Gun Dog Forum

Well, I guess it was inevitable. I've been training with Katy for 18 months now and yesterday the odds caught up with us........

She was down running yesterday afternoon and she got caught on something- stick, ice not sure. It wasn't barbed wire as this is the back 9 of a Private golf course we train on during the winter (I grew up with the head greenskeeper) and there isn't any of that stuff in the woods.

Anyways...... a 450 yard walk back to my truck carrying her darn near killed me! Then the 9 mile ride to my vet in rush hour traffic almost did my blood pressure in. They had to put her under to sew this up- in the worst spot possible, inner right hind leg and then back up into the lower abdomen. It's "V" shaped and looks really gnarly (not the "good" gnarly!)



Heading back to the vet today to remove the "wet-to-dry" gauze pack and figure out next steps. Katy is on painkillers, antibiotics & dermamaxx (promotes skin healing). On the positive side (if there is one), there's no orthopedic damage (she was walking around today on a leash) and the laceration was strictly of the epidermal layer- it didn't puncture her abdomen. And the slice is pretty clean as was the wound when I brought her in. They cleaned it out real well and said it was "very clean".

I slept downstairs with her last night to keep an eye on things- I slept like crap. She finally ate, drank and pee'd this morning........

Rob

Really sorry to hear that Rob. I'm glad it sounds like the prognosis is good, and I'm sure she's a tough little girl that will be out and about in no time. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Sorry to hear of this, Rob. Good luck with a speedy recovery.

Doug

I had a rip close to that on a dog that never acted like anything was wrong...I happened to see it close to a week later...Ugh! Vet said just keep it clean and packed in Antibiotic ointment and it heeled fine, it was too late to stitch.....I could not believe the dog never acted like it hurt! It's amazing tho to me how well a place like that can heel without stitches...

Sounds like it looks a lot worse than it really is if it's only skin deep. Hope it heals up ok!

Ezzy

Geesh that could have been worse but not looked to much worse. I am sure she will be fine. Dogs make us look like wimps. Just need to make sure it stays clean and she does not horse around to much for a while till it sets up good.

Good luck Katie.
Rick

I have stiched up a lot of wounds on dogs and that one looks like a good sized one looks like it could have been ice cut good luck she sould heal up in no time just keep her from chewing on the stiches and keep them clean she will want to start chewing in about a week

Poor babe, sorry to see it.

Man, as bad as that looks, it could have so easily been SO MUCH worse. One big bleeder in there, and you wouldn't have been able to stop it. I bet she'll heal fine. Once she starts getting more active, get her some good chewies, kongs stuffed with goodies, etc, to keep her distracted.

I talked with a guy whose dog got a similar injury running in a ditch that had busted up concrete in it - with re-bar extending out. His dog impaled himself...it was really bad. He's ok now but it's taken awhile.

Good luck Rob.

Poor dog, that sucks. Nasty!

But - if it's only a skin injury, she'll be 100% before you know it.

I am sure glad you got her taken care of, I bet you don't sleep well a few nights...and the picture, whew I know you warned us...but I didn't listen. I just wanted to respond but I will not be back on this thread, it is too graphic. I have decided to devote my Time to Birddogz poo problem.

Thanks fellas....... we just got back from the Vet getting Katy's bandages changed.
This little girl never yelped, squealed, whined, howled...... yesterday or today- nothing. Tough little nut.

She pulled me into the examination room- The Vet couldn't believe her disposition 24 hours later.
I would still be milking it- that's for sure!

Rob

You will be surprised at how fast and well that is going to heal up. She will be back to her normal self, just keep infection at bay. I had a bad barbed wire cut/rip/tear on a beagle. Liked to peel his skin off from the back of his neck to mid back. Thought I was going to have to put him down. A few trips to the vet and he made a full recovery. That beagle died at age 13 after surviving being shot twice (once by my dad and once by another hunter: he was too fast), run over by the tractor, and this particular injury!

If you can get ahold of some Mule Magic or Schnriners Horse Spray you'll never even be able to tell she had that much skin missing. All the skin wil grow back as well as the hair.

You are fortunate that it was only a skin tare. Yes it looks nasty, but once having gone through a wound like this you learn that it is not as life threatening as it first appears. For those that have not butchered their own animals (hunting or domestic) for food, the shock of seeing red is traumatic. Life experiences give tough but meaningful lessons. Looking forward to seeing you and Katy at field trials this coming Spring. Keep giving Katy lots of hugs.

Hi Rob, Hope all goes well with your little girl, I know how you love that pooch. We had a GSP that got ripped years ago running through a park in the neighborhood, looked very similar to your injury. My buddy healed just fine and I hope yours will too!
Smitty

Ken,
I've dressed out about 16 Whitetails, 2 bears & 3 hogs.
I butchered probably 10 of the deer, 1 bear & all 3 hogs.
None of them were my personal gun dog who I named!

I plan to be back with Katy this spring running in broke dog stakes.

