Caissie Canine Instruction: How to Bandage your K9’s Paw in Case of an Emergency.

We begin this week with our K9 Corner with the Chief: When Dogs Bite

Dogs are predatory animals that have the bite force to crush bone. Regardless of the size of a dog the bite may cause extreme pain and injuries.

There are safeguards that may be taken to avoid injury. For example, if an aggressive dog approaches, try to stand your ground and hold your position. Be firm with a verbal command of “NO”. Most aggressive dogs do bite out of fear, so if your command works, the dog may stop and turn away at some point.

This is why you should never block an aggressive dog in, always allow the dog an escape lane.

When an aggressive dog approaches, and if you have any object, bag, or clothing nearby, you may try to use it to block the attack. This may prevent the dog from making contact.

Running away would not be a good option as you would now become prey and motivate the aggressive dog to chase you and heighten its confidence of aggression.

It is good to know the reason why a dog is aggressive. Most dogs are aggressive out of fear. Many others display this behaviour because of food and/or object guarding. Lastly there also may be a medical condition causing this behaviour.

Ensuring the root cause with a thorough behaviour assessment will allow a dog owner to manage and reduce the chance of a dog reacting or being aggressive.

You cannot change a dog’s propensity to react. However, you can be professionally taught how to manage this dog.

If you are a victim of an aggressive dog resulting in injuries. It is important to make the owner accountable and gain their information. I would suggest that this has occurred in the past and it would be important to report this incident to your local municipality if the owner of the dog is not fully cooperative.

It would be beneficial to gain knowledge on the medical history of the dog and the veterinarian information to ensure vaccinations are current.

Ensure that you treat the injury immediately with proper cleansing to ensure no infections. Infection is the main concern with this type of injury.

If you have not had a tetanus shot in the last ten years it is recommended to get a booster.

Should you need assistance with your K9, that is object/food guarding, please feel free to reach out.

Remember every day is a training day.

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Welcome to Doggie Dialogue

If or when your dog injures their paw, it is recommended to clean out the wound first, then apply a non-stick sterile pad or gauze. It is recommended by vets to secure the pad/gauze with a layer of self-adhesive elastic wrap, such as Vetwrap.

When starting to wrap your K9’s paw, start from the toes to just above the paw to keep the bandage from slipping. The bandage should be snug but not too tight, allowing you to slide 2 fingers underneath.

If you need to control the bleeding, apply pressure to the wound with a clean towel or cloth. Apply pet antibiotic ointment to the wound, if you have it.

We recommend to immediately contact your veterinarian to assess the K9 injury, in case of broken bones, large areas of skin lost, or deep cuts.

It is important to remember NOT to use human bandages or human antibiotics on pets.

If your K9 wants to consistently lick their injury, please use an Elizabethan collar, until you get him/her to the vet.

Remember to keep an eye on the healing process. If the wound is bleeding persistently, or discharging yellow, green, or a white discharge contact your vet immediately.