It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

365days

Have a feeling that an expense is on it's way. Took DS and the dog for a long walk/bike ride along the canal. Dog has managed to rip both front pads on his paws. Not ripped as such but look like blisters do after they have popped. He is looking incredibly sorry for himself. I am loathe to take him to the vet as it will be soooooo expensive. I've looked it up online and it just says keep them clean/dry and they will heal themselves. Anyone had any experience of this??? I don't want anyone to think I'm a meanie but I just can't afford a £50 vets bill if all they are going to say to me is....keep it clean and dry!!!

smileyt_2

365days wrote: »

Have a feeling that an expense is on it's way. Took DS and the dog for a long walk/bike ride along the canal. Dog has managed to rip both front pads on his paws. Not ripped as such but look like blisters do after they have popped. He is looking incredibly sorry for himself. I am loathe to take him to the vet as it will be soooooo expensive. I've looked it up online and it just says keep them clean/dry and they will heal themselves. Anyone had any experience of this??? I don't want anyone to think I'm a meanie but I just can't afford a £50 vets bill if all they are going to say to me is....keep it clean and dry!!!

If you can keep them clean and dry, try it for a day and see. It will be really sore, of course (think how much a paper cut stings us!) but if he's just shredded them by running around then rest and hygiene is really the only thing that will work. If of course they start to look infected,get full of pus, or dog starts being sick/diarrhoea/not eating/not drinking or otherwise showing signs of illness, take to vet.

Try bathing in saline to clean them (1 teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 pint boiled, cooled water). Or 3 parts water and 1 part cider vinegar. Vinegar is also supposed to help heal wounds and prevent infection. You must make sure they are clean though, as a canal bank is not the cleanest environment to be shredding your paws on. How would you treat a child if they had fallen and grazed their knee?

I offer this information on the proviso that I am not a vet or an animal nurse, just a bog-standard dog owner.

Give him a cuddle from me, poor thing.

smileyt_2

annie123 wrote: »

Need to rant:

The foxes have eaten my sandals :mad:.

:rotfl:

This did make me laugh!

However, I really do sympathise with you, as comfortable shoes are something to treasure.

You could try writing to Clarks and telling them and being cheeky enough to ask for another pair for free - you never know, the chief exec might need a giggle and might just oblige because it's such an unusual story. It's got to be worth the price of a stamp? Or a quick e-mail.

Prudent

The fox story is brilliant Thank you. Clarks have a sale just now, so you might get a bargain. I got some really cheap buys from them 2 years ago online.

365 days - there is some purple antispetic spray that is really good. I used to live on the farm and we used it for loads of things, including cuts on the dogs. Just can't remember the name as we always just called it the purple spray.

I am a very happy lady. Gas man here for 3 hours. Fitted two small parts to boiler and got whole system working properly. £65!!

penelopedee_2

Prudent, that's excellent news about the boiler.

We're having a sad day here, in the process of some staff being laid off. Not all the names have been released yet. It's all very glum.

Andraste

Oh no, BigMummaF mentioned the c-word! That was just the kick up the backside I needed to remind me to get cracking with some pressies, so thank you! Every year I mean to be more organised and have lots of fantastic home made gifts for my friends and family, and every Yule I sit there wishing I'd got my backside in gear during the summer. I'm absolutely determined that my own lack of organisation will not force me to spend more money this year than I really want to. Am perusing the Crafting for Christmas 2010 thread for ideas........

the_cat

Another good thing for animal wounds is Hibiscrub.

It's a pink antibacterial soap type substance which I think is used in hospitals (so I've been told). Having run an equestrian centre in a former life, we used it on any scratch/wound on the horses without problems. It doesn't seem to sting (I found some reacted more with purple spray - I don't know its proper name either!) and was a prescribed treatment by our vets so I would be confident it is ok for dogs too...... although I haven't personally used it on a dog

Bonus is it is now used in our house as a strong anti bacterial handwash for us when we do manky jobs like cleaning the drains or suchlike so the rest of the bottle won't be wasted. Any tack/farm type shop would stock it. Used to cost around £3-£5 for a biggish bottle so not too pricey either

katholicos

For those who have mentioned 'Purple Spray'...could it be this?

365days

Thank you for the doggy related replies! I used to work at a stables and had totally forgotten about the 'purple spray' > I will go to Countrywide in a min and have a good root around. If I find the name of the magic purple spray I will let you all know.

365days

katholicos wrote: »

For those who have mentioned 'Purple Spray'...could it be this?

That did make me chuckle! Thanks.