Boys just had a fight

Well let the boys out back and not more then 1 minute passed and I heard them fighting. I got them broke up pretty fast with only a bent back thumbnail for my efforts.
It was all over the neighbor's Chihuahua running free at my fence.
Dowser has a real deep puncture on his shoulder area about as big around as a pinky finger. Not much bleeding but I am trying to decide if he will be heading to the vets on Monday. He is not putting much pressure on that leg and has had to go urinate quite a few times including one on the floor (not normal at all) since the fight. Duncan seems to have got away with minor scratches and one small bite on the muzzel. I am sure I will find more cuts and scrapes as time goes bye.
I am very suprised over this since they have not acted out towards each other in about a year now.

 

HI Mike,
I would go to the vet, you know where its going if thres a lot of infection in that puncture, as its only just happened it may be a matter of just flushing and/or hot compresses on the puncture and getting on some anti biotics. If its into the muscle though I wouldnt risk waiting a few days.

Im not sure about the urinating, the fighting in itself causes 'unrest', it could just be due to stress. Is it possible Dowser was trodden on or Duncan landed on him around the abdominal area during the fight? Any blood in the urine? If so he could have some bruising, inflamation. That could make him uncomfortable or sore which will probably make him need to pee more often.

 

He urinated twice again inside the house during the night but did wake me for a third need he might have tried to wake me for the others but I couldn't say for sure. I took up the water for the rest of the night. He was breathing heavy most of the night but has now calmed down.
When I put the water back down he just took his normal amount and has not needed to go out often or made any more in house mistakes. Hopefully it was just stress. His abdomin is real tight but I think he is flexing when i get near it. Do dogs have the same muscle pattern on the stomach like humans, like the six pack thing? Seems both Duncan and Dowser have these lumpy patterns on them, under the fat/skin.

DeLaUK, do you normally close these types of wounds or leave them open for drainage?
I appreciate your input but as I am personally very ill myself with pneumonia I will need to wait at least one more day before I can get out and drive to the vets.

 

OUch, I think Dowser is traumitized/stressed by the incident with the uriniating. I agree about going to the vet when you get a chance. dog bites can be very infectous.

Did you clean it real good with an iodine solution and soap and water?? and you probably know not to use peroxiideon punctures.

When Wylie got attacked by Coyotes she had a deep puncture wound but it was not as bad yours and they kept it opened, they cleaned it good, gave her a round of antibiotyics and didnt bandage it.

I hope you feel better too

 

Definately agree with everything honeybears said, if you have any iodine (betadine) dilute it to a like a weak tea colour and see if you can flush it out a little. It can sting a little, some dogs are more sensitive than others so just be aware of that in case theres a little 'snippy reaction' (a quick 'yelp' can accidentally make contact with you!!!) We never completely close a bite wound, it needs to be able to drain so also dont put any creams or ointments on there, some of them will close the skin up faster.

They do have abdominal muscles but more of just a layering over the abdominal cavity as opposed to a 'six pack', then they have muscle up along the spine, if he usually doesnt flex when you get near him I would definately watch him closely, like I said he could have been stepped on or 'landed' on during the fight, could just be a bit banged up, watch his appetite, bowel movement (keep an eye out for any blood in the stool or urine), any vomiting etc. He could develope a fever´which could be either pain or infection related or both. (sorry this probably isnt helping much).

I can totally relate to how your feeling, Ive had pneumonia a couple of times. Hope your all feeling better soon.

 

I had forgotten about the peroxide until he nearly took my hand off. I got a warm compress on it fast and got out the betadine. Need to get some more but local shops don't carry it, maybe the pharmacy.

We will be going to the vets later I see some swelling under his leg now. I will do a real hot shower and take some painkillers and just go.

Seems Duncan feels bad about this as he keeps close to me or Dowser and tries to tend to Dowser's wound. Dowser is real grumpy about it and warns him off after a couple of licks.

