How do you disinfect a dog s skin
Dog Wound Care: How to Clean and Treat Dog Wounds at Home
Lacerations, scrapes, punctures, burns, bites, bruises, and surgical incisionsthese are just a few of the types of dog wounds your canine companion might experience in their lifetime.
While you should always seek veterinary attention for a major dog injury, dog wound care at home is possible for minor injuries. And preparation is key for giving your dog the care theyll need.
What Is a Dog Wound?
A dog wound is any injury to a dogs body. Major dog wounds include an open fracture, a large laceration, and any wound that is cause for concern. If you notice wounds in the mouth, are concerned about internal damage, or the wound is more than a minor cut or scrape, seek veterinary attention immediately.
In this article, well focus on wounds that involve a break in the dogs skin, and specifically on how to manage simple dog wounds such as scratches, abrasions, or small cuts.
Supplies for Treating a Dog Wound at Home
We recommend having a dog first-aid kit prepared for when accidents happen. Dog wound care items you should have in the kit include:
1. Wound Spray (Pet-Safe)
Use a pet-safe wound spray to help flush and decontaminate the wound.
2. Antimicrobial Wipes (Pet-Safe)
You can use these pet-safe wipes to help clean minor skin injuries. These wipes help prevent bacterial and fungal infection.
3. Wound Ointment (Pet-Safe)
Medical-grade honey ointments have strong antibacterial properties that may help your pets wound heal.
4. Topical Cream for Inflammation
An enzymatic cream with hydrocortisone aids in the treatment of inflammatory pet wounds such as hot spots. This will reduce itching and inflammation.
5. Styptic Powder
Applying this powder to minor cuts or broken nails will help stop bleeding. This is especially helpful if you accidentally snip your dogs nail too short and cut into the quick (the sensitive flesh beneath the nail). Benzocaine, included in this product, is a topical anesthetic. It reduces pain and itchiness by helping to numb the area.
6. Gauze Pads
Once cleaned, gauze pads can be applied over the dog wound to help keep it clean as it heals.
7. Bandage Scissors (Blunt-Tipped Scissors)
Bandage scissors are useful for cutting bandages into an appropriate size, as well as removing the bandage without cutting your pet.
8. Rubber or Latex Gloves
Its important that your hands stay clean while you are taking care of your pet. Rubber or latex gloves also protect your pet from debris or contaminants on your hands.
9. Clippers
Fur should be shaved away from around the wound, using dog safe clippers, to help keep the area clean. This will also help with adherence of the bandage.
10. Vet Wrap Bandage
For wounds on the limbs, this vet wrap bandage should be the outer layer, offering additional stability and safeguarding against further injury or contamination.
11. Recovery Cone
Its common for dogs to try to lick at wounds and bandages. Therefore, its a good idea to always have a recovery cone handy, especially if you cant get to a vet right away for a skin issue.
Dog Wound Care at Home: Step-by-Step Guidance
Follow these steps to treat and clean your dogs wound at home:
Assess the severity of the injury. For minor cuts and scrapes, move on to Step 2 below. For anything more serious, seek veterinary attention.
Put on your disposable gloves to keep your hands clean and protect your pet from contaminants on your hands.
Use clippers or scissors to clip the fur away from the area. If any hair gets in the wound, be sure to wipe it away while cleaning the wound.
Clean the area, washing away debris. You can first clean the wound with water to clear away most dirt and debris. After youve washed out the wound with water, use wound spray and wound wipes to finish cleaning the wound.
Use styptic powder to help stop bleeding from minor cuts or torn nails.
Apply a small amount of wound ointment to the area. Medical-grade honey ointments have strong antibacterial properties that may help your pets wound heal. Inflammation relief creams, which are enzymatic creams with hydrocortisone, may be more useful for inflammatory pet wounds like hot spots.
Dress the wound.
For wounds on the neck, chest, or abdomen, place an adhesive wound dressing. You can use medical tape to help keep the adhesive pad in place if its not sticking well.
