My dogs and a problem (please help)

Hi all, new here but glad to have found this place.
I have 3 dogs. 2 very impressive male RottenChows (Duncan and Dowser) and a female American/English Staffordshire cross (Pepsi). Pepsi has been fixed for years and Duncan was neutered last Friday. Thursday night the boys got in a fight and Dowser split Duncan's ear right down the middle. Dowser has a bite on his leg near the ankle. I took Duncan in for emergency surgery and decided on the neutering then. Dowser will get it next month.
Problem is Dowser has some swelling in the ankle now and I am tight on funds after getting Duncan fixed up. I have a bottle of Penicillin that I purchased for just such an emergency, but I wanted to make certain of the Dosages and how often. I have been injecting Approx. 1.5 CC every 12 hours subcutaneously (sp?). Does anyone have any experiance in this?

Here are the kings of my yard.



http://webpages.charter.net/revenge/

 

Beautiful dogs!
I'm not sure on the dosage, but would recommend cleaning the wound very well with a betadine solution daily. Some one else on here should have a better idea of the dosage and hopefully they'll chime in soon. Actually, I bet you could just call your vet, mine would tell me. Most antibiotics I've given are given I.M., but that's with horses, so hopefully someone more knowledgable will come on.

 

Thanks, they are fantastic dogs.

I am very uncomfortable giving IM shots because the damn needles keep getting plugged and Dowser really gets upset when I give him shots. I am also very afraid I might hit something like a vien or an artery doing an IM. I was told SC will work fine for about anything.

 

I don't know the answer to your question but just wanted to say that your dogs are beautiful.

 

Thanks.
They are grand arent they?
I picked Duncan out of a petstore pen almost 4 years ago because he sat on his rump and waved his paws at me like a bear. Then me and my EX found a female Rott/Chow and let them mate. When we split up she kept the mom (Nikko) and one of the males (Maxx) while I kept my Boys. We gave the other 2 girls to some local families here on the mountain.

 

i REALLY think you should be leaving those shots up to a vet. placement is very important to avoid injury and to get the best effect. what do you mean by the needles are getting plugged? are you re-using them and they are blocking up [good lord you better not be doing that!] or is there just resistance from the tissue you put it in? im sure a vet would be quite happy to give the injections for a small price or even free of charge if you supply the medicine, syringes and needles. i know my vet doesnt charge for 'labour' on things like that.

 

I have a pack of 10, 22 x 1 points. There seems to be something about Dowser's skin or tissue that plugs the needles on penitration. So I pull it out replace it and try again. I have thrown out 3 points so far.

The vets in my area are greedy and charge for everything. If I don't see any improvment in the next 2 days I will see if they will see Dowser and add his visit to Duncan's current bill.

BTW I have always loved Akita's I had a bud who owned a champion names "The Bean". He was well over a hundred pounds.

 

Just curious, you said there is a swelling on the leg, you didnt mention a wound, I know after a fight chances are its from a puncture but he could have also banged it, twisted it, in which case he probably wouldnt need anti-biotics but might need anti-inflammatories and/or painkillers.(just a thought)
The dosage on the Penicillin depends on the strength your using, you really should call your vet and give them the info and they will be able to tell you, sometimes Pen. will cause abscesses given SQ and your rightly concerned about hitting the wrong place with an IM shot, in the leg (which is painful anyway)you could hit the sciatic nerve which is extrememly painful for the dog and he will be limping for at least a few days or longer, if you go for a muscle in the lower back and he jumps or you miss (especially if your not used to doing it) while its less painful you risk going SQ or worse hitting a kidney a something.
I saw Big Bear as your location, is that BB, California?, have you tried the vet on HWY 18 if you come through Lucerne Valley, his prices are pretty reasonable it might be better/easier to have the dog on oral anti-biotics.

 

if the needles blocks you are either using a bad technique, giving it in the wrong spot or using dodgy needles. strong resistance isnt normal. but there is still no way i can advocate playing vet and giving your dog medications when you a. dont know whats wrong b. dont know how much to give c. dont know where to inject d. dont even know if the penicillin will be effective IF there is an infection. even if you pay for just one visit, get the leg checked out and at least get advice on the penicillin and how to give shots if your dog needs it, thats at least better than nothing. if you cant do that, DO NOT give your dog the medication. you are causing unecessary stress on your dog and you could do alot of damage. sorry if i come across harsh but you wouldnt go jabbing any kind of unprescribed medicine into a human so why do it to your dog?!?