On a side note thank God for OxiClean. I have been able to eliminate every spot of blood on couch, bed and clothing with little effort at all. And the accidents that Dowser had on the carpet do not seem to retain the urine smell, or I am to sick to smell it.

Thanks all for the suggestions and support.

 

I was thinking of betadyne not iodine, and you can find it in any place like longs and walgreens. Ask your vet about warm soap and water too I read somehwere that this is best thing for cleaning wounds. Maybe Delauk can chime in on that one. oh and I know for wylies puncture wounds they said dont use things like neosporin. I dont think it makes puncute wounds heal properly.

 

I don't know if this can be called a puncture at this point as it is an open wound easily as big around as a pencil and I can see a tear/hole in the muscle through the opening.
As said I have a small amount of betadine left but have looked at all the local marts and no one has it any longer as of 2 weeks ago. I will check the savons again (like a big pharmacy) if not there will check the local mom and pop pharmacy for it.
Remember I live in a small mountain community.

 

I think most people refer to betadine as iodine, therea re variants of iodine though. I found this site with some info on it.

http://www.phlebotomypages.com/iodine.htm

 

Well he needed surgery to mend the muscle and close the wound. I decided to have him neutered at this time as well. I will be calling to check up in about an hour. They are going to check for other injuries while he is sleeping.

 

eesh. Good thing you took him!!

 

Yep and now I am stressed out waiting for him to come out of surgery. They will have him over night and he has never been alone in a strange place before. He looked very upset when they were taking him away from me.

 

I'm sure he'll be fine! he'll be sleepy after the surgery, so more than likely he'll sleep the whole time.

How old is he again?

 

Wow, that's pretty scary. Glad to hear you got him all "fixed" up LOL. And I hope you're feeling better too. :y_the_best:

 

Kabuki has been getting kinda 'testy' around Precious at feeding times now. They eat at opposite ends of the kennels, and Their tied when they eat to prevent either from going to the others and eating their food....

But Kabuki still snaps at Precious when she see's dinner coming.... I'm thinking of separating them completly. But I hate to do that. When I had Smokey and Char and Red Dog and Lacy, it wasn't that big of a deal. The males were ALWAYS separated, but they had all the other dogs in their kennels next to them.

Precious and Kabuki have grown up together, I don't want them freeking out or trying to break out to be with each other.

 

Sam's he is 3 years and 5 months old.

coppersmom, I am so glad I took him in, I just got off the phone with the Vet Techs and was told all went very well. After opening up the injury site they found that the muscle was torn about 2 full inches, and it was possible that he would have had a partially lame leg had I not brought him in. There was also lots of subcutanious bleeding which is why there was not much blood on the outside.
It will be a long recovery for that leg. It took me 8 months to recover when my bicep was cut in an attempted mugging.
I am still real stressed out and so is Duncan he keeps looking around for him, so do I.

Sam's again. I normally seperate them when I am not home and am real careful when I allow them out back together while I am home. They really do care for each other but there will always be that male dominance behavior to contend with.
Feeding is never a problem with mine as they self feed and always have food available. What sets them off is the presence of other dogs.

On a good note there was a Siberian Husky/Shepard mix at the vets, off leash when I went in the door that charged Dowser. He just stood his ground and allowed the other dog to sniff him. The owner grabbed his dog and leashed him and We let them say hi with no growls or snaps at all.

 

I am glad everyone is doing well.
Sounds like the fight was caused by displaced aggression to me.
Sue

 

Good catch, I have not seen the term before but it makes perfect sense. I will see if I can find a way to curb the behavior.
Thanks.

 

Hi,
I'm glad you managed to get him to the vets, and that the surgery went well.
I really wouldn't worry about him spending the night, as someone else mentioned, he'll sleep the whole time and just enjoy seeing you even more

Hope you're ok too, and get well soon!

 

I missed your part where you said could actually see a tear, and muscle. Its good you got him fixed because it will help tame other aggression issues that pop up. You should think about getting Duncan fixed too in the future.

wishing him a speedy recovery