If a wound on the leg or tail is severe enough to require bandaging, consider seeking veterinary attention. Its very easy to wrap a limb or tail too tightly, which could be dangerous for your pet.
Put the recovery cone on your dog if the wound is somewhere they can lick or bite.
For bandaged dog wounds, change the bandage and clean the wound daily for the first three days. This will allow you to monitor the wound for signs of infection. Then you can move to every two to three days.
If youre questioning whether the wound is deep enough to require stitches, contact your veterinarian immediately for guidance.
For unbandaged wounds, follow the same schedule for cleaning. If you note signs of infection or that the wound doesnt appear to be healing, seek veterinary attention. If you need to cut the bandage, use the bandage scissors instead of normal scissors to avoid cutting your pets skin.
If your dog has a bandage around their leg for a wound you are monitoring at home with the advice of a veterinarian, be aware of the following signs that the bandage is too tight:
Swelling beneath the bandage
Increased space between the toes due to swelling
Discoloration or a purplish tint to the skin beneath the bandage
The dog chewing or licking at the bandage or lower limb
Limping or lameness
If you notice these signs, contact your veterinarian. If the wound requires veterinary attention, be sure to follow your veterinarians instructions carefully.
When Is a Dog Wound a Vet Emergency?
You should visit an emergency veterinarian if the dog wound is:
From a serious injury, such as being hit by a car or a gunshot
Bleeding uncontrollably
Potentially infected (inflamed/red, producing pus, swollen)
Involving the eye
Deep enough to expose muscle or bone
A severe burn (e.g., house fire burns or fireworks injuries)
An open fracture injury (a bone break with skin puncture)
A degloving injury (skin torn from underlying tissue)
Penetrating through the layers of tissue into the abdominal or chest cavity
Causing significant pain or distress
If youre questioning whether the wound is deep enough to require stitches, contact your veterinarian immediately for guidance.
For the following types of wounds, we recommend discussing the injury with your vet before performing any at-home care:
A minor burn (e.g., touched a burner, burned a paw pad on hot pavement)
Wound near the eye, nose, ears, mouth, genitals, or anus
Bites from other animals
A recurrent injury, such as a hot spot that got better and then came back
Seek veterinary attention if your dog is unable to handle at-home wound care. This includes if theyre trying to bite you, yelping or growling, baring teeth, or constantly trying to escape your help. In situations like these, a veterinarian will be better suited to address your dogs needs.
WRITTEN BY
Rhiannon Koehler, DVMVeterinarian
Dr. Rhiannon Koehler is a veterinarian and freelance medical writer. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Public...
Cleaning Your Dogs Paws: How To Properly Disinfect Your Dogs Paws Like A Pro
Cleaning your dogs paws is very important. Its not rocket science, so Im going to go right on and assume we all know our dogs need to be groomed regularly. The question is, do you know cleaning and disinfecting your dogs paws is part of grooming? Its pretty natural for your dog to play in dirt or mud during routine walks and romps. Your dogs feet are exposed to debris, wet ground, and dirt, which means you have to clean your dogs paws regularly.
How To Disinfect Your Dogs Paws Properly
Cleaning paws should be part of your dog grooming practice and in a continuously evolving world, cleaning a dogs paws is no longer enough. You need to step up your grooming game by disinfecting your dogs paws to keep off contaminants like bacteria, viruses, and other health risks that may harm your dog.
Everyone has an opinion when it comes down to cleaning a dogs paws properly, but quite a few know how to clean and disinfect a dogs paws properly. When you ask people how to clean a dogs paws, lots of them will tell you to wipe your dogs paws with towels. That method will go some way in getting dirt off your dogs paws, but that will not be enough to get the job done correctly.
How do you clean and disinfect your dogs paws? Thats what I will be talking about today, and you get to learn everything you need to know on how to disinfect your dogs paws.
Cleaning Your Dogs Paws: Why Is It So Important?
Well! Cleanliness cant be overemphasized, hygiene is an essential factor for living things, and dogs are not excluded. Its surprising how you remember to bathe and brush your dog but forget to clean and disinfect his paws.