 

kyles101, and DeLaUK,

And the rest thanks all for the replies. Yes there were/are punctures to the leg just above the ankle, which never did reall weep as a normal cut does. The swelling of his leg has reduced greatly overnight but his unwillingness to put any pressure on the wounded front paw has made my descesion for me to call the vet this morning.
I hope they will just adjust my billing for this.
I also found a wound on his chest that had scabbed over and then opened up and is draining correctly. At the very least I will need to change his antibiotic to something more suited for this and oral as well like Cephalexin, or Clavamox.
I have been treating my dogs all my life but I have never really felt comfortable with injectables.

DeLaUK, my mom uses that vet down on HWY 18 and I think you are right they are much less money hungry than the VCA clinic.

 

Betadine is a little harsh and I'm not sure if it's okay to use on Puncture wounds... I took a female pit into the vet because of a bite to her shoulder and head from her sister... The vet gave us Antibiotics (oral) and just told me the best way to go about fixing bite wounds is to clean them daily with saline solution... The best kind is what you get for contacts...the all purpose saline, it's sterile, and it comes in a spray can that will forcefully get it into the wound... Saline kills bacteria and aids in healing. MOST of the more harsh cleaning things like Betadine actually kills skin endings and will prolong the healing of the wound...

 

Theres 2 on HWY 18, one is closer to Apple Valley Road (a few miles further along) both are great vets, worked for Dr C at his day practice about 4 years ago and at his E-Clinic for the last 5 years....Really nice guy....and a great sense of humour.

 

there is a link in the forum for low cost spaying and neutering.
http://www.auspet.com/forum/about179.html
Definitely get EVERYONE desexed.
I don't know what to put on wounds really my old dog would ocassionally cut her paws and i would put neosprorin on it. I would never trust putting something else on, especially if i needed to inject it.
He could be limping for emotional reasons too, just an idea.
You dogs are pretty

 

Punctures don't generally weep, just for the record... They sorta dry up and heal over... THEY will kinda ball up where the puncture was but after a week or so that will be re-absorbed etc...

Carefull to watch for any re-injury to the area. My pup got a good cut we got it healed over to where it wasn't weepy and was dry...then it abcessed because she licked the scab off and basically re-injured it... got it dirty etc... Anyway I'd head to the vet for the shots in any case...if you feel you need to give antibiotics...and I'd NOT use anything but Saline on those punctures unless YOUR vet tells you otherwise.

 

what beautiful dogs!


like everyone else I would take him to the vet and get oral antibiotics. As for cleaning , usually saline solution and good old soap and water usually does the trick.

When my dog got attacked by coyotes last spring she had several punctures. I went online on how to clean and did a search on rabies. and an article said if you immediately clean the wound with soap and water, you had an excellant chance to wash the rabies away. I found that interesting. anyway, the vet put her on I think clavemox or cephlaxin to ward away possible infection.

 

Thanks all for the compliments on the boys and the helpful replies.

After talking with the vet I was told to give him the same dosage of Amox as Duncan is taking. This is with out an actual visit. There is marked improvment in Dowser's leg.

The neighboor whose dog caused this problem has given me $200.00 this lunch hour to help with my costs so I am about to make an appointment for Dowser at a different Vets office.

Oh the fight happened when my neighboor's free roaming dogs set off a fence fight with mine that were behind our fenced in yard. Duncan and Dowser colided and went after each other after being excited by the other dogs.

I can post some other shots of the boys and Pepsi and some of the Moore dog's past if you folks like.

 

Pictures are mandatory and the more the better!!!

Good to hear you've got vet plans... I had a neighbor with a Lab like that... WOW had a couple close calls but my pits recall quickly and think me "God" at times...so... BUT I did get to witness QUITE the rally between the lab and the Boarder collie mix nextdoor... Thank GOD I'm in a better nieghborhood with a privacy fence!!!

Your Rott x's look LOVELY I really like their look!!! I'd LOVE to see those tails honestly...LOL

 

There is something else you can do for the leg, try a hot pack, get a bowl of water that is hot but not so its burning (if its too hot for you its too hot for the dog), get a small hand towel or facecloth (use a clean one every time), soak it, wring a bit of the hot water out but not all of it then wrap it around the swollen, wounded area. Try this for about 10 minutes 4 or 5 times a day if you can, it helps the swelling come down, it helps with the drainage and about 99% of dogs after the first time usually are fine with it.

 

Well none of the Vets have any openings until tommorow, but the one I was going for recommends just keep up the AMOX and some compresses (DeLaUK) to aid in the drainage. I also got some drawing ointment (Ichthammol) to help hasten the process.
The office told me as long as he is eating and applying any pressure to it he should recover with out having to spend another fortune on an office visit.
Sara
Dowser Curls his tail while Duncan sticks his out straight
Here is a pic with some tail. Will look for better or take make a new one.
Is 800x600 ok for you guys or should I go for 640x480?

 

did they tell you how to give the shots properly?