a day.  It helps stimulate the granulation tissue and promotes healing.  It really, really works.