Its a no brainer that the paws are the dirtiest part of any dog, so cleaning your dogs paws is a massive step towards having a cleaning household; your rug/carpet will thank you.
Apart from your rug/carpet thanking you, your dogs health is another primary reason to clean his paws regularly. Some dogs develop cysts between their toes, which can make walking uncomfortable and painful for your dog, so cleaning and disinfecting your dogs paws shouldnt be optional but mandatory.
How to Disinfect Your Dogs Paws
Bathing your dog with a mild dog shampoo should be your best option. Take note, and it causes irritation and skin dryness if you do it often. Also, to be realistic, nobody has the time to bathe their dog frequently.
Make Use Of a Waterproof Doormat
Getting a waterproof dormant should be your first line of action against your dogs dirty paws. Now, after getting it, you need to train your dog on how to use the doormat. Hiding a few treats under the mat should make the training easier.
The mat will absorb water without leaking it onto the floor. Clean the mat after a couple of days, depending on the amount of water it has absorbed.
Make Use Of Baby Wipes For Minor Cleanups
You need to make sure the wipes are dog-friendly; many wipes humans use contain alcohol and some fragrances that may be harmful to your dogs health.
A washcloth soaked in warm water or a paper towel will get the job done for a low-cost approach.
For extra dirty paws, you can use a bit of dog shampoo on the washcloth.
Carefully Wash the Dirty Paws
Most times, debris or mud gets stuck between your dogs toes, so taking your time to wash the paws meticulously is essential.
You can do that easily in the skin or the bathtub; it should easily be done for small dogs in the sink; however, you will need a tub and a sprayer for bigger dogs.
Although, there is a better option; a dog paw cleaner. Buying a dog paw cleaner can save you a whole lot of hassle.
When buying a dog paw cleaner, its better to look for a product with multiple silicone bristles. These bristles help loosen dirt and mud as you twist the dogs paw in it. To get the best results, fill the cleaner with some amount of dog shampoo and clean water. It would help if you tried this out as long as your dog has no problem with you holding its paws.
I have taken my time to track down the best dog paw washers in the market. Take a look.
Our Recommended Best Dog Paw Cleaners:
- Dexas MudBuster Portable Dog Paw Cleaner
- Paw Plunger for Dogs
- Dog Paw Cleaner
- Dog Paw Cleaner & Pet Grooming Brush
Our Recommended Best Dog Shampoos:
- Veterinary Formula Clinical Care
- Pro Pet Works AllNatural Organic
- Natural Dog Shampoo with colloidal Oatmeal
- Wahl 4-In-1 Calming PetShampoo
Make Sure To Clean The Toes and Nails
Im pretty sure you dont want your dog to lick his paws after being exposed to any ice melt or road salt or mud and dirt. A lot of dogs are sensitive to these elements; some are allergic to them.
To clean the area, carefully turn your dogs paw and gently wash between the pads. Make sure always to separate each of the dogs paws to clean them properly.
When you are through, use a towel to pat dry, nobody wants wet paw prints all over their house.
How to Keep Your Dogs Paws Clean Always
Trim the hair around your dogs feet as long hair around your dogs paws might catch and hold dirt. If you are not comfortable doing this, you can pay a dog groomer to get it done.
Buy Some Dog Shoes For Your Dog
Many people dont know it, but dog shoes are a thing; they work impressively in keeping your dogs feet dirt-free and safe. While buy dog shoes, make sure to buy ones that are durable and suitable for routine walks.
Take Care of Your Dogs Paws
Its essential to check your dogs paws for cuts, bruises, and dried patches from time to time. Apply ointments or soothing balms to avoid cracked, rough, or peeling paw pads.
Conclusion
Alright. That sums up the guide on how to disinfect your dogs paws. The reality is that no matter the number of precautions you take, your dog will still bring some dirt into the house, but with proper paw cleaning, the amount of dirt is drastically reduced.
Cleaning and disinfecting your dogs paws is a small aspect of being a dog parent, but its a significant opportunity to bond with your doggo, and he will love you more, so clean those paws with pride and love; your dog appreciates you.
