Chew proof dressing ??

[Andy_B]

Happy new year ..My 13yo Lab has chewed a chunk out of his back leg just below the knee cap area ...i have the camrosa healing cream stuff but he is licking it off ...this stuff usually works a treat when he does it to his tail but it needs left on for more than 5 bloody mins...i have tried a meopore type dressing but he chewed that off ...so its back on now with selotape !!! was thinking a Johnny Bag with the end cut off ...anybody got any better ideas

[badshot]

Not really got any ideas for a dressing but a "collar" should stop it. I know they last about 5 mins but what other option is there really?

 

Why is he chewing himself? My old lab used to lick his legs incessantly as he got older which was due to pain in the joints. Pain relief (metacam) and glucosamine supplements can help this.

[Starman]

Put a "lampshade" around his neck for a while.

[Paladin]

To stop canibalism/feather plucking, in chickens we used to put on an ointment, I think it was called Quasia! it was suposed to tast bitter and there fore stop the desire to peck as it left them with a foul (no pun intended) taste. Thinking along those lines, would you be able to put something onto the bandage? I'd try mustard or garlic for now.

 

Paladin

[Andy_B]

Cheers but wont be able to get a lampshade until the vets re open.. i fear he may have chewed his leg off by then.. just nipped out there and my selotape dressing was chewed off...going to bandage it now ...he does have arthritis but only really gives him grief if he walks to far or jumps about ...staying away from the metacam a good friend who had a lab the same age as mine swears blind they caused the tumours that finished the dog off

[badshot]

If it's only temporary what about a muzzle?

[Sprocket]

If he is not in the house, you could try applying "Cribox" to the ouside of his bandage or Jonnny Bag.

I was recommended Cribox by a "Horse Person" (prevents horses from destroying stables etc) and it stopped my dogs from eating their kennel.

You will need to make sure that it doesn't get into an open wound because I don't know what effect it may have.

Cribox is available from places like Countrywide stores.

It is applied like a thick grease -hence not suitable if dog is in doors.

Costs only a couple of quid for a pot which lasts for years.

Never tried this on any of my dogs -but sounds like you are desperate.

Edited January 1, 2010 by Sprocket

[reddan]

I have used an old sock before. Bandage it up and then put the sock over the top with loads of medical tape. Mine wont put up with a lampshade so this is the only way half decent I found.

 

Dan

[Paladin]

Hi. Johnstons Stop Chew. A spray can sold in most pet shops , we used that to stop the dog chewing through the door and crunching the glass

 

Paladin

[apache]

...staying away from the metacam a good friend who had a lab the same age as mine swears blind they caused the tumours that finished the dog off

ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!

 

Meloxicam (Metacam) has been used to treat certain cancers. There is NO evidence of any carcinogenic effect.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2002679...mp;ordinalpos=2

 

The drug is used to treat transitional cell carcinoma in the dog.

 

I think the most likely cause for the problem, as correctly suggested, is agony from arthritis.

 

You can improvise a buster collar using a bucket with the bottom cut out.

 

Dressings, if improperly applied, can (and frequently do) cause more harm than good. The only time I ever advise an owner to bandage their own animal if if it is bleeding severely.