My Pitbull juswt recently got in a fight with our Boxer, and has an open wound on right leg its about an inch across and you can kind see some meat, its not bleeding but does have some blood around it, ive cleaned it with tap water and put triple antibiotic on it, is there anything else i can do? and will it be ok?
Sami Mieir says:
August 26th, 2008 at 05:46 PM
Without seeing the wound in person, it's hard to be able to give you the security that this wound will be okay. The best thing to do would be to take the pet to your veterinarian's office and have the wound looked at. Most frequently in cases of dog bites, your vet will put your companion on antibiotics to ward off infection and make sure that nothing severe has been done. Some pets will suffer nerve damage and never use the leg correctly again, some will have broken or fractured a bone, etc. Most of the time these types of wounds are superficial, sometimes they're not. It's for the cases that are not superficial that we recommend having them seen. A secondary issue that you must know about would be abscessing of the wound and necrosis (dying) of tissue. If either of these happen, you will need to take your pet to the veterinarian's office, without a doubt. The chances are less that you'll have to deal with an abscess if you pet is on antibiotics (which in the long run can mean it's cheaper on you and easier on your pet).
Here are things to watch out for:
Abscessed tissue (redness, swelling, pus, etc): This picture is on a cat, but shows a great example of an abscess: http://home.austarnet.com.au/gilk/ABSCESS1.JPG
Necrotic tissue (black, non-viable, etc): http://petcancervet.co.uk/images/plews061204.jpg
Be certain to watch out for your pet favoring the leg, any swelling, pus or fluid leaking from the wound, any black or discolored tissue, vomiting, diarrhea or not consuming food or water.
Good luck with your companion!
Sami
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