Examples of applying and taking care of a bandage to your dog

Caring for a dog is a massive responsibility. Some people bracket together the looking after a dog with the bringing up of a toddler. For the reason that dogs are comparable to toddlers, every now and then they will find themselves in injurious positions. Dogs will find themselves ensnared in a constricted location or collide with something that will deliver a nasty injury to one or more of their limbs. If this happens to your dog you must be able to dispense some first aid. Applying a bandage is one of the basic skills of dog first aid. Here are some straightforward examples of applying and taking care of a bandage once it has been dispensed to the wounded animal.

Bandaging Your Dog – Dog First Aid

Make sure any wound has been cleaned and disinfected. Cover the wound with an absorbent non stick pad, apply several layers of roll cotton. Next place layers of gauze bandage over the cotton and make sure the cotton is well secured. Make sure the bandage is not disrupting the dogs circulation by being applied too tightly. Check the pressure by placing two fingers under the bandage. Finish off by applying an elastic bandage and keep this in place with adhesive tape. Wrap the adhesive tape around the bandage and try and ensure the bandage doesn’t slip by connecting the adhesive tape to both the bandage and the dogs fur.

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Taking Care Of The Bandage

Bandages should always be kept clean and dry. The easiest solution to this is to keep your pet indoors for the majority of the time. When your dog goes outside for the toilet cover the bandages with plastic bags, bread bags or trash can liners which can all be used. Check once or twice daily to make sure the bandage is clean and dry and no unpleasant odors or discharge are emanating from the bandage. An Elizabethan Collar may be required to stop your dog from chewing and loosening the bandage.

Dog Grooming

If you regularly groom your dog, by paying a little more attention to the ears you can help prevent the dog getting ear infections. If you own a dog which is liable to these infections you will have detected how easily dogs can be inflicted with troublesome ears.

Three types of infections occur in dogs ears – outer ear, middle ear and inner ear infection.

Outer ear is quite simple to spot. The ears will become inflamed and secrete a waxy unpleasant smelling discharge. Middle ear and inner ear infections, are cause for more concern and may require the attention of your veterinarian as things can deteriorate quite quickly. A lot of factors contribute to infections, from ear mites to a bacterial infection or even an allergic reaction to some dog foods.

Ear cleaning whilst you are grooming your dog will get the pet accustomed to having his ears handled and make it easier should you have to dispense any medication. You can help to avoid these infections by making a concentrated effort to clean your dogs ears as part of a consistent dog grooming routine. Cleaning is quite straightforward and can be completed using a soft cloth and some ear cleanser. Simply lift the ears and gently rub some cleanser into the ears and any dirt should work loose and be cleaned up. Most ears don’t need cleaned but just examined to make sure there is no wax evident on the outer ear.

Dogs with floppy ears are very prone to infection as they flop over and stop air from circulating which is vital in maintaining healthy ears. Hair follicles grow and this further stops air from circulating. If you are grooming your dog regularly, by paying attention to the these areas we can take care of this hair before any problems begin.

Look for these tell tale signs to spot if your dog has an infection

• foul smelling discharge
• shaking of head excessively
• cocking the head in an unusual manner and angle
• inflammation
• redness and tenderness

If your dog is suffering from an ear infection and you haven’t yet been able to visit the vet you can try some dog first aid of your own. Cod Liver Oil or Vitamin E Oil can be used to alleviate the pain by placing a couple of drops in the affected ear. White vinegar can also be used to clean your dogs ears.

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