Smitty,
Good to hear from you- hope your Christmas in Ohio was enjoyable.

Thanks for the kind words fellas!

Rob

She's on the mend............. The Tramadol (painkiller) leaves her a bit mellow- which is a good thing
right now given her condition. No need for sudden, explosive moves that could compromise sutures.



Thanks for all the kind thoughts folks!

Rob

Here's a couple of shots that were taken at the vet while Katy was getting sewn up:

Initial tacking



Tacking & some sutures


All buttoned up


Rob

Wow that is a heck of a cut , sorry to hear or see I should say, hope your little gal gets feeling better soon ...

Wishing a speedy recovery. That is SOME tear. Look forward to seeing you kids in the field.

Nasty cut and hope your dogs ok..

Here's one ticked off dog............
It's snowing outside (Katy LOVES frolicking in the snow) and she's stuck
in the house with this crappy elizabethian collar on! :roll:



The look of disdain that she is throwing at my wife & I.......... words can't describe. There's no convincing this dog that she's still injured.

She received some more stitches on Monday- buttoned up almost all the way now!

Rob

Oh man, if looks could kill.

Seems you have a spirited girl there, Rob. She'll be up and running pretty soon, then it will be YOU that will be the nervous one - wondering when/if/whether she's gonna get injured again.

Looks like a freak injury to me. Did you ever decide what it was? Maybe a sharp tree branch at the wrong place and angle?

Hate to say it - but did you follow the blood trail back to see where the injury happened, or was there too much snow?

AzHusker,
Katy was cut by ice.

Rob

Yikes - so a total fluke deal then most likely. Happy to hear that she seems to be bouncing back.

Here's what the wound looked like this past Saturday when we were changing bandages & cleaning Katy up........ 12 days after the injury.



The "gap" is in the area where the inner leg meets the lower abdomen and the skin gets pulled in every direction imaginable. As a result, the vet is slowly suturing things up while the tissue/muscle bed underneath, granularizes.

Keeping Katy low key has proven to be BRUTAL !! She has zero idea that she's still injured.

Rob

Keeping Katy low key has proven to be BRUTAL !! She has zero idea that she's still injured.

Have you thought about sedating her a little? I had to when my boy was rehabbing. He ripped out internal sutures while in a crate. Acepromazine worked wonders. Might be worth a try.

Good luck...

I found something lots better. No side effects I have found. It is called Show Calf All natural stuff.
We have an American BullDog- Dogo Argentino Cross. HE is heck on wheels when it come to people at the house other than
family. This show calf was givin to me to try because the after effects of ACE are not good. Show calf is the stuff thay give
the big calfs the FFA & 4H kids show, you do not need a script to get go to your local Farm store. AS I said all natural no drugs in this stuff.

This Show Calf gives Mr. heck on Wheels (Chili) the I do not give a rip who is here effect, just a real mellow lay around feeling.
Kinda like if you was to have smoked alittle Herb. ( I mean if I did it was so long ago- Dad was a cop- you do things to piss the parents off when you are young and dumb) LOL

But really this stuff is great, used it on a nervous Hound when we traveled he was horrible to travel with, but not after just a little of this stuff.

You will have to play with your dosing acorrding to your dogs weight, do this when you are going to be home all day so you can gage what works best for your dog.

This stuff saved my sanity with Chili

Good Luck

Here's a picture of the wound that we took today (day 19) while changing bandages. I'm amazed at how good this looks not 3 weeks after the injury.



The open gap is getting ever so smaller- the skin underneath has granularized. Lots of sutures were removed on Thursday at the Vet- the lower suture line looks amazing. The shiny stuff is the gel we're using to help promote healing, it's called Colendula Gel. It's a homeopathic substance & I swear by it at this point.

Rob

Katy's wound- day 28........ only 2 sutures left. The lower suture line has healed amazingly well. The tissue continues to granularize and the area of new tissue bed has actually shrunk in size as the sutured skin continues to heal. It was 4 weeks ago yesterday that I carried Katy 400 yards to my truck & then had a panic-stricken, 9 mile ride to the Vet after this accident. I've received lots of PMs inquiring as to how Katy's recovery is progressing- so I thought I'd post one more photo



Finally, my wife and I are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel !!

Rob

Rob -

Another couple of weeks and you will be able to put this behind you. Excellent.

Give Katy a scratch behind the ear for me. She is a nice dog. You...well I guess you are OK too.

Hope to see you both soon. Stay well.

RayG

Katy's would looks great. I bet you cannot wait to get er out and running again.

Are you still using the Colendula Gel? Just curious- it might be good to have on hand.

jlp8cornell wrote: Are you still using the Colendula Gel? Just curious- it might be good to have on hand.

Twice a day........... I bought an extra tube for my first aid kit !!

Rob

I was going to suggest the Calendula! It's great stuff to reduce scar rise. I've been using it for years ever since a homeopathic nurse suggested it to me.

Glad to see you dog is mending up well!